My friends and I had wanted to hang out for a while, but wanted to be safe while doing so. I picked them both up and while wearing masks the whole time, we drove to Newburyport, MA and then walked around. We stopped to get coffee and treats and sat outside. We walked along the boardwalk and continued to talk about stuff for a couple hours. We talked about shows we binged during quarantine, how we felt about online school and how excited we were to be able to go back to living at school eventually (we're all sophomores at different colleges). This picture is important to me because I have missed being able to hang out with my friends whenever I want to, and it took us such a long time to plan how we could all meet up.

On March 13th, 2020, my entire life shut down with the rest of Massachusetts. My public school job closed, my university closed and my life began only existing in the four rooms of my apartment. My time became dedicated to my toddler, I became a stay at home mom, student and caretaker full time. The world around us had stopped completely, or so it felt. Quarantine was in full affect and people were stuck inside for months.Then, almost magically, our communities began to come together. I have witnessed some of the most beautiful things I for so long ignored because of the business of every day life, I witnessed nature and humanity again. I began appreciating the little things again. Quarantine had become a time to reflect, grow and appreciate the world around me. This horrible situation began to blossom into people supporting each other, clapping for the healthcare workers nightly, singing together out their windows, thanking each other. I share this image because I realized in the midst of everything that has been bad about this year, I’m reminded daily that there is always positivity in the world, even when everything around us feels negative.

Collin Mullen talks about his displacement from college in the spring and how his daily life has changed.

Northeastern student, Daniel Blauvelt interviews fellow student Myles Avalon. In this interview Avalon discusses what it was like living in Brookline, Massachusetts when the pandemic hit. He talks about how he felt knowing he was at higher risk due to his asthma and how his family delt with the anxieties and uncertainties that came with the pandemic. Avalon also discusses his feelings towards the was Northeastern was handling the pandemic in comparison to other universities his friends were attending.

This is an interview that I did with a fellow Northeastern student about the pandemic.

Leana Fraifer is an incoming college freshman for Northeastern University. Her experiences this past half year embodies the struggles and uncertainties so many students like her face.

Interviewee discusses her life during the COVID-19 pandemic. She addresses life in Rhode Island, ending her senior year, attending college and family life. The audio recording I uploaded is my classmate's experience with COVID-19.

This interview shares the early-on Covid-19 quarantine experience of Andrew Small, a second-year Asian studies major at Northeastern University. Andrew talks about where he was in the middle of March when universities started to shut down and send their students home, where he went, how quarantine and at-home learning affected his first year at Northeastern and touches upon what his reaction to how the state of Maine and how America responded to the pandemic. He also speaks briefly on how he thinks this will affect the future actions of Americans and what the pandemic has revealed about America. This interview was conducted as an assignment for HIST 1215: Origins of Today, instructed by Molly Nebiolo.

Eric Chapdelaine is interviewed to share his perspective on the COVID-19 pandemic as a graduating senior in a small, private high school and as a current freshman at Northeastern University.

This submission is an interview about the interviewees experiences during Covid-19

Victor Madsen is a freshman at Northeastern University. He went to a high school in Florida, and he shares his experiences since the beginning of the pandemic. Mr. Madsen shares his story about how he was stuck in the Bahamas for a long time due to changes in traveling policies during the pandemic.

This is an interview of my friend Grace who lives in Sarasota Florida, and her experience during the Covid-19 Pandemic

In this interview, Cam Burke, a current freshman at Northeastern University, shares his personal experiences with covid-19. Burke expresses his feelings dating back to the begining of the pandemic, and explains how it has impacted him leading up to today. As a high school senior and rising college freshman during the height of the coronavirus, Burke offers the unique perspective of someone who had to live through the virus during such an important coming of age period of his life.

This interview shows the life of a high school graduate in the middle of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Joey graduated from Cambridge Rindge & Latin School in 2020, missing out on his final season of lacrosse brought sadness, although not the same sadness that people took pity on him for. He found joy in being with his family, especially during his virtual graduation.

This interview is about Isabelle Cincera and the affects the pandemic had on her life as a high school senior. The interview discusses the impacts such as online school and her social life. Isabelle demonstrates a great example of how Covid-19 directly affected the life of a student.

This interview is a documentation of what life was like before the pandemic and how drastically life has changed since. It is also a reflection on our global reaction to the pandemic and a prediction of how life will be altered in the future.

This is an interview with a college freshman and her experience with the pandemic. This mainly covers how the year changed during the 2nd semester of high school, and the resulting summer.

Despite this assignment being for university students, most American’s do not know the realities that students now face during the pandemic; even myself, who is working full-time from my childhood home while taking this course. I can skip Northeastern’s Covid-19 updates and I am completely ignorant of the protocols that on-campus students have to remember everyday, and the consequences that they face if they do not. I didn’t know that NEU had tents set up for outdoor gathering or studying, or that roommate quotas in on-campus housing has remained the same despite social distancing protocols. I hope this interview shows a glimpse of university life and the students sentiment towards university decisions, such as NEU’s very public and controversial suspension of 11 freshman without a refund, as it is not the norm for all of us. That’s why it was a pleasure in getting this insight from Jared, a third year Asian studies major. We learned the most before the recording, by simply getting to know how the coronavirus has impacted our location, surroundings, and day-to-day life. This introduction went well, because it set us up for asking more targeted questions with a storyline during the interview. I especially appreciated Jared’s conversational tone, as it felt more like a re-do of our first conversation than a formal one. I liked being the interviewee for this reason, as it took the pressure off having to keep a natural discussion going. Our interviews went over the time limit, mostly because we were both invested in answering each question thoroughly and thoughtfully, and we realized it would have been very difficult to gain the insight that we had without doing so. However, maybe with some more practice we could have been more succinct.

This interview is conducted by a college freshman who interviews another college freshman about her experiences during lockdown. It covers how she dealt with isolation, how her high school experience had changed, and all the emotions and nuances that came with this strange new COVID-19 reality.

This is an interview with a college freshman and her experience graduating high school during a global pandemic. She shares her story on what it was like choosing a college, graduating, and being isolated from her friends.

Interview goes over Tehya's personal experiences with the pandemic, from graduating her senior year to starting college as a freshman.

Documenting personal experience during the Covid-19 pandemic. A Northeastern University student interviews another student regarding living under the pandemic at home and at the university.

This audio interview expresses Alyssa Fell's emotions and perspective on the pandemic throughout its course from March to now. The questions reflect her opinions and understanding of responses and changes due to Covid-19 in social, political, and financial regards.

Emiko Armstrong interviewed Kate [REDACTED], a Connecticut native, on the impact of COVID in its inception in the United States. They discussed her senior year in high school and Kate’s feelings on how her first year of college is going. They discussed Kate's home life during COVID quarantine, her hopes for the future, and what she thinks might be the lasting historic impact of COVID.

Annie, a university student in Boston, shares her perspective about how the COVID-19 pandemic was handled both when it began to take hold in March and now, as a student who returned to campus with hybrid classes. She also discusses how it affected her living situations, her experience with the Canadian response to COVID-19, and compares her situation to that of her brother's, who also attends university.

Spencer describes the challenges and emotions involving the shutdown of his last semester of high school, as well as his adjustment to college life.

I interviewed Jacob about his experience from December 2019-present (September 2020)

In this interview, I (a Northeastern history student) interviewed one of my peers about his experience with covid-19, and asked him his thoughts about the pandemic as a whole and the impacts that it had on him and his family. This interview helps showcase the thoughts of a college freshman during the pandemic and how life has changed for him and others as a result of the virus, which I feel is critical since all factors must be considered when looking at the covid-19 pandemic historically.

This interview is done between two people who had just met for the first time. It is meant to remember this moment in time and how this pandemic can bring even strangers together.

This is an interview with a Northeastern Student, Trisha Howes as part of our HIST 1215 class. Annie (Anna) Schaller interviews Trisha Howes and asks her about campus closing at Northeastern University. Howes also speaks about her job going to remote and what it was like to be a virtual intern.

Audio interview with Sophia Press, a freshman at Northeastern University. She shares her experience with Covid-19.

Maddison Morris, freshman at Northeastern University, accounts her expirience of learning about COVID-19, it's severity, and how it affected her life as well as how it will shape the future.

I am interviewing Emma Clifford from my HIST1215 class at Northeastern University on pandemics. Emma is from New Jersey so I asked about life and how she adapted to the Covid-19 pandemic.

This interview with Sophia Akhter shares insight into the life of a college freshman and highlights how the Covid-19 pandemic effected her.

Sidewalk chalk art by children seen in Brookline, Massachusetts. The art says "Summer Is Coming!"; "Thank You Doctors And Nurses!"; and "Show You Care By Distancing!"

On May 1, 2020, the manager of Allston music venue Great Scott announced that the club would not reopen. In the days that followed, residents gathered in front of the doors to mourn its loss and share memories. On the blackboard used to advertise each night's bands and set times, someone wrote "The Plan Won't Accomplish Anything If It's Not Implemented," a lyric from the Built To Spill song, "The Plan" (from the 1999 album, Keep It Like A Secret). Built To Spill is not from Allston (they are from Boise, Idaho), but they are a seminal indie rock band and a formative influence for many musicians and fans who frequented Great Scott. The sign also reads "Allston Rock City" and "Thanks!" One of Allston's nicknames is "Allston Rock City."

On May 1, 2020, the manager of Allston music venue Great Scott announced that the club would not reopen. In the days that followed, residents gathered in front of the doors to mourn its loss and share memories. During that period, someone tagged "Allston Is Dead" here, a sentiment expressing frustrations about how the neighborhood had changed over the years due to rising rent, gentrification, and other factors.

One of the oldest performing arts venues in Jacksonville, Florida, is the Florida Theatre, which over time has been an opera house, a movie theater, and a venue for concerts and plays. Even though under Florida law, they can reopen at 50% capacity, the layout of the theater is so small they could only operate at 25% capacity to maintain social distancing. Because of this, they have to remain closed as 25% capacity is not financially viable enough to open the theater. The Florida Theatre is a building rich in local history, and in the past they have stayed open to the public because of the concerts they host. Not only that, it is a major local employer, employing people directly and also contracting work from other local businesses.

Throughout this pandemic, one of the hardest hit groups of people in terms of how much the community wide lock down halted life for the time being, were high school seniors. This picture was taken as a replacement for what prom photos would have been in May. While this might come off as a shallow thing to place importance on, these prom photos we took mean more than just trying to reclaim the high school experience. Of the girls in this photo, four of us are now college freshmen. In our last few weeks together we took every opportunity to get together for lunches, dinner, or drive in movies, things that we took for granted pre-covid. As a result, the pandemic has ingrained in me a very important principle to have: live as presently as you can. I can honestly say that my best friends and I are closer than we ever could have been had our high school experiences not been put on pause for six months. I appreciate their company more, and I believe wholeheartedly that our experiences apart, and subsequently together, have strengthened our bond for good.

In February of 2020, I was a high school senior trying to finish up high school and think about what I was trying to be doing the next school year. By March, the Governor of Massachusetts, Charlie Baker declared a stay-at-home order and I was finishing high school by doing assignments and emailing them to teachers. Then the shut-down really evolved as my high school prom and graduation were both canceled. Well, our graduation was only partially canceled. Six students receiving diplomas were allowed to show up every 30 minutes, with no more than five family members present, and everyone remained socially distant throughout the process. My parents both started working from home and always seemed to be doing something I had not previously heard of, Zoom calls. To get a head start on college, I had signed up for a Summer class at Suffolk University. Amongst other reasons, I had chosen Suffolk for its proximate location to my home, its outstanding science facilities (a brand-new sciences and lab building), urban feel and connections to local businesses, hospitals, and research facilities. Then the class went remote and Zoom meetings became the norm for me. The Politics of a Global Pandemic class involved a weekly Zoom forum with panelists from around the world. Topics varied weekly, but the theme always involved global politics around this pandemic. At first, I figured it would be mainly US politics, since it is a presidential election year. Then we talked about a variety of pandemic's global impacts, economic effects, cultural changes, and how society and political leaders view these challenges. We didn't use Zoom calls in those last few months of my senior year of high school. Then two months later, Zoom became so mainstream that the biggest political convention of my lifetime (to date) was actually held virtually. The title of the article, "The DNC Is the Best Zoom Meeting of 2020—So Far" resonates as it seems like this could be just the beginning. I turned 18 just prior to the pandemic and registered to vote. From what I've seen in online videos of past conventions, were speeches, political endorsements, and balloons cascading from the ceiling of a stadium as a candidate accepts his or her party nomination. This pandemic changed things for me, for global politics, and society so drastically, I wonder when or if in-person schooling and politics will ever be what I saw and experienced over the course of my life. I’m now registered for all virtual classes this fall; and probably more Zoom calls.

At the beginning of my senior year in high school all I could think about was what college, at Suffolk University, was going to be like. I was excited to see a new part of the world, and to get the chance to meet new people. However the covid-19 pandemic changed every thing, and the image of the perfect college experience in my head was met with a stark reality that includes getting regularly tested for a deadly virus, avoiding physical contact with other people, online classes, and signing up on schedules for every day activities such as doing laundry, going to the cafeteria, going to the library, getting the mail, etc. While I am great full that Suffolk has taken the time to put in place all the necessary precautions needed to stop the spread of covid-19, I can’t help but to feel that myself and many others are going to face many challenges that did not exist before the covid-19 pandemic, and miss out on many experiences that we are no longer able to have because of the ongoing pandemic. Even though the my first full semester of college has yet to start, I have already gained some experience in attending class in a virtual setting, through an online summer course. At first I thought taking this course online would be difficult and that I would struggle to learn since I was not it a learning environment and was surrounded by many distractions. While I did sometimes find my environment to be distracting, I did find that over all it was not to difficult to focus in class. What I actually found to be most difficult about the online courses was coordinating group projects with other students. Although group project partners did a great job doing their share of the work, it was still difficult coordinate our projects since we all lived in different states, and were unable to meet in person. Other than this I found my online class to be just as engaging as class I have taken in the past. Though the struggles of online class is not my only concern for this fall semester, instead I’m more concerned that this new social distancing environment will make it more difficult to meet new people and to make connections. Suffolk has gone to great lengths to provide not only safe learning spaces, but also safe public spaces and single room boarding for its students although theses new policy make living in a new place feel even more lonely. To combat this new social divide Suffolk has been creating virtual and in person social distancing events that have allowed students and staff to get to know each other. These events have done a great job at making me feel more apart of the Suffolk community, and have lessened my fears about this upcoming semester. While the covid-19 pandemic continues to bring many struggles and create new challenges for people all over the world, I still believe that I will be able to thrive in college, and that the new challenges brought on by covid-19 pandemic will be met by creative solutions. I plan to continue to strive as a student and as a member of the Suffolk community, and to embrace the new social distancing norm.

It was Valentines Day this year and I just got out of school and was prepped for my last race for my high school track season indoors. I was shocked that my coach gave my teammates and I the opportunity to run at Reggie one last time as we were barely qualified to run the 4x800. Distance running wasn’t something that I could describe as being experienced in however I was deeply invested in the sport as my diet, my routine and how I functioned daily was a mere resultant of it being in my life. At the time I knew a little about COVID seeing how it began to affect New York the most and how Massachusetts has seen a couple sightings of it as well starting to see some cases arise in the Boston area and throughout the state in general. Once my team got to Boston, the meet shortly started and I knew that I had a couple hours to chill around and get myself into the mindset of running well and quickly in my event. I finished my homework and I proceeded to look around the center with my friends just chatting and laughing like normal teenagers would do to pass the time. I got to see one of my best friends beat his personal best in the 1000 meter by large chunks of seconds and I knew that this would be the start of a positive day in the realm of Tewksbury running. My other best friend was able to run under 10 minutes in the 2 mile as he was qualified to get a medal for beating out the last Billerica kid that was in his way(in Track, there was some tension between my town and Billerica due to the proximity of the towns and the competition that they had). After bolstering enough energy to yell at them, I got my opportunity to run. Even though my race was short lived and I was put in a negative mindset for how poor I ran the race and wasn’t happy with my time, I was able to goof off and hype up my other teammates who absolutely killed it in their races. The sad part of it all was how I told myself that in spring I would be able to crush my current personal best in the 800 meter with ease by training. Too bad I wasn’t informed then that my highschool career for track ended there. In April, I reached out to the coach of Suffolk University to talk about my passion for the sport and how I wanted to continue my journey in improving my ability to race hard. Once I heard back from him and got the “ok”, I was pumped and excited because now I know that I can train my heart out for a sport that I love and see myself grow slowly over time. Some of the positives though were short lived as it hit me like a truck when I found out that I had posterior tibial tendonitis in my left ankle. At first glance, an injury such as this seems measly small and could be healed with proper assistance due to icing and stretching but this is my second time getting this type of tendonitis in the same ankle and it took me a little over two months to heal before running again. An added wound to this scar was the fact that I couldn’t cross train in some sort of practice area where I normally can be injured with having the comfort of other individuals surrounding me to forget that I ever got injured in the first place. Running by yourself is a mental obstacle for runners during the pandemic as they need to adapt to now mainly listening to their own footsteps. Being injured at home left me with the image that my teammates are progressing through the summer making the best of this situation and improving as distance runners while I had to chill at home and maybe substitute my daily run for a little more strength. A constant seventy days of that took a toll out of me as that was really the one excuse I can tell my parents to let me get out of the house for a bit. During quarantine and my time off, all I wanted was to goof off again with my friends as we question certain people who may be looking at us funny when we run or decide to run in the trails with nearly getting ourselves hurt. The copious amount of games of spikeball after a practice and the dinners right after runs were drilling right through my mind as the months of May through early July hit. Running is a great stress reliever for me and with the addition of being around people who adore the sport as much as myself, it feels like a second home that I could be myself and be able to progress well in. It made me look back on this Valentines Day and repeat to myself that I took some things for granted which were my passion for the sport in the atmosphere of having other people who love it as much as me and the time spent in general.

My story of the Quarantine is that initially I was kind of excited about the prospect of having an excuse to stay indoors. This is due to the fact that I am a homebody and would rather chill with my friends rather than go to parties. However, one thing that I did not think of was that not only would I be staying home most of the time, but a majority of the rest of my family would as well. When I was younger, having everyone home was not a problem, but now we are all grown up, and we all need our space. Due to Quarantine, getting that space that I wanted was rather hard. It felt like I was having a hard time being able to be alone without someone hearing what I was saying. Not only that, but it was also hard because the conflicts in my family came to become more and more prevalent/ This is due to the fact that things like the college process and transitioning from high school to college seemed to have been made a lot harder. Instead of this Summer being relaxing and giving me room to breathe, it was made into one of the hardest times of my life. The short story titled "I Have Mouth, and I Must Scream" by Harlan Ellison captures how I felt during the pandemic. In the story, the characters are trapped underground and are totally helpless to the situation that they find themselves in. In many ways, I felt almost the same way to these characters. I felt like I was trapped in a place that I felt as though I had no control over anything because it was not my domain. Like the narrator of the story, I too felt as though I had no mouth by the end of it all. This is due to the fact that I am not the best at standing up for myself or handling conflicts. Not only that, but I feel like whenever I would try to argue my point, I always felt like nothing would happen. Even if anything did happen that went my way, it always felt like it was not enough to feel like a victory. By the end, it would just reinforce my unwillingness to speak up for myself or to just let things go and allow them to continue. I hope that I will be able to improve things once my time at Suffolk starts and when this Quarantine ends.

I remember the beginning of pandemic in Boston like it was yesterday. Coming back from work I was worried about everyone’s’ and my own future. I had just started a new job at the restaurant that quickly become empty as people preferred to stay home and not take a risk of getting infected after having brunch. Speaking about myself, I was mentally and financially at the lowest point in last 10 years of my life. I saw myself as a foreigner with no future who has to work 17 hours a day, having two – three jobs just to survive. I was afraid to get Covid, to lose my job, to not be able to pay rent. And then lockdown happened. During the first three weeks I’ve lost my job and wasn’t able to collect unemployment. The level of stress was nearly unmanageable. Every day I was on the phone trying to reach out any representative who could help me. Every day was restless and sleepless, until few events that seemed to be magical happened. Firstly, unemployment benefits were made available to me. The amount was $600 more than I thought it would be and I was eligible for a stimulus check too. For many people in USA it wasn’t much money but for me, it was twice what I had been making by working. It also was proof of my belief in paying taxes. I have paid taxes ever since I’ve been employed and always thought that even though I might not have gotten anything from doing so right away, there would come a time when doing so would help me. So, it did and did so because of unexpected circumstances and at a time when I was struggling more than I ever had. The news got even better for me despite what was go on around me. I received a letter I had been waiting for my entire life that told me I had been accepted to Suffolk University. I have always wanted to go to university so receiving this great news at such a hard time meant a great deal to me. I also received a scholarship to Suffolk meaning I could actually attend. I went through a number of life changing events in a very short period of time and all during a complete lockdown when I couldn’t really leave home for weeks at a time. I didn’t feel comfortable to show off my happiness whilst the numbers of cases and deaths were rapidly increasing. Ethically it was wrong from my point of view. But now, when everything seems to be getting better and there’s a hope to win the battle with Covid-19 I’m happy to be where I am and glad to share my happy-ending story with you.

Like most kids, I had dreamed of the day I would walk across the stage to receive my diploma, but due to COVID-19, the Class of 2020 missed out on that moment. I graduated from high school this year and I experienced my final year with a global pandemic. The uncertainty of this pandemic led to the cancelation of our graduation. My peers and I had to say our goodbyes online and our school made a video for our graduation where they called out all our names. However, we would’ve felt happier to have experienced a normal senior year.

The image above shows the window of the Peaks Island Library, where the town celebrated their graduating seniors with a “Congrats class of 2020” sign. Surrounding the banner are the names of the high schools the students attended. Since the shutdown began just months before my class was set to graduate people all over the state have been putting up signs and decorations to give us a celebration. We had virtual commencement speeches, videos, lawn signs, balloons, and free pizzas that in a way made the year more special than a normal walk across the stage.

The Covid-19 pandemic has effected everyone in all sorts of ways. Personally, it has majorly impacted me with the start of a new chapter in my life; college. My whole life, I imagined starting college on a much different note. I imagined the last few months of high school and my summer as: attending my high school graduation, celebrating graduation parties, enjoying my summer to the fullest, taking trips to the beach, traveling, getting ready for back to school, be at going away parties for my close friends, going on campus for my first day of college classes, and meeting some great new friends at the start of a new journey of my life. Obviously, Covid-19 effected all of this. Instead, my last 4 months of in-person high school was cancelled, graduation was socially distanced, summer had to be spent in masks and socially distanced, and starting college online was the road I ended up taking. Gratefully, I am healthy and living- but this pandemic has majorly effected this huge part of my life, where things were supposed to be exciting and memorable. I will say, this is going to be very memorable, but not the way I intended it to be.

This story tells you how thanks to the pandemic, the opportunity of a summer class has benefited me in many ways and has opened up a clearer first year.

Masks. In the span of just a few weeks, I went from never having worn one before to wearing one nearly every day. As a person with several autoimmune diseases, COVID-19 poses an existential threat to my health. Masks are not just about being allowed in a grocery store, or avoiding the ridicule of others; they are a matter of survival. I have now amassed quite the collection, partly out of convenience- I never want to find myself without a clean one- and partly out of fear. We are now in the fifth month of COVID restrictions, with a distinct possibility of another five or more to come. What if there is another PPE shortage? What if I become too sick to sew my own? So dutifully I collect, buying and making and sharing, just in case. Written by Meghan E. Donahue, incoming junior at Suffolk University.

The story and personal photograph illustrate my experience as a transfer student during COVID-19. This includes the locations of colleges to which I applied and what factors ultimately led to my decision.