For my music project, I was assigned to create a song dedicated to my feelings or experience with COVID-19 and the circuit breaker. I initially wanted to convey the sudden switch from a very chill and relaxing mood to a chaotic and anxious feeling – predominantly more about the extreme situation people faced at the start of the
pandemic. However, I felt that I wanted to focus more on how I had felt and my experience during this lockdown instead. For me, I think this lockdown was a chance for me to focus on myself and appreciate the small things I had taken for granted. Therefore, for the visual, I ended up using photos of the sunset my friends had taken throughout the lockdown – putting it all together supported with a song I composed in the intent to make the person listening feel calmer, relieve their stress and remind them the importance of appreciating the small things in life.

Before lockdown, my balcony was just a place for laundry. Now, it is a place for me to enjoy the view of nature and to get exposure to sunlight from time to time. My time spent at the balcony watching movies on my iPad, listening to music, reading books, studying, snacking, or even just looking at the clouds made me appreciate but also miss the usual everyday routine I had, and the regular exposure to nature.

I also was reminded again on how much I like music, and it made my appreciation for drumming even stronger than before. With more time to myself and less time spent stressing on tests, it gave me a chance to try out different songs on my drums and spend time experimenting composing genres I haven’t tried out yet.

This lockdown also reestablished how important my friends are to me – for my social wellbeing, but also just for support and making me feel better.