On my days off college, I help my mum care for my stepdad. He was diagnosed with motor neuron disease just over a year ago. Sometimes, caring for him means that I have to miss meetings or my voluntary work. But seeing how excited he is when I come over brings me so much joy. The hardest part about caring for him is that because of his condition, his health will deteriorate over time and he’ll get worse progressively, which is hard to witness. I feel that I am making a difference to other young carers by getting involved with Carers Trust. It also gives me some breathing space and time away from caring, which can be emotional.

8am

I get up and make breakfast with a cup of my favourite coffee. Then, I turn on this show I watch every morning on YouTube called Good Mythical Morning.

9am

I have college classes from 9 until 12. Today, I need to prepare for an audition and then take my project class.

12:30pm

College has finished, so I think I’ll help my mum care for my stepdad for the rest of the day. I get ready to make my way to their house before hopping on the bus. To keep myself entertained for the journey, I put my earphones in and chill out a bit.

"College has finished, so I think I’ll help my mum care for my stepdad for the rest of the day."

12:50pm

I’ve arrived at their house, so the first thing I do is make tea and coffee for us all. Then, I sit down with them both and we chat for a bit. I want to know how my stepdad is getting on. One of the best things about caring for my stepdad is that we all get to spend a lot of family time together. I really feel that my caring role brings me closer to him.

1pm

It’s time for lunch, so I prepare some food for myself and offer to make some for everyone else too. I make a simple lunch for myself today - just some butter on toast. Usually, when I visit my mum and stepdad, I’ll do some small chores, like cleaning up and hoovering before relaxing for a bit or helping my stepdad with anything he needs.

4pm

After being at my mum and stepdad’s house for a bit, it’s time to go to the nearby supermarket to do their weekly shop with my mum. She likes to take advantage of having me there to carry shopping for her, so she buys tons of shopping. As usual, I decided to carry around most of the shopping. So I load myself up with around 5 bags and give Mum 2 or 3 to carry.

"Usually, when I visit my mum and stepdad, I’ll do some small chores, like cleaning up and hoovering before relaxing for a bit or helping my stepdad with anything he needs."

4:45pm

We get home and start unpacking the shopping. I fancy another cup of tea, so I make one for both Mum and I. After all that shopping, it’s time to relax for a bit. We sit down in the living room, watch some television together and chat.

5:20pm

I need to quickly pop to the nearby corner shop. My stepdad loves drinking cola regularly, so I grab him some cans of that as well as some other bits and bobs.

6pm

We’re all getting a bit hungry. I usually help my mum with the cooking but today, we decide that we’re going to order a takeaway. We go for Chinese food this time. I have my usual honey chicken, which tastes amazing. After we’ve finished eating, I collect everyone's plates and do the dishes.

"One of the best things about caring for my stepdad is that we all get to spend a lot of family time together. I really feel that my caring role brings me closer to him."

7pm

Our usual evening routine - it’s time to put a movie on. Whenever I come over, we take turns picking the film we’re going to watch. Tonight, it’s my stepdad’s turn. So we all get comfy on the sofa and watch together.

9:30pm

The movie’s just finished, so I pop another show on the TV. Before getting ready to go home, I put the kettle on so I can have one final cup of tea.

10:30pm

I finish up helping my mum with everything for the day, so I phone myself a taxi home. I say my goodbyes and head out of the door into the dark night.

10:45pm

I arrive back at home - thankfully the taxi journey didn’t take too long. Before heading to bed, I put one YouTube video one to watch. I need to memorise a monologue for college, so I go over that a couple of times too. Now that everything’s finished, I have a cup of my night-time lavender herbal tea - it really helps me relax and drift off to sleep quickly.