Lauren Rae: writer & author

"Though I initially saw the pandemic as yet another ‘woe is me’ plot twist in my life story, I’ve quickly learned to love it. In my time being isolated from my loved ones and the world, I've found myself again. Living alone was lonely, but with it came a sense of, ‘if I can do this, I can do anything’. I’d love to be one of those people who bettered their cooking skills, learned to braid their own hair, or started daily workout routines, but my way of maintaining sanity in quarantine was far less so.

"Instead, I learned to appreciate sunset walks, worked a little harder at my job (than I already do), read the books gathering dust on my shelves and, don’t laugh, but cleaned on an almost hourly basis. I’ve learned more about myself, and the world (damning as it may be) in this time, than I have in my twenty-something years of life. And though I’d have loved it under different circumstances, I don't totally dislike it."