My name is Enrico and I’m a car mechanic from London. To be honest, I have never ridden a roller coaster in my life, but this pandemic has left me feeling like I have been on the highest, longest roller coaster and with the most loops.

At first, I brushed the idea off when I found out about a virus spreading. I just saw it on the television one day and I thought to myself, this is not going to be like anything the world hasn’t seen or endured yet. Life went on as usual –I worked five times a week and hung out with my mates on the weekends. Although I was aware that the cases were rising, I didn’t pay much attention to it until a couple of months later when the first lockdown was imposed by the government. It started to worry me and I must admit, I was one of the many people who started panic buying. It was a struggle to be in a queue for hours at the supermarket only to find very limited items you could pick up (especially the toilet rolls!).

Weeks into the lockdown, protests started to erupt and I hated that some of my mates actually supported anti-lockdown movements. Some of them I have already cut ties with because I just can’t understand why people would support a movement that could cause the situation to worsen. To each their own, I guess.

Another couple of lockdowns went on after that and although I didn’t lose my job (just had my hours significantly reduced), it was rather depressing. All those days spent at home just so I could do my part took a toll on me. Some of my relatives and friends were infected but none actually had to go the hospital due to the severity, thank God.

I recently got fully vaccinated and I’m hoping this will all be over soon, not just here but the rest of the world as well.