During the lockdown, I felt that I did not do anything apart from stress and worry about my career. But when I think about it I did manage to occupy myself and when I think about it more, I engaged in cultural activities to keep me entertained.
I engaged with Draw With Rob videos and learnt to draw some interesting characters, I have many colouring-in books and I started to colour in all sorts of shapes and patterns.
I read lots of books, mostly crime novels but still, it was reading. It has even inspired me to want to write my own book.
Music has really kept me entertained, so have podcasts. I have listened to pop, opera, dance and of course musical theatre songs- they have been a great comfort especially as live performances are not allowed at the moment.
Speaking of musical theatre, I have been watching musicals and theatre performances on a live stream which has been a nice replacement for real live shows. Not the best but it has done for when I missed theatre.
I found myself getting back into dance, yoga and pilates. If I like a piece of music I would choreograph a short routine- I have not done that in ages but it felt good to be wearing my dancing shoes again. To be able to express how I felt through music and movement.
All of these creative forms acted as a stress relief for me and kept my mind off the horrible world we currently live in at the moment. It just goes to show how important art and culture is, they got me through the lockdown. This is why arts and culture are viable not just for the audience but for the artists and content creators behind the work too.
Gemma's Journey 