The first episode is an introduction to me, the podcast and I also share my testimony. I thought that this was the best place, to begin with, a faith-based podcast. I’m going to be sharing all the things that I’ve been through since becoming a Christian as well as all the other struggles I come across along the way.

It seems like I have now been here forever and at the same time, not long at all, which seems weird.

My anxiety was very high for the majority of the first eight months at my new job due to changing jobs as well as the ongoing pandemic. Fortunately, my anxiety has now lowered as I’ve been doing a lot of work on it, at work and at home.

As a kid I wasn't the most outgoing, I was shy and quiet. I had a few friends but as I moved around a lot due to my dad being in the army, we never managed to stay in touch. This was the days before the Internet, social media and mobile phones. To stay in touch we had to write letters or *gasp shock* call people and actually speak to the other person at the end of the phone line! I mean. The horror!!!

Late last year, I was asked by one of the pastors at my church if I would share my testimony as part of a message where it would be an essential part of it. I said I would think about it as it involves domestic abuse trauma from my past that I'm still working through.

Christmas for most people looked very different in 2020. It was my first ever one entirely in my own home and also the first one where I didn't see any of my family in person because of the COVID-19 government guidelines here in the UK. My mum is classed as vulnerable so I stayed away in order to help keep her safe and healthy. I usually spend a couple of days at her house from Christmas Eve until Boxing Day. So, as I was unable to do that this year, I decided to make my Christmas as special as I could.

I noted in my journal this morning that it's going to be really strange once we are allowed out more. In the last four weeks of the lockdown, the only people I've talked to in real life are; my housemate who's been away since the first week of the lockdown, a couple of my neighbours, the people on the till at the supermarket each time I've been, a couple of delivery drivers and I think that's it. Usually, I speak to dozens of people during my day at work, so the drastic drop of in-real-life human interaction has been hitting me hard.

We are heading officially into week five of the UK lockdown, but it's my week six as I had the week off work the week preseeding it. The new lockdown ends May 10th and that week the government under advise from the specialists studying the virus and its path etc. will assess if it needs to carry on any longer or what steps need to be taken.