Can it really be five years since the world closed down?
I remember it well: a telephone call from my then boss telling me not to come in to the office the next day, the most beautiful spring we’ve had in years, banging pans for the NHS, London turning into a ghost town and the appearance on the scene of the man I’m now married to. Whisper it: I had a good lockdown. But many did not.
We’re still dealing with the legacy of all that, of course, not least the fact that the country seems to have lost its work ethic, but the biggest problem seems to be the younger generation. They were essentially told the world was going to end and while those of us with a bit more life experience took it in our stride, many of them understandably did not.
They lost large chunks of their education to say nothing of social interaction. They got a very tough deal. But are we helping them by focusing so much on the damage to their mental health?
If you tell someone they are bound to feel traumatised, then they will feel traumatised, even if it hadn’t occurred to them to do so before. Shouldn’t we be telling them that yes, it was rough, but time to put it behind you and get on with life?
My mother lived through the Second World War, took exams in a bomb shelter and once saw a dogfight take place between two planes on the banks of the River Medway. That must have felt every bit as apocalyptic as Covid. But no one told her she had the right to be traumatised. She would have laughed at the thought.
Both my parents lived through the Cuban missile crisis: my father told me they really did think there was going to be a nuclear war. It was terrifying. But they still got on with everyday life.
The younger generation are the future and they get a lot of undeserved stick. And the members of it I’m close to are far from the snowflakes we read about: my nephews are determined and ambitious and both work very hard. Ditto my godsons. And that’s what we should be encouraging: get out there and take on the world.
No one will do you any favours so make it happen yourself. Gain strength from past difficulties, put them behind you and stride out there to take on the future. You are the future. Now make us proud.
