Escapism in a time when we can't escape...
The pandemic robbed her of the chance to sit A levels. But she ended up with three As and is now studying journalism at the University of Brighton (Eastbourne campus).
Here is her latest contribution.
"I think it is fair to say that anybody who in the past year has not fallen down the rabbit holes of Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime or any other streaming site deserves a Nobel Peace Prize. Although at the best of times my screen time on any one of these platforms is embarrassingly high, quarantine has drawn me, like many others, to scroll the depths of these sites all the more. Love on the Spectrum, the fourth season of the Crown, Atypical (all shows I highly recommend) and countless other bingeworthy seasons sit idly in my Watch Again folder, waiting for the day that I decide to experience the emotions all over again. Perhaps this is a worldwide attitude at the moment, but I certainly believe that one of the overriding reasons I spend so much time poring over films and TV shows comes down to the escapism that it offers me in a time that we can’t…well, escape. Not just watching large groups of people socialising without a care, (or a face mask at that) but experiencing the ups and downs of their lives that for us have come to a standstill.
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Hide Ad"Ever since I first learnt to pick up a book I have always been enthralled by reading, perhaps one of the main contributors to my passion for journalism. In my opinion a much more active pastime than simply watching a story play out on a screen, the act of creating the character’s appearance and hearing their voice in my mind always has and I hope always will be one of my favourite ways to spend hours of my time. This, yet again, offers an element of escapism and a chance to encounter the twists and turns of life in a way that does not rely on a change in location, but an opportunity to reconsider the decisions we make and the effects these can have on not only ourselves but the world around us.
"Just this week I finished Jane Hawking’s ‘Travelling to Infinity’, a recollection of her relationship with the late physicist Professor Stephen Hawking and her complete commitment to their family unit. I am aware that I am massively late to the party, with the book becoming a massive success many years ago, but reading her story at an age just two years from how old she turned when committing her life to the professor was fascinating and all the more poignant. For fear of turning this into a book review, I was blown away but just as upset to hear of the lack of recognition she received throughout their marriage.
"My strong reaction to the intensity of her story was one that I don’t imagine I would have experienced had I read the autobiography during ‘normal’ life. Yes, the current circumstances are a massive struggle for many, but to see through her eyes the intensity and adversity she endured was testament to the fact that everybody endures their own battles whether the world is mid-pandemic or not. There are millions of NHS staff, carers and retail workers who all have their own story, and I would like to think that in years to come they will all receive the recognition that they so much deserve."
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