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2020-12-08
My Personal Experience Turning 21 During a Pandemic
This collection item not only symbolizes my personal experience of turning 21 during a pandemic but it also demonstrates something significant about my generation under COVID. I was one of the many 1999 babies that experienced this milestone birthday during the pandemic. This photo is to remind that I was not the only one who had to celebrate this birthday in my kitchen and that I was not the only one who couldn’t go out to a bar and take shots with random people. This pandemic has brought about a lot of unexpected things to many people. Turning 21 during COVID times and having an impromptu celebration during it is something that I think is important to document and remember, not only for my generation but for everyone. Looking back on the unexpected and homemade 21st birthday celebrations that people had this year will be something to cherish one day. These kinds of stories are also important in documenting how many people, although there were far worse things going on around them, chose to be selfless and sacrifice this very special birthday for the safety of themselves and others. -
2020-11-23
Covid Cat Birthday Card
This is a photograph created by my brother, Domenic Ciampa. Like many others during the time of Covid-19, he has been able to continue his passion for drawing due to the lockdown restrictions. This was a card he made for our mother's birthday during the quarantine. There are three abstractly drawn cats with a funny blurb of text to the right. The text on the card reads, “I washed my hands before creating this... Happy Birthday” I thought this would be a good addition to my mini archive because it is a personal item to me. It also responds to the needs and considerations of my ethical archival collection. This object withstands all of the ethical practices and guidelines which I am following. -
2020-10-29
A Collection of Quarantine Paintings
I am posting this photo because it showcases how I have spent a lot of my time during the pandemic. This photo displays every painting I have created since the beginning of the quarantine. Some of the works shown in the picture are still works in progress and others are completed. Before Covid prevailed and we were sent home in the spring, I had lost interest in painting and had not painted in months. The lockdown that Covid brought on allowed me to slow down and rekindle the love and creativity I had for painting. In this photo, there are 14 paintings, however, I have made more and gave them to friends as gifts. I mainly work with acrylic paint on canvas because I like vibrant colors and solid lines, although, I would like to start experimenting with oil paints soon. Covid-19 brought on many obstacles to a lot of people, but I am grateful that I could reconnect with painting. This object demonstrates the significant rise of creative liberty within my generation under Covid-19. -
2020-12-01
Melrose Wakefield Hospital COVID precautions
One of my coworkers tested positive for COVID-19, so all the employees got tested to ensure we were all being safe at work. I think the photos I captured at Melrose Wakefield Hospital tells a story about all the precautions to stay safe and healthy in an unprecedented time. These photos respond to the needs and considerations of an ethical archive because it shows what precautions are being taken both inside and outside a hospital. In The Ethical Archivist, the author wrote about the ethics of acquisition, which documents have permanent or evidentiary value. I think these pictures may be seemingly unimportant to most people, but to historians this is data that shows what types of mandates and precautions were put in place during a worldwide pandemic. -
2020-12-13
What Effect Does A Pandemic Have On a Relationship?
As this interview is part of a collection exploring relationships and the exploration of sexuality during the Covid-19 pandemic, I really wanted to get to know some more about what it’s like to have a relationship altered by the pandemic. Luckily, I knew just the people. I reached out to two of my best friends on campus and asked if they’d be willing to speak about their experiences, which they agreed to. I already had an interview set up with a friend who went through a whole relationship (began dating and broke up) during the pandemic, but I felt it was important to explore multiple different types of relationships. This interview to me shows something about my generation living under Covid, as it shows how many of us felt like we were stripped of the indepence we gained when we left for college, and how we now have to navigate living at home again. In the case of these two, they also have to navigate being intimate and romantic with each other in this situation. -
2020-10-29
Election Week Anxiety
Due to the massive number of American voters who decided to cast mail-in ballots, coupled with the unprecedented voter turnout, American’s did not get an answer on Wednesday morning as to who the next POTUS was going to be. This uncertainty, along with the climbing covid-19 numbers, meant a lot of citizens were feeling overwhelmed and anxious about what the next few days, and perhaps weeks, would entail. Crisis hotlines in the US saw a spike in calls related to election anxiety. This political cartoon created by Bruce Plante shows the anxiety that the hotline workers themselves might have been experiencing. With call after call coming into these centers, hotline workers do their best to ease the minds of those on the other side of the phone call. This is significant to 2020 because it illustrates the collective emotions voters were facing in the first week of November 2020. -
2020-12-08
Six Foot Seating
This photo shows a bench that is an advertisement for the dating app Bumble located in Boston’s Seaport district (exact location unknown). The bench has two seats, with space for social distancing between, which goes to show how far people are taking social distancing guidelines. Bumble makes use of participatory content here to engage the public to interact with their advertisements, which may lead to more interest in further interacting with the app. This object has the potential to interest future historians, as it shows how brands used the pandemic as ways of advertising. It also shows the ways in which not only we changed, but the physical objects around us changed to adapt to the pandemic. -
2020-12-15
Vote For Them
As the covid-19 pandemic began, many American’s found themselves glued to the news more than ever before. A result of this news consumption brought to light the atrocities committed against BIPOC in the United States. On March 13th, 2020, Breonna Taylor was fatally shot 6 times in her home by a plainclothes officer. Two months later, on May 25th, 2020, George Floyd was suffocated and killed during an arrest over a counterfeit $20 bill. Rightfully, many were outraged and so began protests in cities and towns across the United States. As the election drew closer a movement began to encourage voters to reflect on how their vote can impact historically marginalized individuals within their communities. What will the candidate you vote for do for the communities currently facing social justice issues at large? -
2020-12-15
Campaigning Through Video Games
As covid-19 continued, many political campaigns were forced to be more creative in their approach when it came to engaging with audiences. Some campaigns held virtual events and rallies. The Biden-Harris campaign decided to take advantage of the cultural phenomenon that is Animal Crossing: New Horizons to engage with younger voters. In the Nintendo game, players curate their islands and can create their own personal designs to share and use. This game has been significant to many millennials during covid, because it has been a place for young people to “hang-out” virtually and show off their creativity. The Biden-Harris campaign took advantage of this massively successful game and created their own island, Biden HQ. They created t-shirts and designs that other players could utilize. Players can still visit Biden HQ using the in-game dream code DA-7286-5710-7478. -
2020-12-08
COVID-19's Impact on Low-Income Workers
This article discusses the struggles that low- income workers face because of the pandemic. Low-income workers are struggling to pay rent, losing their jobs, having use money from their saving accounts, and more. The article also provides graphs with demographics that consist of race, gender, and income groups. These graphs are useful in order to make comparisons. This article fills an archival silence and amplify the voices of marginalized groups because it highlights the struggle that these groups are facing. The silence may be intentional. The media is covering billionaires like Jeff Bezos who are only getting richer during the pandemic, instead we must focus on the average person/working class because they contribute to the overall success of our economy. -
2020-12-08
Accurate Covid-19 Working Meme
I found this meme to be quite interesting. We use humor to better our mood during tough times, however this meme depicts reality: the anxiety about going to work this year during this strange new pandemic. This collection item can help future historians determine the society’s apprehension and concerns towards employment during COVID-19. A historian might wonder what this meme implies. Well, this meme implies that the public fears getting sick and what that holds, fear of spreading it to love ones, fear of not recovering, and perhaps work conditions are not entirely prepared. This meme can imply many things based on what a historian wants to argue. -
2020-11-30
Starbucks Holiday Mask
A mask may appear uninteresting compared to other strange items that have risen in the coronavirus era, however it is important because it represents decency. This item demonstrates Generation Z’s awareness to society’s current important issues. This generation has been active during the BLM movement, the 2020 election, and in many other instances. The mask design is irrelevant but the mask itself carries a message. From what I’ve seen this generation won’t hesitate to condemn one for not wearing a mask and therefore are promoting its importance. During a pandemic, a mask is not a political tool but an attempt at keeping you and others safe. -
2020-11-29
Starbucks COVID-19 Control Plan
This object presents Starbucks’s COVID-19 Control Plan since it is a MA requirement. It is an absolute must that we (Starbucks employees) follow these guidelines. I believe one question future historians will answer is how did the world try to stop the spread of COVID-19 in 2020? This item provides an answer to this question since it discusses hygiene protocols, social distancing, etc. The pandemic is still ongoing and we’re not sure when it will be eradicated, therefore a historian might want to compare 2020 control plans and future ones to see if plans became more efficient. It is important to wonder these questions, especially dealing with the significant duty we have: to stop of the spread of COVID-19 the best way possible.