Items
Identifier is exactly
5th Anniversary
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2020-03-13
How I got involved with A Journal of the Plague Year
In March 2020, I was working with two other history graduate students on an oral history project of an international non-profit agency. We'd conducted several interviews, and had some scheduled for the week of Spring Break, March 9-13. COVID-19 turned into a real thing that week; the number of cases seemed to be escalating, schools and universities were starting to shut down, all capped off on Wednesday, March 11, with the World Health Organization declaring that a global pandemic was underway. I had an oral history interview scheduled in downtown Phoenix late in the morning of Friday the 13th. I doubted whether the interview would really go forward, but had not gotten the word that it was cancelled. I booked a rideshare to head downtown for the interview. As we were headed down the freeway, a rather freakish thunderstorm started, unusual for that time of year. When I was about halfway downtown, I finally got the word that the interview was cancelled. To not waste the ride, I re-directed the driver to the Arizona Historical Society in north Tempe, where I needed to pick up some things for some other work I was doing. The historical society was open, but there were very few people there. I picked up what I needed, and decided to walk from there across the river to campus, where I could meet my wife and get a ride home. As I left, the storm clouds were pretty dramatic, and I took the attached photo. On my walk I crossed the Mill Avenue bridge and passed Tempe Beach Park. Workers were taking down the tents and other equipment for the St. Patrick's day festival, which the city had just cancelled. I got to my wife's office, and we went home. As it happened, my wife was on her last day before moving to a position at another department at ASU. She reported there Monday morning and was sent home with everyone else in her office by noon. Also, my son was home for Spring Break from the University of Arizona that week, and he never went back that semester. When I got home that Friday, I found that my colleagues on the oral history project and I had gotten emails from Drs. Mark Tebeau and Catherine O'Donnell about a new project, which they were calling "A Journal of the Plague Year." The idea was to start a historical archive of what we could already see was an event of significant historical impact. This archive would come from the contributions of ordinary people, not content selected by archivists. I was happy to jump over to this new project. It gave me a new project for the semester, but above all it was very interesting work on a very innovative project. Over the next few weeks, I started working with the team curating the new collection, which grew rapidly to thousands of items. The number of volunteers expanded beyond ASU, and I found myself working with people from other institutions around the world. That Friday the 13th stands out for me as the day the pandemic closed everything down, but also opened up opportunities. -
2025-03-31
5 Year Reflection
Five years since COVID, and so much has changed. Since COVID, I have: - Obtained my driver’s license (July 2022) - Obtained my MA in global history (May 2022) - Started working as a behavioral therapist (May 2023) - Became an aunt (July 2022) - Had my grandma on my dad’s side die (January 2022) - Had my grandpa on my mom’s side die (October 2023) - Been married five years to my husband (we married in May 2019) These are all just some personal events that have happened. That said, some things have stayed since COVID. One thing I really notice are people being more willing to call off work and school more often if they feel sick. I myself have had to call off work a few times due to illness myself, and because I work with such young populations, I want to make sure they don’t catch whatever I have. I’m glad my job is pretty okay with calling out sick when needed, because some employers will still pressure people to come to work sick. Speaking of illness and sickness, my dad (who is a doctor) has been glad he doesn’t have to wear full PPE anymore for work. I remember him telling me he got sweaty so easily. COVID has still affected the medical industry a lot, as there is still a doctor shortage for the amount of care needed. My mom, who has a history of working in special needs education, has said that she has noticed kids being behind socially and academically due to lockdowns, and this being especially detrimental to their development. The kids would sometimes lack access to computers to do work, especially if the parents had to work from home and there was no computer available. Sometimes, I believe schools provided laptops for COVID (happened with my youngest sister), but I’m unsure of how well funded other schools were for that. When it came to social skills, my mom described lots of regression in those areas (such as difficulty interacting with peers). One thing that has really come back to normal since COVID are people dining in large groups again, in close proximity. I remember my first anniversary that was during COVID, and the dinner experience then was so much different than today. I remember having to make a reservation (they were mandatory), all the staff were masked, the capacity was limited, and tables were spaced far apart from each other. One perk is that it felt a bit like private dining, but I’m also glad I can now just walk into any restaurant without having to go through all those steps. At the time, I felt like lockdowns would last forever, but looking back, it wasn’t as long as I thought it would be. Eventually, businesses had to open up again in order to make enough money. Speaking of business, the economy still hasn’t recovered well since COVID. The record federal spending in 2020-2022 (some of it COVID related), has made economic recovery slow down. Industry needs to be brought back in order to keep things functioning. There have been political changes too since COVID. When COVID started in November 2019 (lockdowns didn’t happen until March 2020), Trump was president. Then from 2021-2025, Biden was president. Honestly, I think being president during COVID would have been tough on anyone, and the response to it both affected Trump’s and Biden’s presidencies. Trump’s approach was to keep lockdowns for 1-2 months at its highest, then open up businesses again to prevent economic disruption. Biden, on the other hand, had a policy that expressed more caution, and encouraged lockdowns to last longer (in addition to masking). Ultimately, it was up to the governors of each state to decide when lockdowns ended. Doug Ducey, the then governor of Arizona, kept lockdowns until around early 2022. Other states, like Florida, opened up as early as the summer of 2021. Ohio, a state I used to live in, also opened up in the summer of 2021. Overall, most states were fully opened by 2022, and 2022 was the year I could go to the Renaissance Festival again (the last time I went before that was in February of 2020 before lockdowns). The state of emergency had to be lifted for the fair to happen again. Culturally, there’s been a big shift since COVID. Celebrity worship being looked down upon is probably one of the biggest changes I’ve seen. At a time where people lost their jobs, were under lockdown in small apartments, and had tight finances, you had a bunch of celebrities in this viral video singing “Imagine” from their mansions in order to help people cope with lockdowns. It understandably was seen as tone deaf, and ti me was the real beginning of the end to celebrity worship that was present in the 2010s. Also, celebrities now have to compete with influencers to earn money, so you see a lot more celebrities launching brands to maintain their income. Some of the brand attempts have been more successful than others. Additionally, way more celebrities are on apps like TikTok competing for attention, and that loses some of the mystique celebrities maintained prior to ubiquitous social media. Overall, I would say that COVID has had a great impact on so many aspects of life. I’ve gained a lot more skills since COVID, and now can say that my work history looks better than before. It really helped that I was able to take care of elderly during COVID, because if I worked in most other industries, I may have been out of a job. For that I will always be grateful. I’ve also learned that I need more social interaction in my everyday life to stay mentally healthy. I don’t need a ton, but the lack of it during COVID really brought my mood down. Even today, I’m still happy when a cashier wants to talk to me. I now cherish my social interaction more since COVID. Learning to drive during COVID has probably been one of my biggest life changes though. It helped me get the job I have today, in addition to being able to do the grocery shopping myself, in addition to getting myself to appointments. What I want in the next five years is to be a mom, and hopefully that will happen. Parts of my life did stop, but since I kept persevering, I’m not as “behind” on life as I think I am. -
2025-03-15
Reflections on Five Years After Lockdown
Looking back five years later, I realize there were aspects of lockdown that I actually enjoyed. I appreciated the slower pace of life, the daily walks along Tempe Town Lake, and the sense of escape they provided. True crime podcasts became my constant companions, keeping me entertained and distracted. One of the most meaningful experiences was working on the COVID archive, where I bonded with a class of history MA students. Through Zoom, we shared both endearing and difficult moments, forming connections that were unlike anything I’ve experienced in my teaching career. At our last meeting, several of us teared up—it was a moment of shared vulnerability that still stands out. But there were plenty of downsides. I developed a habit of drinking when I was bored, sometimes finding myself hungover during the workweek—something I wouldn’t have typically done before. I also slowly gained weight, which was frustrating. On top of that, I learned I had severe anemia, and by the end of the day, the fatigue made everything harder. Thankfully, I’ve since made changes. I now limit drinking to social outings, rarely drinking at home or alone. Surgery helped address my anemia, and I’ve managed to reverse the pandemic weight gain. One of the most important conversations to come out of the pandemic was about mental health. My baseline happiness felt like it had bottomed out after lockdown, and it took real effort to rebuild. Starting therapy was a turning point, giving me the space to work through the big picture. Looking back, I’m just relieved that I found my way back to my version of normal. The pandemic also reshaped my daughter’s early education. I remember pulling Maya out of school and deciding to homeschool her. I had been so excited for her to start first grade at Kyrene del Norte’s bilingual school, but the reality of online learning was overwhelming. Sitting on Zoom for 4–5 hours a day was too much, and like many parents, I found myself half-working, half-listening in her bedroom to make sure I caught any important announcements. When Maya’s teacher scolded her for going to the bathroom, she started saying things like, “I don’t like school or learning.” That was a red flag. As an online educator myself, I knew even adults would struggle to stay engaged on Zoom for that long—much less young kids. I spoke with the principal twice, and while I understood they were doing their best, I knew we couldn’t endure a full year of drawn-out virtual classes. So, I pulled her out and homeschooled her for a while, following the Blossom and Bloom curriculum. Even now, I still worry about the gaps in Maya’s learning, particularly in math. Despite my best efforts, I wasn’t the strongest math teacher. She’s now in Mathnasium, which is helping her build a stronger foundation as she moves toward middle and high school. The long-term effects of pandemic schooling are something I still think about, but I hope the steps we’ve taken will help her in the years to come. Five years later, the impact of the pandemic still lingers in so many ways. But in reflecting on these experiences—the struggles and the small victories—I’m reminded of how much resilience and adaptation it took to get through. -
2025-03-14
5 years on
Just wanted to submit one more time. I spent two years working on JOTPY as part of my ACLS Emerging Voices fellowship and it was two of the best years of my life despite the world having been put on pause by the pandemic. Due to the pandemic, my job prospects were nil after graduating with my PhD in 2019. But I found a home at JOTPY and ASU while I worked on the archive and taught courses for SHPRS. After two years I moved on and found my tenure-track forever job at Saint Leo University outside of Tampa FL. I’m so grateful for my time with JOTPY. It was right there when I needed it and I think a lot of other people felt like that too. Signing off!!! -
2025-03-03
Five Years Later
A few things come to mind when I reflect on the pandemic of 2020. Toilet paper still seems to be one of my top thoughts. I quickly think about my family and how we were lucky to be spared. My husband was an essential worker, I was a student finishing up my masters degree and had a five and a two-year-old. I can’t say life was “normal” because of social distancing, masks, limitations on where we could go and what we could do. My oldest started kindergarten through a computer screen, there was new information (and disinformation) almost everyday and I can’t forget the civil rights protests that flooded every day news channels. What stuck to me was all the talk of a “new normal” while we were in this whirlwind. Looking back now it’s interesting to step back and realize that this, today, is that “new normal”. The masks are gone (some still wear them by choice) the toilet paper is back, and life just carried on. The biggest lesson learned is one I hope we can all agree on, one I hope we all share. Life is fragile. We’re here today and gone tomorrow, we should stop and savor each and every moment. Covid taught me to appreciate those around me because we never know when our time is up. I learned to be more compassionate, I owe that to the amazing Kit Harrington. Kit collected an amazing array of stories from peoples from all walks of life (if you haven’t taken a moment ti check that out, you totally should). The stories of all those people still affect me today. As different as everyone is, we always have something in common. I will always cherish the hours I spent listening to each and every one of those stories. My hope is that everyone takes a minute to reflect on their version of “new normal” that we remember the compassion we had for one another in a time when we weren’t sure what tomorrow would bring. The picture attached is one I just took, in a beautiful coffee shop enjoying my new normal. -
2021-08
Five Years Later
Yesterday during class, I was rummaging through my backpack when I found this Community of Care Kit that I was given in the Fall 2021 semester of my freshman year at Arizona State University. As of now, I am in my last semester at ASU and can't help to feel bittersweet when looking to the past. My last two years of high school and first semester of college were defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, and now the world has seemed to returned to normalcy. I'm glad that I still have this Community of Care Kit as it holds much historical significance in showing what life was like during the pandemic. On a personal level, this kit reminds me of a time that seems so different to what life is like now, and it also holds strong memories of my first year of college. Five years later, I now look at the COVID-19 pandemic and recognize the positives it brought, such as spending more time with my family and growing into young adulthood during this time. -
2020-05-23
Disturbing Neighborhood Walk
An Instragram story of a photo I took on a walk in London during lockdown. The streets were almost always empty. -
2020-03-14
Andrew and Ricky at Singing Beach in Massachusetts
On Saturday, March 14, 2020, my partner Ricky and I drove up to Singing Beach, in Manchester-by-the-Sea in Massachusetts, from Jamaica Plain (a neighborhood in Boston) where we lived. It was pretty clear things were going to shut down for a while (who knew how long, or even what that really meant!). This felt a little like a last breath of fresh air before everything changed. I love this picture of us, and am so glad I had him beside me through the pandemic and beyond. -
2025-02-19
Fifth Anniversary of JOTPY email
An email was sent to JOTPY collaborators on February 19, 2025 requesting they submit one more item to the archive prior to the Share Your Story form closing on 3/31/2025. The email was sent to over 250 people. The list was created by gathering emails from the JOTPY slack channel as well as the list of partners collected throughout the project. Some emails were undeliverable, likely due to students leaving/graduating or other moves over the five year period.