
"My name is Nathan, I am 18 years old, and I am going to tell you my story. I am confined in Montpellier at my parents' home with my two older brothers and my mother. I'm not alone, but I feel very lonely, spending the whole day on my bed or in my room, my nose buried in my computer screen to finish my school year and pass my exams for higher education.
A few days before France was locked down my relationship ended – the first time I was heartbroken over a boy. I barely had time to see some friends after it happened before I had to go home and lock myself away.
This breakup and the beginning of the lockdown forced me to stay alone with myself. There are obviously not only negative sides to this, but a lot of positive sides too. I’ve been taking care of myself, I’ve accepted my body, I’ve begun, little by little, to look at myself in the mirror and truly love myself. I celebrated my 18th birthday on March 31. This birthday, my breakup and this lockdown feel like being reborn – as if I was born on March 31, 2020, as if I was turning a page and starting my life as a young adult.
This situation inspires me a lot, I keep writing my lyrics, singing them and composing my music, drawing, laughing, thinking, loving my loved ones, and imagining what our life will be like after the liberation.
Yes, I say liberation because it will truly be a liberation for all of us. We will celebrate 2020 as we should. It is inconceivable for us, citizens of the world, to deprive ourselves of our freedoms, such as moving around, going out, having fun all night long, getting drunk in bars, seeing friends, kissing, touching, smelling, tasting, eventually living...
This ordeal that we are going through is, in my opinion, a message that the planet is sending us, a kind of alert to tell us that there are surely too many of us. We take up too much space, we pollute too much, and we produce too much.
In the next few months we will have to live with this, even though it is frustrating not to be able to imagine our future and our lives afterwards. The virus will probably be part of us, we will surely all end up catching it, and we will have to be strong to protect ourselves and behave sensibly without giving crazy.
It's May 2, 2020 and here's where I am and what I think about all what is still unclear to me. We can only make assumptions about what will happen. To be honest I am scared about what will happen next, I am scared for myself and others.
What's sure is that I can't wait to start my adult life and I crave meeting people. Thank you for taking a little time to read my story, it's heartwarming to be able to express my feelings about this situation. Good luck to you, reader.
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Nathan, Montpellier, France