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Many of us have experienced restrictions on movement and social contact during the pandemic. Talk about any restrictions that have especially affected you.

Back in March of 2020, I came home to Dubai for the start of what we did not realize would be this ongoing pandemic. What I think people in countries like the UK and the US did not realize was how strict the lockdown and restrictions were here in the UAE, and other countries in this region compared to theirs. Something I noticed was that in countries with the strictest lockdowns, (of course strict governments) there was little to no complaining, and then as you move towards lighter lockdowns and less strict governments, the amount of complaining, rioting and fight back increased. The UAE locked us down essentially from March until June so almost a full 4 months. And this varied from half a week where not one single person was allowed to leave their homes while the city was being disinfected to weeks on end without being allowed outside of our homes. People would then argue, "Oh but you're in Dubai it's like you're on holiday", but also something people did not realize is that this summer we had record-breaking temperatures reaching up to 52 degrees celsius meaning being outside for more than 15 minutes was too much to do. It was just a strange feeling because I would wake up in the morning, go about my day with online school and the things that I had to do but it got to the point that I would wake up so many mornings like this that I forgot what it was like to be outside. I felt as though we were participating in an experiment or as if life was like a movie and was not progressing day by day. It felt like the world had paused but we were in this house day in and out doing the same thing over and over. Also the days would fly by weirdly enough so I would wake up early to maintain a routine and get about my day and the next thing I knew I was getting into bed that night. Apart from missing my cousins so much who live in the same area as me, literally a 3 minute walk from me, who I did not see for more than 2 months, I realized how much I missed walking. The day that the restrictions were lifted, I think I went out for a one and a half hour walk and now I have to make sure I walk a bit at least once a day or move my body or I just don't feel good. Personally, there are so many positive things that came out of this experience and things that we learned to appreciate again, even such basic things like walking. Something I was inspired by was the Front Step's project, which was American photographers going to people's front doors and doing a socially distanced photoshoot. The point of the project was to show people at their doors, reminding everyone that even though our doors are closed and we are home we are all there in the same boat as one another and we are closer to each other in distance than it feels like.I decided to create my own version based in Dubai through an instagram page. Because of privacy and strict restrictions I chose to make the portraits digitally drawn based off of photos I had been sent but this was something that kept me busy, and I hope brought about the same feeling of those people being photographed in America to the people for whom I did portraits of.