This Is What Happens When A Global Pandemic Lands Just As Your Ambitions Are Taking Off
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The global coronavirus pandemic has led to full or partial lockdowns in more than 100 countries worldwide, putting the lives of billions of people effectively on hold.
For thousands of people it has come with personal tragedy and irretrievable loss. For others, it has led to a revaluation of priorities and appreciation for social connections. For many, it has felt like being kept on hold with no end in sight.
But for some, it came just as they were about to embark on a transformative change – one that may have taken years or decades to build up to, only for the outbreak to bring their long-awaited ambitions to a screeching halt.
HuffPost UK spoke to five people who were on the cusp of embarking upon long-awaited ambitions just as the pandemic hit.
The entrepreneur
Carla Brown, 31, left her job at a London agency in December to start her own fashion interior design company.
She had moved to the capital in 2015 to get enough experience to “be my own boss” and because she felt her home town, Belfast, had “no opportunities”.
“At the start I felt so optimistic and really passionate,” she told HuffPost UK. “I thought: ‘If I don’t do it now I’ll regret it.’”
When the country moved into lockdown, opportunities almost instantly dried up.
She said she was “scared” but recruiters reassured her that things would get better. They were wrong.
The outbreak has, in her words, “definitely f***ed” her ambitions.
Instead of devoting her time to exciting projects, she has been forced to claim Universal Credit while she scours job websites for basic freelance work “to just survive”.
“My main aim for now is money to pay rent instead of following my dreams,” she said. She worries small retailers will go bust as a result of the pandemic.
“It’s hard to be optimistic at a time like this,” she admitted. “Mentally it’s just a constant battle...
