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Collected Item: “Day in the Life, Post COVID”

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Day in the Life, Post COVID

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text story

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.

Now that it seems the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic is over, it is interesting to look back and see how the quarantine, rules, and regulations have changed our day-to-day lives. For me, I would say that it has changed many aspects of my day-to-day, here is a list of my routine and how it is different from before COVID.
1. I make coffee at home every morning. I hand grind whole beans and methodically use a French press. This came from not being able to get coffee at a coffee place on the way to work during covid lockdowns and closures. This one really is better; I save money and get to have better coffee.
2. I listen to one of the many podcasts I am subscribed to now on my commute to work. Prior to covid, I never really listened to podcasts but started to during the lockdown as there was literally nothing else to do. Again, I see this as a positive. Now I am learning things when I would usually just be listening to the same songs over and over.
3. As I walk into work I check to make sure I have a mask, even though it has been over a month since we have had to wear one indoors. It still feels weird not wearing a mask sometimes and I have little panic moments occasionally when I realize I don’t have a mask on me, then remember I don’t need one. I think that a lot of people experience this same thing. COVID changed a lot for people and many things will be the new normal.
4. My workday really did not change because of covid. Due to the nature of my work in the military, we did not have the opportunity to telework as we need access to certain systems that cannot be accessed from the regular internet. So I think there is probably resentment in there, seeing stories of people being able to work from home and spend more time with their families. Though other parts of the workforce, such as the service industry also did not have the opportunity to telework. I think it will be interesting to see if teleworking stays, I hope it does as it seems to have a lot of benefits that I would like to experience.
5. Another thing I do every couple of weeks is going for a drive. I never did this prior to COVID, but I would do it at least once a week to get out of the house in a way that wasn’t just going to and from work. Even though now I can go places and do stuff, I still find myself just wanting to go on a drive and clear my head.
6. I go home and make dinner. I never really ate out before covid, but my cooking skills greatly increased during the covid lockdown as I used cooking like a hobby, branching out and trying to make a bunch of different things. This was also a positive as now I can make a wider array of meals.
The pandemic has forever changed our lives and though we may not think it, if we go through our daily routine, we can see things that echo that time. Hopefully, we can find that the changes are positive.

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?

Pandemic prompt, HST 580, Arizona State University, day in the life

Who originally created this object? (If you created this object, such as photo, then put "self" here.)

self

Give this story a date.

2022-03-20
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