This was written as an assignment for Paula Flynn's fifth grade class at Franklin Elementary School in Santa Monica, CA. I hope that after covid i can live my normal school, spring, fall, winter, and summer life including: playing with my friends, doing sleepovers, going to the beach/playground, eating at a restaurant with no mask, summer camps.

--Reflections on the Pandemic Archive-- Looking back over my experience with the “Journal of the Plague Year” COVID-19 archive, my prevailing emotion is gratitude. This opportunity granted me experience that few historians earn, and the remote, asynchronous work schedule allowed me to collaborate with my colleagues in ways that maximized our respective contributions. The breadth and depth of our individual experiences and perspectives tremendously improved our collective process and products. I spent enough time in the Arizona State Archives last year to recognize such collections as historical treasure chests, but I have now participated in processing an archive’s content and navigating the ethical dilemmas those submissions sometimes create. Archivists and curators are the history profession’s truly unsung heroes, and their work facilitates society’s perception of itself. My background in police work and public safety drew me to the archive’s existing Law Enforcement collection. In taking on that subset, I succeeded in reshaping the collection’s parameters to now include stories about police and law enforcement. I wanted to diversify the collection to encompass perspective of both the police and the public with whom they interact and serve. While some overlap exists between the Law Enforcement and Social Justice collections, each remains distinct. Through my contacts and writing, I promoted a Call for Submissions to an international audience of law enforcement professionals to reduce their relative silence within the archive. Within the archive’s content, I recognized that one’s location might shape their pandemic experience, and I created and designed an Arizona-based exhibit to explore that. Further research and discussion with my mentors and colleagues ensured the exhibit illustrated these differences without excluding visitors whose diverse experiences could further enrich the archived and exhibited content. I am proud of my “Arizona’s COVID-19 Pandemics” exhibit, particularly because of its compressed, one-month incubation period. Beyond displaying images, data, and stories representative of the diverse pandemic experiences within the state, the ACP exhibit offers visitors numerous levels of interaction and engagement to became active participants and create their own exhibit experience. Visitors can complete opinion surveys, add a story to the archive, explore additional content related to the displayed pieces, view ever-changing results from pre-defined archival content searches, conduct their own archival search, view collective visitor survey results, and apply to join the staff. The exhibit’s searches will include the archive’s future submissions, which reshapes both the exhibit and the experience visitors may have with it. A more detailed explanation of my ACP exhibit may be reviewed here: https://covid-19archive.org/s/archive/item/43037 Because of Dr. Kathleen Kole de Peralta and Dr. Mark Tebeau, I stand prepared to join research, curation, and exhibition teams and immediately contribute to their work products. Despite my gratitude for this experience and the opportunities it presented, I look forward to the day COVID-19 is no longer part of humanity’s daily vernacular. James Rayroux 22 April 2021

While working as a curatorial intern on ASU's 'A Journal of the Plague Year' COVID-19 archive, I created this exhibit on the pandemic experience within the state. In addition to obvious, overarching realities such as socioeconomic status and immediate access to healthcare systems, I initially believed one of the greatest deciding factors that determined one's experience in Arizona was an individual's residence in either predominantly urban or rural environments. The proposed exhibit had been originally titled "A Tale of Two Arizonas" to pay respect to Charles Dickens and the differing realities experienced here. To test my proposed hypothesis, I went about finding data, stories, and submissions that substantiated or disputed my premise. Within a short time, I had identified four distinct environmental drivers of personal pandemic experiences; to me, that indicated the existence of many more I hadn't yet found or had overlooked along the way. My evidence suggested a minimum of four pandemic locales: Urban, Rural, Border, and Tribal within the State of Arizona and its fifteen counties. The recorded health data and personal experiences demonstrated the naivete of my initial hypothesis, and I retitled the exhibit: "Arizona's COVID-19 Pandemics." The Exhibit Background section illustrates the vast dichotomies within Arizona in terms of population density and access to healthcare facilities. Given the virus's respiratory nature, these factors seemed especially relevant to driving diverse local experiences. I chose to include a flyer from the Coconino County Health and Human Services' "Face It! Masks Save Lives" campaign. The flyer included a specific line to "Stay Home When Sick" that seemed to illustrate a different public health paradigm than the broader "stay home" orders from Maricopa and Pima county. This section also features an image of Sedona's red rocks and a portion of The Wave to remind visitors of the wide-open rural areas accessible to all, as well as those with cultural significance to the Native American tribes and limited access to the general public. The next section asks a short, five-question survey in which visitors may participate. The Silver Linings piece features a short audio clip of a father and husband discussing some unexpected benefits of the pandemic. Visitors may explore additional Silver Linings stories and submit their own experience. The Tséhootsooí Medical Center piece seeks to illustrate the different pandemic experience on the state's tribal lands. I hoped to inspire some relevant emotional turmoil for the visitors through the piece's visual presentation. I wanted to create a series of waves with quotes from the medical center's healthcare workers. I hoped visitors' attention would be drawn to the large, bolded key words, and that they would first experience the segments out of sequence because of that. After potentially feeling a sense of chaos, they might settle themselves into a deliberate reading of the texts and find their own order within the experiences provided here. This piece allows further exploration of Native submissions and topics, a review of an additional related news article, and a submission prompt that invites visitors to offer guidance to hospital managers. The next piece illustrates the differences between mask mandates in communities across Arizona. In addition to hearing an audio clip of interviews with mayors and a public health official, visitors can explore additional submissions related to mask mandates and submit their thoughts on statewide mandates. The Arizona Department of Health Services provides zip-code specific infection data on its website, and the wide array of known case infections therein further illustrates potential dichotomies across the state. In working to include and represent this data in a consumable way, I encountered inconsistencies with tribal data. The nation's Indian tribes are overseen by Indian Health Services, a federal public health agency, and it does not collect or report data in the same manner as the State of Arizona or its counties. At first glance, the data would seem to suggest that tribal areas had less severe pandemic experiences than the rural and urban areas, which was not objectively true. I wanted to offer the unedited data to visitors, allow them to drawn their own conclusions, and invite them to offer their thoughts on what potential misunderstandings might emanate from these reporting differences. Visitors may also choose to review the foundational data from this piece, as well. I used the following two sections to offer submission prompts about the visitor's overall pandemic experience as a function of their location, as well as what they might have done if placed in charge of their city, county, or state during this pandemic. A diverse Search section allows visitors to explore additional topics of interest to them. 23 hyperlinks offer pre-defined search parameters. An Advanced Search link allows self-defined research, and a Join The Staff link connects visitors with opportunities to work within the JOTPY archive. A final section asks visitors to provide feedback on the exhibit, its content, and the pandemic in general. Both surveys within the exhibit will display overall results to visitors who participate in them. Through this process, I found incredible amounts and diversity of data outside the archive that spoke to these generally localized experiences, but not that much yet within the archive explained what Arizonans had experienced outside the state's urban environments. I created a call for submissions and delivered it to fifty rural entities that might help support the effort to collect and preserve more rural Arizona stories. Between all the local libraries, historical societies, museums, small-town mayors, and county health officials to whom I asked for help, I am optimistic the archive will better represent all Arizonans in the coming months and years. Despite the exhibit having been created, I ensured its internal search features would include future submissions and allow the exhibit to remain relevant long after its release.

During March and April 2021, I created an online exhibit from content within Arizona State University's "A Journal of the Plague Year" COVID-19 archive. Entitled "Arizona's COVID-19 Pandemics," the digital exhibit contained images previously submitted to the archive, along with several copyright-free images I found on pexels.com. I have attached all these images. Listed by their order of appearance within the exhibit, their sources are as follows: 1- "Face It" Campaign flyer: Coconino County Health & Human Services ( https://covid-19archive.org/s/archive/item/42998 ) 2- Red Rocks, Sedona: Courtesy of Gregory Whitcoe via Pexels.com 3- Online Learning: Courtesy of August de Richelieu via Pexels.com 4- Tséhootsooí Medical Center staff: Courtesy of FDIHB Marketing Department and Navajo Times newspaper ( https://covid-19archive.org/s/archive/item/41189 ) 5- Arizona's Mask Mandate Map: created by Sarandon Raboin ( https://covid-19archive.org/s/archive/item/26267 ) 6- Arizona COVID-19 Infection Zip Code Map: Courtesy of Arizona Department of Health Services ( https://covid-19archive.org/s/archive/item/42035 ) 7- Woman Shopping: Courtesy of Anna Shvets via Pexels.com 8- Woman on Rural Arizona Road: Courtesy of Taryn Elliot via Pexels.com 9- Masked Woman in Crowd: Courtesy of Redrecords via Pexels.com 10- The Wave: Courtesy of Flickr via Pexels.com (this image is found only in the PDF submission of the exhibit, not in the public-facing exhibit itself due to document formatting technicalities - the PDF version can be found at https://covid-19archive.org/s/archive/item/42998 )

Wanting to see the grandkids, my in-laws stopped by. They live about 45 minutes away. Everyone was outside, keeping about 6 ft apart with masks on while the kids played.

My daughter turned five on February 19, 2021. We had no family or friends over to celebrate. We had individual Zoom calls with each set of grandparents & a Zoom birthday cake celebration with all of the aunts, uncle, cousins, a great aunt & grandparents late in the evening. People sent their gifts ahead of time. She opened them throughout the day. We gave our daughter her birthday gifts, too. This particular photo is showing virtual Bingo. One set of grandparents sent over a Bingo card set & they had a copy of the same one. We played the game virtually. My daughter had a lot of fun.

Conversation with Kristina Erickson an Arizona K-12 educator. Ms. Erickson weigh-ins on the March 15th executive order, in-person instruction, COVID protocols and procedures, and the future of education in her community

This article comes from the perspective of educators who struggled with teaching students remotely, and includes statistics referring to students who had technology/situational issues that affected their work.

This article addresses the divide between students who had easy access to technology/digital skills during the pandemic, and how it came into play in regards to grades

This link provided showcases the severity of the pandemic's effect on children's mental health and it becoming the next "wave" in the pandemic

This link provided explains how the pandemic is affecting the development of children.

This is an article that provides an inside on taking care of a newborn during the pandemic.

For the past year, my husband has been the only one to do errands to keep the risk low. Anytime he went out, he showered and put his clothes in the laundry. No one has stepped foot inside our house in over a year. It may see extreme, but more than once during COVID, Southern CA was the country’s hotspot. We have been extremely cautious, and with both the death rates and people within our own circle who weren’t cautious getting infected during the winter spike, I do not regret our decision. Now numbers are thankfully declining and, even more significant, my mom (who lives with us) has received both doses of the vaccine and my husband and I should receive our second doses next week. Slowly, our lives will hopefully be able to open up a bit. But the moment captured here reminds me that the shift may not be as easy for our kids. My son, who hasn’t had a play date or left this street in months, flattened himself against the wall and refused to move when my mom came back from a Target curbside pick up. She didn’t even get out of the car but my son was terrified that she’d give him COVID. It’s going to be a long process to make them feel safe again.

The pandemic has created an increasing issue in employment rates, and those with children to care for have continued to struggle. "Black and Brown women have lost the most economically, and women in general have been forced to leave the workforce." These women are forced to sacrifice even more just to have basic child care. Hopefully, the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) can help financially support these families and services with "nearly $4Billion in child care funding" headed California's way. These funds are being split into two categories. One is towards the child care industry (including staff salaries, safety practices, and supplies), while the other is towards families and child care providers. The legislators are aiming to provide more equal policies and services to all Californians. It's in no way going to solve everyone's child care problems, but it's a start.

"Gone are family-style meals and snacks where children serve themselves. And no more sharing toys." If it sounds grim to you, it sort of is. Children are having to stay six feet away from one another just like any other person. The difference is that a lot of these children are still far too young to understand why. Safety guidelines have been provided from the California Department of Public Health, county departments of public health, and the California Department of Social Services. This is in a notable and admirable attempt to grab some semblance of normalcy back while remaining cautious. Some other changes include, but are not limited to, having toys be sanitized after use, physical touch (i.e. hugging) are kept to a minimum, and children cannot play outside (such as the playground structures). A big problem seems to be with the touch, though. A lot of these children, as young as 2 years old, start crying and need some physical comfort. Although some of these new guidelines are straightforward and simple, they're not easily implemented as it can easily hinder a child's development and understanding of the world.

One year ago today, Thursday, March 12, 2020, I told my students in my usual snarky tone that they should all come to test corrections after school because they had nothing better to do - all their activities were cancelled. It had been a wild 48 hours - not only had all school activities, sports, and extra curricular been cancelled, the NBA shut down, March Madness was cancelled, and the UC campuses has announced online classes through the rest of the year, which we found like a shocking overreaction - the rest of the school year?! During after school test corrections, Disneyland, within walking distance of our high school, announced they were closing the next day. One of my students yelled out “Mrs. Jue, your birthday!!!!” because my birthday was the next week, and everyone knows I go to Disneyland every year on my birthday. (And once a week, again the park is within walking distance). I replied with “guess you know what my family is doing tonight!” And we did go, for what was the last time. It still wasn’t serious to us, although it should have been. I think we were all in denial. One of my students jokingly said “hey, if we can’t be in groups larger than 30, what about now?” There were 50 kids in the room. Remember that we didn’t know it was airborne yet, so I figured if we just all washed our hands and didn’t touch our faces, it wouldn’t be an issue. I was far more concerned about door handles and papers than I was about the air circulating in the room. Even picking up my daughter from gymnastics that night a year ago, her coaches were not concerned at all that State Championships, which were supposed to happen in three weeks, would be cancelled. That was the last time I saw her coaches and the last time my daughter set foot in the gym. The next day, on March 13, the day started normally - the kids were taking a unit test on World War II. After zero period, I jokingly said “hope to see you all Monday!” By third period, it wasn’t a joke anymore - Los Angeles and San Diego school districts announced they were closing through spring break. I told my third period (not to play favorites, but I LOVED my third period), “they better not close school! Monday is the start of the Cold War!” I had been hyping up the Cold War Era and the domestic movements of the 1960s and 1970s for three months. What can I say? I love teaching that era. I wasn’t sure what would happen, but I really somehow couldn’t comprehend that we would close. Exactly three hours later, one minute after school ended, we all received an emergency text. School was closed through the end of March. Everything was a blur. I called my mom who was picking up my kids. She was already driving home and I just kept saying “they’re doing it. We’re closing. They’re closing all the schools.” Somehow we all thought we would be back in two weeks. In retrospect, that seems insane. So, on a rainy Friday March 13, 2020, I left my classroom in a bit of a panic. Not sure what to grab or do, I came home, recorded an Instagram message to reassure my kids, and started planning a virtual schedule. And the rest is history. Today, one year later, on a sunny, turned rainy, Friday, March 12, 2021, I returned to my room. This time, it was a mix of excitement and apprehension. A week from Monday we reopen. Setting up my room, there were moments I almost forgot about the pandemic, I missed being there so much. 16 years of teaching, plus four years of high school means I have literally spent half my life at that school. Then I saw the reminders all around me. No tables (I have always had round tables of four for group work - they’ve been replaced by desks). Plexiglass. Signs warning to wear masks. Hand sanitizers (okay, that one’s a nice addition!) Outside, little circles for kids to stand on to ensure 6 feet of separation. A digital thermometer. Testing my technology, because even though I have to come back in person, 75% of my students have opted to end the year via distance learning. All classes will continue on Zoom. Essentially, I am doing the same thing I have done all year, but instead of logging into Zoom at home, I’m logging in from my desk at school in a mask. There will be some periods that I have TWO kids physically in the room with me, logged into Zoom, and 32 kids logged in from their homes. It is a strange solution, motivated in large part by the governor’s announcement that school districts that don’t open for in person by March 31 lose a huge amount of funding. We’re a low income area, we need the funding, I don’t blame the district for caving. I am also glad our district allowed the community to choose the option for learning that best matched the needs of their families. Still, it is very strange to try and imagine what the last two and a half months of the school year will look like. It’s been a long year. I am hopeful that we are on the trend to having healthy communities again, but if this year has taught us anything, you never know what tomorrow is going to bring.

If there’s anything I learned in the last 8 months, it’s that the world is a very uncertain and chaotic place. A week before quarantine, spending a quiet week alone for Spring break, was all I wanted in life. 9 months later and another quiet week could potentially be lethal. Even though life has been crazy and online school drives people mad, one thing I’ve managed to pick up and get into the habit of is working out. Everyday, no matter what it is, I set aside an hour and a half to at least stand and go on a run or do any form of exercise. Not only is this good for my body, it’s a great stress reliever from a long unstable day of online school, a great time of reflection and a great way to clear my head from the day. Even in the most chaotic of days, and even on days where I have a lot of work to finish, I spend an hour to clear my head, and most times, after a workout and warm shower, I become more productive than ever. I enjoy working out as it is a great way for me to have something to control when the world around me is changing in the blink of an eye. Me four years ago would’ve never expected or predicted that, I would enjoy losing my breath and being sore from my neck down on a daily basis. Not only does it feel like I have control over my life, but working out has become a hobby of mine, acting as a goal I can achieve in the background subtly while dealing with school and life as a 17 year old.

Here lies a photo of my monitor, which I believe represents my current experience as a junior in high school. Pictured on the monitor is classwork, the bane of many students going through distance learning. It connects to the pandemic as most, if not all, students are being forced to go online to complete classwork and connect to Zoom classes as we suffer through our teen years. The internet is where many have come to meet new people, find answers, and much more, which all starts through our electronic devices. Personally, my devices have kept me sane since the pandemic first struck, but also became a major source of anxiety. This miracle holds numerous games in which I can release my stress and anger through, such as Valorant and Minecraft. In addition, it allows me to communicate with my friends through Discord, something that most teens utilize. However, it is where I sit for hours starting from as early as 7:30 am, to as late as 3:00 am, just for school. This may not be the healthiest thing to do, especially since all of this occurs in my bedroom, a place that used to be my haven. What was initially my safe space became a source of a multitude of emotions, such as stress, anger, joy, and much more. There is no longer a true feeling of comfort in any place I can think of, which really is the most disappointing part of it all. But, it’s just part of being a quarantined teen, right? During this quarantine, I believe I have changed for the better in most aspects, though my mental health has reached the lowest point it has ever gone. I’ve made so many new friends, something that I believe is somewhat hard for me, so I consider it a significant accomplishment. Most importantly, I have learned to prioritize myself. Although I’m not quite there yet, big decisions take baby steps, and thanks to it, I feel like I’m slowly getting better mentally. Unfortunately, I have also lost and drifted from friends, and lost a few people in my life due to the virus. As much as I want to feel sorry for myself, to just cry and complain about the unfairness of life, almost everyone is going through something due to the pandemic, so the best I can do is to stay silent and keep on pushing.

It has never occurred to me that my Junior year of high school would turn out the way it is today. From prom to school dances, those expectations disappeared as the year progresses. However, despite the circumstances, Zoom has allowed me to stay connected with my friends, my teachers, and the people that I volunteered with at my church. Every day, my life revolves around waking up at 6:30 a.m., attending classes, and doing homework for the rest of the day, all of which takes place in my own room, through Zoom. Moreover, as a member and an officer for clubs at my school, meetings and online volunteering all take place online, via Zoom. Zoom, therefore, has been a savior for my Junior year of High School as I was able to meet and stay connected with new teachers and friends, of whom I either have never met or talked to in real life. Each week, my friends and I hold a small Zoom meeting in which we shared our experiences and our academic accomplishments during the pandemic, talking on and on about our experiences and laugh at each other’s jokes. In addition, when the holidays rolled around the corner and with the pandemic rising, it is through Zoom that allows me to meet up with the people that I love and care about, wishing them the best of their holidays and enjoying their companies, and share out stories and things that we each have learned throughout the year. Additionally, during the period of unrest that our country experienced, it is through Zoom and being able to talk to people that I know that helped me to stay sane and calm. This year is also the very first year that I choose to volunteer at a program at my church. Despite the circumstances, I was able to meet up with the people that volunteer with me through Zoom, and instantly we bond and created a small family among ourselves, though we have not actually met in real life. In conclusion, Zoom has truly saved 2020 for me, allowing me to build a connection that is invisible!

Having experienced a full semester of Junior year virtually during a pandemic, I can thoroughly say that it was the worst experience of my academic career. Every day of this semester was the same as the last, and I couldn't decide what new hobby to get into or find fun in the hobbies I used to do. Although I had this feeling throughout the semester, one person always stuck by my side, and that person was Taylor Swift. Taylor Swift is the music industry, queen of pop music, and the reason I love music in the first place. And Taylor's album, "1989," helped me get through my first semester of Junior year. Nothing brought me more happiness than listening to "Shake It Off" after feeling I had just failed all my tests for the week and then walking throughout my house as if I were a model while "Style" playing. I know it seems that I have been a die-hard Swiftie for a long time, but this quarantine was the only reason I discovered my infinite love for Taylor. Every song on "1989" makes you experience every emotion in the world, from feeling happy while listening to "How You Get the Girl" to feeling absolute sadness and existentialism during "Clean," my favorite of the album btw. So this rush of emotions felt while I listened to "1989" perfectly summarizes my experience during my first semester of Junior year. :)

Throughout the whole COVID ordeal I have been seperated physically from my friends and family. To compensate the lack of physical interactions with other during this pandemic, we've used Discord an online voice group chat to keep ourselves social. Discord has helped us remember that we aren't alone during this pandemic. We're able to play games, watch videos, and talk to one another one this service. Discord I feel what I feel helped me currently get through this whole ordeal.

During quarantine I’ve had a lot of spare time, but wasn't completely sure how to spend it. Most of the time, when I’m not busy with school work, I’d watch Netflix, but that got pretty boring after a while. Recently, however, I’ve picked up a paint brush, a canvas, and some paint and have started painting. I’ve always loved art but constantly found myself making up excuses and never setting aside time to actually paint. These past months have helped me reflect on myself and realize there are more things to do than just sit around and be sad about the current situations in which I have no control over. It's important during these hard times to find something that makes you happy, even if you are not the best at it, so that life in quarantine is a little easier. Even if I would have never thought in a million years the majority of my junior year in high school would be spent inside my house I consider myself lucky as my family and I are healthy and safe. Despite not being able to see my extended family and celebrate holidays or birthdays with them there's always a way to make the most with the people you have. For my mom's birthday, since I couldn’t go out to buy her anything and don’t own a credit card to buy something online, I had to figure out how to give her a special gift during a pandemic. My new found happiness from painting was that special thing, and so I decided to paint my mom a scene from one of her favorite movies “The Karate Kid”. Finding something I enjoy really helped me cope with the instability and unexpected changes during this pandemic. It gave me both a hobby and goal, as I’m motivated to get better at painting.

The item I chose that best illustrates the past six months in quarantine is a screenshot of my favorite videogame, Valorant. Although I could have chosen any other videogame, I decided to choose Valorant because it is the main game that has brought a lot of happiness to my friends and I when we play it everyday during this quarantine. During this unprecedented time because we must stay safe by isolating ourselves from each other, many people have been experiencing loneliness because they have not had an actual, social interaction in such a long time. Fortunately, through Valorant, I never felt any negative emotions because this game has always allowed my friends and I to play together and build a stronger relationship whenever we were done with our school work. The reason why Valorant connects to the pandemic is because it has been a great way for my friends and I to take a step back and escape from reality. Valorant best represents my current experience as a junior in highschool during a period of unrest in this country because as a junior with many AP classes, high school can feel really stressful and tiring at many times, however I have learned that it is important to focus on my mental health at all times. Thus, playing Valorant with my friends has really helped us relax and forget about all the problems in the world for a brief period of time. Furthermore, I see that a lot of students in highschool complain how this pandemic has stolen a lot of our time that could have been spent making memories, however, I have taken a different approach to this because I found that playing video games such as Valorant is the best way to make memories with friends and it has helped me realize that despite the hardships we face during this pandemic, my friends and I will always have each other’s backs.

For this Thanksgiving it was different from others because this year I couldn't have any friends over or my grandparents either. Usually on a normal Thanksgiving my friends, my parents' friends and my family would come over for dinner but this year because of covid that didn't happen. Something the same from the other years that happen would be the food, we had the same food we had last year, turkey, mashed potatoes, and more. I really didn't have to prep this year because we had no one over but I still had to help buy the supplies. This year was very different it wasn't as fun but I still got to spend time with my family.

This year's thanksgiving was not very different from other years. The only difference was that my mom's sister and her family did not come due to COVID-19. Everything else was the same. We had turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, and Martinelli's. It didn't seem all that different this year.

The story is about how COVID-19 has affected the educational system.

Dana Adkins is a Mother that works at a summertime resort. She discusses how the pandemic impacted her job. Also discussed is how her children handled the changes to their routines.

P.E.A.C.E. is an acronym for Partnerships in Education to Avoid Criminal Justice System Entry. The P.E.A.C.E. Afterschool Program, Inc., operates a year-round program consisting of an after school program where children are provided with free homework assistance, social/character development, academic enrichment and community service projects. Ongoing workshops engage cognitive skills that enable the students to say no to gangs. The program is spearheaded by Dr. Fayth Vaughn-Shavuo who sat down with us, and invited 5—which grew to 8!---children to tell their stories. Of particular interest is the words that the children used to talk about COVID. Warren felt it has been boring; Kaymauri was sad that she had to social distance while Fatamata was sad in the beginning of COVID, but is now kind of happy; Jahcai didn’t like that in school there is no more sharing of items/materials; Daniel mentioned being worried and also spending time watching YouTube and eating marshmallows. Jayvien mentioned having to survive and to be careful but not being able to feel anything. Ivrhim felt scared at the beginning of COVID but feels safe now, while Joshua feels annoyed and angry about COVID. Some bright spots: Kaymauri learned how to beat box! In the final interview, Dr. V mentioned the ways in which differences and inequities have been exacerbated by COVID, particularly the dependency upon internet and need to have access for children and everyone in a household. This is particularly a challenge in government housing and situations where there is only 1 device with a parent. Anyone interested in learning more about PEACE, can visit their website: https://www.peaceafterschoolprogram.org/

The Navajo United Way, Inc. received aid from the ASU/Luce Covid-19 Rapid Response project. Community served: Native American (Navajo) Project: Diapers, wipes, water, formula for Navajo children

Our family loves the outdoors. Since the birth of our first child, we have made it a priority to camp at least once each summer. We all look forward to this tradition as a time of togetherness as we disconnect from our busy lives, if even for just a few days. This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, camping looks a bit different. But we decided to roll with it and continue our family tradition. Our first camping "trip" was in our backyard. And it was magical. We played and slept outside for 3 straight days. Our second camping "trip" was in our living room. Due the wildfires ravaging Northern California, we have been unable to even go outside for over a week. The kids were thrilled for this new camping experience. Despite the many challenges that 2020 continues to throw our way, the resiliency and positivity of my children remind me that everything will (eventually) be okay. And, yes, we did enjoy s'mores during our camping "trips."

The COVID-19 pandemic has rocked our world. We face new and unprecedented challenges daily. Amidst the chaos, I am doing my best to remind myself to lean into little moments of joy. I am a teacher with 2 elementary school aged children and a baby. Teaching my own classes, while facilitating remote learning for my children, and caring for a baby is difficult to say the least. Did I mentioned that I'm in graduate school? This past week, just when I felt that it was all more than I could handle, I captured the sweetest moment between sisters. While I can't wait to get back to life and school in actual classrooms, I know there are parts of this experience that I will miss. Moments like this are definitely one of them.

Maya's last day of swim class at the Cactus Aquatic center. I can't imagine what it's like to wear a face mask and swim, especially once that mask gets wet. All the lifeguards and instructors wear masks. It's sometimes 117 degrees when we're sitting on the pool deck and sometimes I feel like I can't breathe in the heat. I wish I could get in the pool, but instead the parents are sidelined. Fortunately, if you're actually in the pool you don't have to wear a face mask. The last class basically involved all the kids jumping off the diving board for half an hour. Were they social distanced? No, but I think we're all leveraging some sort of invisible balance where we try to be careful, but try to keep some activities/normalcy going in our kids' lives. Our next class starts in two weeks and I hope it's cooler. Maya graduated from the guppies class to sea turtles.

I was stuck at my grandparents for a month with my two brothers, sister, cousin, and my grandparents during the start of the first wave of COVID-19. We didn't really do anything but stay inside. When we first got there, we had to wipe off my PlayStation 4, PlayStation controller, Headset, and all of my PlayStation games. When we got groceries, we would wipe them off and let them dry overnight. The worst part about the entire thing was that I had to shut my PlayStation off a lot and had to be off at a certain time. It was upstairs so I couldn't try and play on it at night but I also got up at 8:00am or 9:00am for online classes that didn't even count as a grade.

Everything with COVID is different, there is alot that we need to do to prevent the spread of the virus. The spread is vapid, friends are getting it, family members are getting it. We were under quarantine for quite some time, and we were doing virtual learning. The virtual learning was rough, everyone was unprepared for the situation. Not only was the virtual learning hard, but so was maintaining your mental health. Staying home and not having much interaction with people other than your family is a bit rough. You will want to keep yourself occupied, and that can by with anything, drawing, going for a walk/run, watching TV, cooking/baking. Anything to keep you entertained and active in some type of way. This quarantine has been far from easy but it is what needed to be done for the sake of everybody's health. The world is going to be different for quite sometime now, the masks and social distancing seem to be the new normal for a while. But until that's over with everyone has to just do their part so this can all end faster. Washing your hands, not touching your mask unless you've sanitized, putting your mask somewhere clean when you take it off such as a zip lock bag, and getting a new mask everyday. You have to do your part the right way or it won't work, you'll just be cross contaminating germs and you will end up getting sick.

Over the summer I mostly just stayed at home and went over to friends houses. We started sports in June and it only last around 2 weeks and then sports were cancelled until August. Then it was time to go back to school. I picked to do in person classes.

When first in shut down I made this video for my classroom facebook page.

During COVID-19 for me, as a teenager, staying in my room for almost 2 months was extremely hard and seemed unachievable. I had to manage with a ton of stress and anxiety as isolation was not a part of my natural habitat. However, after some period of time, it came to my mind that I have to find a substitution for hanging out with friends and doing outdoor activities. One of my hobbies and new addictions was going to my mom’s bookshelf and picking out books that have caught my eye. On the image above are three books that made me fall in love with literature and made me open my individual thoughts to myself. Through the words of other authors, I was able to not feel alone and get closer with my emotions and inner beliefs. This kind of activity made me devour myself into the stories and lives of the characters that substituted my isolated life and created a safe place for my imagination and conceptions. I am extremely grateful that I was able to explore this new part of my personality and extend my inner world during such a hard time as the pandemic.

The perfect toy for 2020. For kids who want to imitate their parents, here is the toy for them. Note the earbuds, the laptop with Zoom software, the crying baby on the floor, the snacks, and the wine.

Oral History in which Lee Foster discusses how one teaches shop (Industrial Arts) through online learning, what it is like teaching your students at the same time as your own children, and having a spouse working in a hospital during the pandemic. He also discusses the changes, or lack thereof, in family dynamics during a pandemic all with his easy-going positivity and sense of gratitude for his situation.

This screenshot shows two signs that purportedly hang in an unknown brick-and-mortar establishment that read "Face Masks are BANNED from this Studio. If you are sick please do not enter. #SavetheChidren [sic]" and "The Real Pandemic is Pedophillia [sic]. We do not believe in the Election Infection #SaveTheChidren [sic]" The signs suggest that the Covid-19 pandemic is a political stunt meant to rig the 2020 Presidential Election and, instead, shift the narrative to the problem of pedophilia and child sex trafficking. Though President Trump is not mentioned, observers might get the impression that this establishment, if it indeed exists, supports him for several reasons. Most importantly, there is the suggestion that a global pandemic is nothing more than a choreographed conspiracy to ensure Donald Trump loses the 2020 Election. But the hashtag #savethechildren (misspelled in the signs) has been used to shift the narrative away from the Covid-19 pandemic and toward another problem the country faces, human trafficking. The dismantling of human trafficking networks has been one of Trump's less controversial achievements, one that many believe has been ignored by the news media. It is unclear if these signs exist of if they have been altered for dissemination on social media. Many Facebook and Twitter users have shared the image.

I uploaded pictures as to how the COVI19 has impacted my everyday life. The first picture shows me working out of my room because we are all working from home now and this is the quietest place in my home. I basically do everything from my room now, sleep, work and eat, it really doesn’t feel like my sanctuary anymore. The second picture is with me and my children around the kitchen table. I feel like I am losing my sanity because I now play many different roles such as: teacher, employee, student and mother. It is hard for me to hold everything together nowadays but there is no other option. This is the new normal and we are trying to get better acquainted to it. I included a picture of my children waving to their great grandmother from our truck. In the beginning of COVID19 my children were not able to see their great grandmother because no one knew who may have the virus. We had to quarantine ourselves for about a month before my children were able to see their great grandmother. Me and my children are more appreciative of my grandmother now. We really did not pay attention to how much she meant to us until we weren't able to see her whenever we wanted to. The COVID19 pandemic has taught me to appreciate the things that I hold close to me like my family, friends, health and my job. I am very fortunate that no one near me has been infected with the virus and we are all healthy. I am very fortunate that I am able to work from home, still have my job and a roof over my head. My family is getting used to the new normal and everyday it does get easier. I just hope I still have my hair and my sanity by the end of this pandemic.

In the beginning of the pandemic I was 7 months pregnant and working in an ICU. As things starting getting worse more changes would come on how we operated day to day. Day to day became hour to hour, things would be changing. New policies, then new policies would change. I was also becoming concerned about how the rest of my pregnancy and delivery would be. When the policy came down that all hospital personnel had to wear a mask at all times I started to have a problem. Due to wearing a mask and being pregnant my gag reflex would be triggered and I would get sick. After trying to work for 3 days my only option was to take early maternity leave. So while I was not at work for most of the worst part of the first wave of the pandemic it was still a little unnerving. I stayed in contact with my coworkers and stayed up to date on my unit and the hospital policies. It was not only going to affect my job but also the rest of my pregnancy and delivery. On my last doctors appointment I was sent to labor and delivery to have my baby. I was nervous because honestly who wants to bring a life into a world of pandemic. I feared for the health of my newborn child. Upon admission you have to be tested for Covid-19, it was very uncomfortable! I was lucky to be able to have my fiancé there with me for the labor and delivery but once he left the hospital he was not able to return but only to pick me up from the door. Granted, this was my 4th child and I knew what to expect, it still was sad that he was not able to spend the entire time with me nor were my other children able to come and visit. At least I was able to have previous experiences of giving birth before the pandemic. After giving birth, we were pretty sheltered. No one visited. We never left the house unless absolutely necessary. My newborn son had only left the house to go to the doctor before this past week. I had to return to work so he is now attending a small daycare along with my 2 year old daughter. Their father and I are both essential workers. Having children during this time makes things so much more complicated. Can't take the kids to the store or to any appointments so trying to organize schedules is very complicated. I miss going out as a family. Before the pandemic my family and I would go every where together. Even if it was just the store. We loved just to spend that time together. Now I feel like we are never all together unless we are sleeping, then we are all home together. I pray for the day that we are all able to go out together, take kids to do activities and just spend time all together outside of the home. This pandemic has made me and I am sure many others realize how truly blessed we were and if at any point in our lives things get back to where they were before the pandemic to not take such things as going out as a family for granted.

Children and the pandemic. My four year old daughter does not understand what a pandemic is. She repeats that she cannot go outside or to school or to the park because of "the coronavirus". Her and her siblings, along with children all over the world, have been greatly impacted by this pandemic with no understanding of the ramifications of it's spread. Children have been sent home, isolated, many removed from space places like schools or after care programs. They have lost friendships and socialization. They have lost structure. Some have lost family members. Parents out of work have cost their family food or housing. Adults struggling to cope with their own depression and anxiety has increased children's as well. For me personally all seven of my children have been affected. My son was forced to move home from college and fell into a deep depression. My oldest daughter never walked across a graduation stage or finished her senior year. My fifteen year old with autism lost support services from school. My thirteen year old lost sports and his friendships. My ten year old with epilepsy had medical testing pushed back and then had hospitalizations with only one parent allowed, even had to be taken by paramedics alone to the hospital once. My seven year old with ADHD lost all class structure and intervention programs to help him and his anxiety and panic attacks have grown more severe. And my four year old, pictured above, lost her classroom and her joy from attending preschool daily. The new round of "return to school" virtually is brought with more anxiety and worry that the kids are not alright. The picture above showcases the innocence of a child wanting to explore the world, trapped inside and the slight sadness that this may be for the long haul. #REL101

This summer I was lucky enough to be able to work. Not only being able to work in a pandemic but with kids nonetheless. While the start of summer camp already changed, we were not able to leave our building for outside activities, and only a certain number of kids were aloud for each grade. We soon would progress to everyone above the age of six wearing a mask. While at first the kids did not understand why now they had to were the mask, by the end of summer they were used to it. This was a huge learning experience for everyone, including parents and employees. The employees are to temp check and hand washing before clocking in and doing tons of cleaning throughout the day. As well as making sure they wash their hands as well at the children. Parents cannot come inside, the kids will get temp checked at the door before entering, as well as them washing their hands upon arrival. While working now is scary because you never know what is going to happen these days if I or a coworker is gonna contract it. Every week it's a am I healthy? Are my family and friends healthy? Is my workplace safe? To be honest, working now does feel safe and weirdly so, with the constant cleaning and mask-wearing, I feel as if we are taking all the precautions necessary. God Willing, we will be able to keep this up. It a strange time we live in at the moment and by working it helps keep my mind off the scary reality we face today.

Dear son, I am so sorry you are having to live through these crazy times. You are only three and don't understand why we can't go see your grandparents and your friends. I know that it sucks that we can't play outside and living in an apartment makes it even worse. It will be over some day soon. I am so proud of you wearing your mask anytime we have to go somewhere. I am so glad you're in such good spirts at all times. When all of this is all over we will go and visit family and friends. We might have lost a year but my love we will go on vacation and see our family and friends. Just a little longer and we won't have to wear our masks. Until then my son keep strong and we will get through this.

With Corona, parents have to cope with working from home, providing full time child care, homeschooling, planning, shopping for and preparing all the meals, and all of the household chores. This playset for kids shows how they can act like their parents in these days of quarantine. Children always like imitating their parents. Now they can do that during this "new normal."

Melting Through Time is a drawing by my 13 year old daughter who felt that this depicted how she feels being in lockdown stage 4. I feel that it is an accurate representation of how many people are feeling irrespective of age: trapped, powerless, confused and wondering how to find purpose and maintain their identity.

Hi. Before I share my story I am going to share some other things about me. I play sports, will be graduating in the class of 2021 (-_-) and I study sometimes. Maybe more than sometimes but you get the idea. Well here I am having a normal quarantine life- waking up, eating, sitting down, eating, studying, eating- yeah you know the usual. I do hear stuff about the outside world every once in a while, but not too worried about it despite- the numerous amount of casualties from RONA, hospitals being flooded, countries being ... you get it, the usual- but I WAS calm. Like how could I of all people get corona when I haven't been past my garage in the past few months. Just before this gets going I want everyone to know that I DO wear a mask everywhere. My FAM doesn't mess around. Well fast-forward to the 1 day I interact with civilization outside mi casa on August 6th. This 1 special occasion, the one *** time I stepped foot outside my realm WITHOUT a mask was to get groceries from my grandma who at the moment had a mask on. These groceries were from.......... COSTCO. This is that 1 day I realized on AUGUST 8, I knew that I ****** up. Yes. You're probably thinking something near the realm of me being... well just plain stupid, but it gets even better. Today (August 8) I am starting to realize that I have touched every god dang snack in the cabinet. I may have given my WHOLE family corona-virus. My symptoms seem to be mild but who knows they may get worse as the disease progresses. More importantly I am praying that none of my family members nor anyone exposed to me has been given corona-virus. I'm sorry to everyone going through anything right now. Stay healthy and Stay Safe. No matter what wear a mask, speaking from experience- the consequences can be life threatening- A.O

My girlfriend and I took a trip to Sedona, Arizona, during ASU's spring break this past year. There was a good amount of news regarding the rising pandemic, but it didn't seem to scare us too much at this point. ASU sent out an email stating that classes were under the question of returning after spring break, but we didn't take it all too seriously, thinking this whole thing would blow over as Ebola did. We had an amazing time and enjoyed dining and shopping at all of the fine shops and restaurants in Sedona. We didn't have a care in the world. We just enjoyed each other's company and enjoyed the many sights of Sedona. As we were packing up to return home, my girlfriend's parents called us in a panic that all of the grocery stores surrounding their home were empty or close to empty. There were no paper products, and the food isles were nearly cleaned out. We had not prepared for this at all. We just didn't think that we needed to prepare for Covid-19. On the way home, we stopped at every single grocery store, Walmart, convenience store, and target to find much of the same thing... people by the hundreds stocking up on everything in the grocery store. We got as much as we could and rushed home to consolidate our goods with her parents to find that we needed to make another trip tonight. We barely had anything to prepare for the virus, and that led to a stressful few nights of stocking up as much on as we could find. This marked the start of the panic, but we didn't even know for sure that we should be panicking about the virus. A few days later, the announcement came that school would be going online for the next few weeks. A week after the announcement from ASU, the president shut down the country. This was the start of the quarantine, and it still feels like we are quarantining to this day.

We are living through a historical period with COVID-19, there is no doubt about that. This meme is about a dad who was probably a teenager during quarantine helping his child with homework in the year 2040. He discovers a meme he posted in 2020 has made its way into the history book!