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Collected Item: “My Keys to a Year in Isolation”

Give your story a title.

My Keys to a Year in Isolation

What sort of object is this: text story, photograph, video, audio interview, screenshot, drawing, meme, etc.?

photograph of three keys

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.

Starting on March 9, one university email followed another; the rapidly spreading pandemic meant that campus residents like me had to immediately find new housing. Unhappy and depressed with my dorm, I was actually glad at this chance to move. As soon as March 11th, I was already searching for a new place to live. Though I was relieved, I basically had to abandon my end-of-term schoolwork to secure an apartment. This came with consequences and I ended up taking three incomplete grades.

I signed a lease on March 21, 2020. A year later, COVID-19 continued to spread and I recently renewed my lease.

From top, these are my mailbox, unit, and building keys to my ~220 sq. ft. Chicago studio. 

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?

#DePaulHST269, #Chicago, #Apartment, #Uptown, #Studio, #Moving, #Keys, #College, #Stress, #Housing, #Student, #Lease, #Isolation, #LivingAlone

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

Reina Ashley Nomura

Give this story a date.

2021-02-18
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