"The reality of lockdown has kicked in" writes fifth year student Kaci Kerwick

By now, the reality of lockdown has kicked in. The novelty of being at home has well-worn off and most of us are sick of isolation.

Having to stay home during Easter was particularly hard as for many people it is a time for visiting loved ones or going abroad.

But unfortunately such activities were not possible this year.

I just recently watched a video made by astronaut Chris Hadfield on surviving social distancing. Throughout the video he explained that the trick of getting through it is to follow a few simple rules.

The first was to know the risk. Understand that you are social distancing in order to protect yourself and your family and by abiding by the guidelines you are protecting the most vulnerable of society.

To quote Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, “What happens now is up to each one of us, stay at home”.

Another point he made was to choose goals. I think this is key in order to avert boredom during social distancing and of course to prevent you going insane from the mundane routine of being at home 24/7.

My goal this week was to become a bit of a master chef. Okay that might be a bit ambitious, but My sister and I did attempt Roz Purcell’s Carrot cake, a brave undertaking for a seven-year-old and someone who didn’t do Home Ec past first year.

Although my expectations were low, it was actually very nice and we demolished it within a few hours. We then took it a step further and made brownies which were equally as good.

I would definitely recommend trying some baking, even if you are a complete novice. Roz Purcell is great to follow on Instagram as she does weekly baking challenges and most of her recipes are fool proof! So, don’t be afraid to try something new and you never know, you might surprise yourself.

Throughout his whole social distancing so far, I've had to remind myself that although this situation is not ideal, I am so much better off than many other people. Last year I visited Kolkata, India and experienced first-hand the horrific conditions so many men, women and children are forced to endure. Unfortunately for families in these conditions they don’t have the, dare I say, luxury of social distancing.

Even to bring it back closer to home, there are families living in hotel rooms, small houses and other confined areas.

So perhaps this week, the next time you feel like complaining about isolation and your family annoy you for the tenth time, be thankful that you can lock yourself into your room because so many people don’t have a choice.