Zoe Hunter: Let's not sentence ourselves or our children to a life in lockdown

Zoe Hunter says it is time for those who have missed out on adventure and milestones to grab life by the horns again. Photo / Getty Images

COMMENT:

Covid has ruined a lot of things.

However, let's not sentence ourselves to a life in lockdown.

The virus has cancelled school balls, graduations, and other important milestones my generation has taken for granted.

It almost quashed many travel dreams as the global pandemic and border closures meant going overseas was no longer a rite of passage.

But as the world begins to reopen, it is time for those who have missed out on adventure and milestones to grab life by the horns again.

Covid has only postponed future plans, not cancelled them.

Young people have shared with NZME how they have coped with moving from an open world to living in a pandemic.

The MacDonald brothers can't remember too many details about how school worked before Covid-19.

Eleven-year-old Sebastian summed it up: "We missed out on everything". While his eight-year-old brother was hoping next year he didn't have to wear masks to class any more.

His message to the future was: "Don't visit 2020".

Tauranga Boys' College head prefect Taine Larsen, 17, had big academic goals for 2020 and was looking forward to attending mountain biking schools national champs.

But Covid ruined it all.

Two years on, he has learned to maintain a positive and open-minded mentality and has realised he might as well have fun while he can.

Mount Maunganui's Danielle Mourits spent 10 months in Malawi volunteering at a small, rural community hospital and health centre after Covid hit. She had the option to come back, but she wanted to stay and help.

The 24-year-old now plans to study nursing and wants to be among the privileged ranks of people who keep things going even in the midst of disaster.

She can't wait to graduate and go back to Malawi and says there's so much of the world she hasn't seen and she wants to go and see it.

Maynard Scott, 25, was in his final year of law and human resources degree and moved back home to Tauranga before a state of national emergency was declared.

He had taken his freedom for granted.

On the flip side, he wouldn't have met his fiance who was an Air New Zealand pilot.

Rotorua teen Sammy Carter thought 2020 was going to be her year. But Covid closed the curtains on her dreams of completing her teaching diploma for drama.

She also didn't get to attend her school ball.

I hope my future children get to experience school without masks, the excitement of getting ready for a school ball, and the thrill of an overseas adventure.

The pandemic has taught the younger generations to be more adaptable and resilient, but we cannot let Covid hold them back from chasing their dreams.

Let them pick up where they left off at the start of 2020.

The world is their oyster.