“Hi, I’m Nazia. I’m a MSc student and also a health worker at the L&D hospital.

To be honest, at the beginning of lockdown, I didn’t treat it so seriously as I genuinely thought it would “all blow over soon”. I was so wrong. I’ve lost count of how long it’s been and realise now how naïve I was to this whole situation. I assumed I would have had a lot of extra time to catch up on/start new hobbies, instead, I’ve been busy all the same.

There’s no line between work and home, it’s all a blur now. No days off. Housework during Uni work breaks, Uni work during housework breaks, and caring for my ill mother in between.

I’ve stopped going to work now. My vulnerable immunocompromised mother means that with me going to work I could risk bringing something home, and that could lead to unwanted consequences. After all, she is all I have. Worried is an understatement.

It also pains me that, knowing that I am a key worker I cannot go out there and help out in the front lines. At this point, worried is an understatement. Useless is an understatement. I hope that being part of the UpRising campaign will fill in that void.

Life has changed. Never have I thought that food would run out in the shops! My friends/relatives and I speak to each other over the phone, we video call each other but it’s not the same. One of the lessons I have learnt from this is that you should be grateful for what you have and don’t take things for granted. You never know for how long you can have it.

Maybe that’s a small white lie. Maybe I’ll start taking things for granted again once all this is over.

And it will all blow over soon…”

Nazia, MSc student and health worker at Luton and Dunstable hospital