Lockdown felt difficult and frustrating, but I guess that was the same for everyone. I didn’t like having to queue for my shopping and it was weird in town with no-one about. I actually quite liked having some more space and not having to see everyone all of the time though.
Everyone deals with lockdown differently, but I didn’t want to spend my time doing nothing. I’d only just started to come to Back on Track before they had to close the centre, but they kept in touch with me and sent me different things I could get involved in.
(Emma joined the online Wellbeing, Options and Opportunities, Reading, and Women’s Aloud groups which were set up to keep people connected during Covid-19.)
It was really nice to get to know people on the Zoom sessions and just to have a chat with someone else. I’d love to be able to meet some of them in person soon. I’ve just been dialling in on my phone and it was really easy – you just put the code in. I’ve been doing about four classes a week and got used to getting ready to log in at 11am. It was nice to have something to look forward to and to have a bit of a routine again.
I looked into other online courses but they were charging which is hard if you’re not working. In those first few months it felt like Back on Track was the only place which was available. It was new to me but there was something really nice about just dialling in from your home and seeing other people in their homes. It was more informal, more relaxing. You could grab a brew whenever you wanted.
I came back to the Back on Track centre for the first time since March last week. Town was pretty much back to normal and it felt fine being in again. Back on Track are going to get me set up with a tablet soon so I can work on my CV and apply for jobs. I’ve been looking for jobs for a while but it’s hard to get back to where I was and things feel a bit tougher out there at the moment.
I’ve joined the outdoor photography course and will keep that going. I’ll stay involved with the online groups too but hope to see a few faces I’ve known online around the centre.
Emma
