Collected Item: “Our First Trip Out”
Give your story a title.
Our First Trip Out
What sort of object is this: text story, photograph, video, audio interview, screenshot, drawing, meme, etc.?
Photograph
Tell us a story; share your experience. Describe what the object or story you've uploaded says about the pandemic, and/or why what you've submitted is important to you.
My kids and I have not left our street since March due to the continual rise in cases. Despite an all time high and no desire to venture out, my Girl Scout troop needed their cookie prizes and the materials for our end of the year, virtual “Bridging” ceremony. I decided to drop the items on the girls’ doorsteps, wearing a mask, and not actually ring a doorbell but instead text from the safety of my car. Basically, run out, run back to the car. To do so, I enlisted my mom (who lives with us) to drive to lessen the variables for infection. Realizing my kids might want to see the world outside our street, I allowed them to ride in the car. I figured the risk was minimal because I was coming into contact with no one. Both kids have been keeping “quarantine” journals and I found their reflections interesting. My daughter was agitated that so many people we saw were not wearing masks. When we went out, our area had just been re-opened, despite a continual rise in cases. Our state has seen an 80% increase over the last two weeks and, as of today, is re-closing “indoor businesses.” My son, on the other hand, seemed relieved to see that McDonald’s still existed and had an open sign. He told us he was happy everything was “in order.” It makes me wonder what he thought was happening beyond our street. I did stop to take one picture, of our local playground. I was so surprised that every park we passed had the playgrounds roped off. It makes sense, but was eerie to see. I don’t foresee us venturing out again soon.
Use one-word hashtags (separated by commas) to describe your story. For example: Where did it originate? How does this object make you feel? How does this object relate to the pandemic?
playground, childhood, masks, diary
Who originally created this object? (If you created this object, such as photo, then put "self" here.)
Kathryn Jue
Give this story a date.
2020-07-01