This little girl from Phoenix, Arizona, perfectly put into words what we’re all feeling this quarantine. And every word she said was a hundred percent relatable!
Like the rest of us, the coronavirus lockdown has Blake McLennan feeling blue. In a video recorded in March, the 5-year-old ranted about her frustrations over the closing of her favorite places. Four months later, we still echo the same sentiments.
“So we talked to the kids tonight about what’s happening in the world,” Blake’s dad, Ben McLennan, captioned the clip that went viral over the weekend. “#BlakeHaven had quite the reaction! Watch to the end. It ends on a positive note.”
Image via Ben McLennan
The video shows Blake wearing a bib and sitting at a table with a bowl in front of her. The sadness on her face is apparent from the very beginning of the clip.
“Everything in this world has shut all the way down,” she said, her voice shaking. “The ice cream truck is shut down!”
Tears began streaming down the poor girl’s face. It’s clear she’s getting worked up with every passing minute.
“We can’t go anywhere! Not even McDonald’s, which is my favorite restaurant,” she exclaimed.
Image via Ben McLennan
Hoping to console her, Ben said they can still pick up McDonald’s in the drive-thru. But the girl disagreed, responding with “No, you can’t,” eliciting chuckles from her parents.
Ben then explained further. He said they can go to the drive-thru, but she can’t go to the playground. However, that clarification didn’t satisfy the little girl.
“It’s really frustrating!” Blake cried. “If you go through the drive-thru, that’s boring … If you were inside playing on the playground, it wouldn’t be boring.”
Honestly, that’s a good point!
After Blake calmed down, Ben reminded her that the lockdown was for everyone’s benefit.
“But we’re doing it so everybody can be safe, right?” he said.
Image via Ben McLennan
While many were impressed with Blake’s way of articulating her thoughts, others also appreciated her parents’ effort to hear her out and let her express her emotions freely.
Here are some of the Twitter users’ reactions.
“That baby maybe sad right now but she is going places. Wise little woman,” @OverUnderClover commented.
“This baby girl is actually an emotional genius,” @audreyalison said.
“She’s actually so bright. So aware and well spoken. She’s also very in touch with how she feels. Amazing for just 4 years old ! Good job to her parents,” @tinyikoshereen tweeted.
Apparently, what Ben caught on camera that day was only a portion of Blake’s lengthy speech. When spring break finished back in March, he and his wife told their children that they won’t be having school this year. When Blake learned that dance class—her favorite activity—was also postponed indefinitely, she went on a rant for seven minutes. By the third minute, Ben realized that it was too good not to record on camera.
“Blake is always outspoken, but this was something different,” Ben said. “She really took the shutdown hard and needed to verbally process it.”
When he shared the video on Facebook, he never thought it would go viral. Nevertheless, Ben said the experience has been “amazing.” Many people have reached out to them to say that Blake was able to accurately verbalize how everyone was feeling during this difficult time.
Thankfully, Blake has somewhat adjusted to quarantined life since the video was recorded.
“She’s doing great. The whole family is doing well,” he said. “It’s been an adjustment. We’re all at home all the time. We were a taxi service for dance, drama, baseball, jujutsu. Now, we eat dinner together every night and play board games.”
Still, she looks forward to the day when things go back to the way they were.
Hear little Blake’s lockdown speech in the video below.
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