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The Bittersweet Impact of the Pandemic
Title (Dublin Core)
The Bittersweet Impact of the Pandemic
Description (Dublin Core)
March 13, 2020 was my last day as a student at Fairport High School in Rochester, NY, although I didn’t know it yet. I remember that day at school being filled with joking remarks, especially “Happy last day of school!” We discussed whether or not we thought school would close in economics class, and if it did, we came to the conclusion that it would only be a couple of weeks. The next day, I was in the car with my mom when I heard that school was to be closed indefinitely and that my dance studio, which I had been dancing at since I was three, also canceled classes. I started crying and got mad at myself that I took all those moments in the halls and with my teachers and friends for granted, as well as dance competitions and practice. But, I calmed myself down by reassuring myself that it would only be a couple weeks. My mom and I then went to Wegmans to see how empty the aisles were, and I was surprised to find that the cheese aisle was basically empty, and that there was no more toilet paper nor paper towels available. It’s weird looking back on how we weren’t wearing masks yet. The two weeks turned into months and on May 1st, school and dance stated that they were closed for the remainder of the year. I missed out on ball, my last dance competitions, my last dance recital, senior bash, and my graduation. We graduated by watching a poorly put-together slideshow of everyone’s pictures and pre-recorded speeches. Teachers came by and handed us our diplomas. We all drove by the dance studio the day that recital was supposed to be. However, despite these setbacks, I was able to learn more about myself and become closer to my family. My life that was previously extremely busy was put on pause, and sometimes I miss that. I started to paint, I watched a ton of movies that I had always wanted to see, I had time to spend with my dogs and cat, I got closer with my siblings, and I started to become an activist after the death of George Floyd and educate myself on racial inequalities and police brutality. The scariest part of quarantine was when my mother was redeployed to the COVID unit at RGH. She was only there for a couple weeks, but she saw how hectic and scary COVID truly was. She saw people die and not be able to say goodbye to their loved ones. Whenever she returned from work, I would have the front door propped open and the shower running so she could just jump right in the shower, and then I would spray everything with Lysol. Although I became majorly depressed in September of 2020 and I still dwell on the moments that I have missed, the pandemic was able to put my priorities into perspective. The pandemic was able to teach me not to take things for granted, to pay attention to the world around me, to try to make a difference in the world, and to make more time for the things and people that I love. May all those who have passed from COVID rest in peace and my heart goes out to all those impacted.
Date (Dublin Core)
Creator (Dublin Core)
Contributor (Dublin Core)
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Type (Dublin Core)
photograph
text
Controlled Vocabulary (Dublin Core)
Curator's Tags (Omeka Classic)
Contributor's Tags (a true folksonomy) (Friend of a Friend)
Collection (Dublin Core)
Date Submitted (Dublin Core)
02/05/2022
Date Modified (Dublin Core)
02/28/2022
04/27/2022
Date Created (Dublin Core)
02/05/2022
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This item was submitted on February 5, 2022 by Jordyn Rose using the form “Share Your Story” on the site “A Journal of the Plague Year”: https://covid-19archive.org/s/archive
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