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2020-09-12
Candlelight Vigil Held at the Say Their Names Cemetery for George Floyd's Extended Family
Last night, a candlelight vigil was held at the Say Their Names Cemetery for George Floyd's extended family. Family members of Justin Teigen, Paul Castaway, and Demetrius Hill were also present to share stories of how they were killed at the hands of law enforcement. -
2020-12-25
Jesus will understand if you stay home during a pandemic
One of the first things my parents did when they retired and moved to Arizona was find a church. I was very vocal about wanting them to wait to return to large group gatherings but for some strange reason, they seemed to think that they couldn't get covid in church. My mom thought that after all the hardships brought on by the pandemic she needed to be back in church. A month later my dad got sick. We all naively thought it was the flu until I saw the shortness of breath. I told him to get sick and sure enough, he tested positive. Two weeks later my mom contracted Covid. I was hoping it wouldn't hit them too bad but my mom is a diabetic and they are older (late 50's and mid 60's) so I was a bit worried. As the days went by neither of them was getting better. My parents were sick through the holidays, I made Christmas dinner and we ate "together". I dropped off food at their front door then went to their back window where my kids and I ate picnic style. After three visits to the ER for my dad and four for my mom we finally started seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I have lost many people to Covid, but it never hit me as hard as when I thought I was going to lose my parents. Thankfully, it was a massive lesson learned for my parents that covid spreads even in the church. -
2020-12-05
Police Violence
Protestors and families members who have lost loved ones to police violence gathered yesterday to condemn the shooting of Joseph Washington last Saturday. A police body camera video shows Washington getting out of a dumpster running towards officers, naked, and unarmed. Officers then deployed tasers and released a K-9 dog in to stop him — one officer fired his gun hitting Washington twice. St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell fired the officer who shot Washington. His termination is pending a union grievance process. Washington was a suspect in a house break-in and earlier domestic incident. Protestors denounced his actions and declared this should not allow police to become "judge, jury, and executioner." -
2021-03-06
This is not how this is supposed to go.
Friday, March 13, 2020, was my last full day in the office before the shutdown. We came home that night not knowing what was next. Then my sister called. Things hadn't been right for a couple of weeks, she said, and when she had been to the doctor that morning he ordered her directly to the MRI lab. And there it was. Cancer. The exact same kind that had taken our mother a few years ago. And our grandmother several decades ago. Dammit. So what do you do? You get on a plane, you go there tomorrow, and you face this thing together, as family, right? Except no. It's COVID time, and only one person was even allowed to accompany her to the hospital for surgery three days later. We all decided that my other sister should be there, since she has medical expertise and also a more flexible schedule. But yeah. Here I am, on the other side of the country, not knowing whether my sister would live through the day and not able to go be with her. It's a year later, and I'm very relieved to say that she's still with us, lasting far longer with this diagnosis than either our mother or grandmother did. Still very much in the fight. But thanks to this damned disease, and to everyone whose stupidity has caused it to last longer and be worse than it had any need to be, I have seen her exactly once in the last year. For about ten minutes. Right before her second surgery. Will I get to see her again? Who knows? We have a trip planned in a few months, if things get better with this pandemic. And if she lasts that long. It's sad and exhausting and infuriating and unchangeable. -
2021-03-04
For some, there will never be a "back to normal"
"(via @readingstar18) When you say "I can't wait until things get back to normal" know that my life will never be "normal" again. When you say "Soon #COVID will just be a bad memory" know that Covid was a traumatic event and will always be a reminder of how my life drastically changed forever. When people say that #COVID19 is a hoax or only affects the elderly or people with underlying health conditions, remember I lost my young and healthy husband to this horrible virus. When you see something written about me and my family and say its fake news made up by the media as a scare tactic, I know that I am a very real person going through a very real tragedy and I share my heartbreaking and important story to show that #COVID19 can affect anyone. Nine months since my #HealthcareHero husband lost his life and the insensitive comments made by others continues to add to our grief. Covid is very real and has had a lasting impact on my children and me. So please be kind to those who are trying to heal and move forward." -
2020-03
My 2020
This is a story about how my life was during the pandemic in 2020. It tells the story of how isolated everyone was because of social distancing. A whole year just went by but I still felt like my life was a standing still. It was my first time being in the city since the lock down and it was scary to see how empty Times Square was. -
2020-04-12
Living in a pandemic
Losing opportunities and losing family makes us think about many emotions and things that should be cherished. -
2021-02-12T12
The Celebration of Chinese New Year
I photographed this picture at the time of Chinese New Year. Even though we all live in Brooklyn, we reduce the time of visit because of the high infection rate. Finally, we got a moment to sit together and chat about the things that happened this past year (After making sure everyone is safe to attend this short and small dinner time). -
2020-04-09T13
Adapting to New Life Style
I was one of those people that when the warnings of a virus was coming I did not think much of it, and me being an only child, my parents were always concerned about my safety. They made me wake up early in hopes to catch a bus with less people to go to school, made sure I washed my hands for 20 seconds every time I came back home. I still always went out with my girlfriend and hanged out with friends. Luna Park was also reopening and I got an invite to work there again. I was really excited and then we hear the news that quarantine has begun. I decided to not take the offer even when they send the email that they promised great care for the staff. Most of friends and their parents got sick and I started to take it seriously when my best friend's father died. It was a big group of friends that knew each other for a long time so it was a very sad time for all of us. Later however my mother did get sick but she did recover quickly and me and my dad were lucky not to get sick. We were not able to return to work however our church did help us when it came to food and our landlord was very understanding and allowed everyone in the apartment to pay rent until 3 months. It was difficult to make that money. Things have progressively gotten better and I've always been much more careful outside especially with me having asthma effects of the virus could be much deadlier to me. These experiences made me learn to take the pandemic more seriously and take care of myself and my family -
2021-02-28
When The Impossible Becomes Real
The item I am submitting is about how I saw things changing during this pandemic and how it affected me. -
2021-02-28
Surviving the pandemic
It is my personal experience of the pandemic. It's important to me as I've fought my inner insecurities and battles. I'm still coping with the stress caused by this pandemic, but it is getting better and I hope it gets better for everyone else too. -
2020-12
Black New Yorkers within the Pandemkic
The piece is detailing the real experience of Black New Yorkers specifically Black immigrants within the pandemic and the lack of governmental support afforded to these marginalized groups. -
2020-03-20
The Start of a Shutdown
The date was March 20th, 2020. It was my best friend's birthday. Our friend group was preparing to throw a big party for her with lots of guests and food. We were all so excited for her to turn 18, finally able to vote. We were all also happy to be seniors and were looking forward to graduation and prom. March 20th will be forever cemented in my mind as the day it all went wrong. We found out that "Covid-19" was truly something very serious and our classes became virtual, no more seeing our friends in school. We couldn't have an in person birthday party for our friend, we couldn't hang out either. That day was so pivotal in all of our lives. We didn't know we would be stuck in quarantine for the next six months, we didn't know our graduation and prom would be canceled. We didn't know how much our daily lives would change. Sometimes, I wish I could go back to the pre-covid days. Everything seemed so simple then. No major pandemic, no masks, no overfull hospitals. But at the same time, as I reflect, quarantine has changed who I am as a person and has caused a lot of internal reflection and introspection. I feel like having to only see your family for six months makes you a better problem solver because you have to stay in the house and figure the issues out instead of going out and trying to brush it off. Overall, Covid is horrible and has caused so much loss. However, we need to also see the somehow positives that have come from this awful situation. -
02/23/2021
Bonnie Brainard Oral History, 2021/02/23
I recorded a mini oral history with my former professor Dr. Beverly Van Note. -
02/21/2021
Paul Keagle Oral History, 2021/02/21
This is a mini oral history with my husband, Paul Keagle, regarding silver linings during the pandemic. -
02/21/2021
Jack Wick Oral History, 2021/02/21
This is a mini oral history interview with my father, Jack Wick, regarding silver linings during the pandemic. -
02/21/2021
June Massengill Oral History, 2021/02/21
This is a recording I did my great aunt, June. It asks the question regarding whether or not there are any silver linings in the pandemic. -
02/21/2021
Joyce Lee Oral History, 2021/02/11
Mini Oral history interview with Joyce Lee -
2020-03-15
Remorseful Disaster
This story is an ongoing experience for me as my family and I try our best to continue bearing with the lockdown. I wanted to share how things are at home because not every family is taking this situation with the same positivity. -
02/21/2021
Michele Lebsack Oral History, 2021/20/21
On 02-21-2021, I sat down with my mother-in-law to ask about the positive experiences she had since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. -
2020-03-24
Covid-19 affected my life on eating habit, sleeping habits, and emotional wellness
When the pandemic started, it affected my life. Before the pandemic, I attend class on campus from Monday through Friday. I will have to wake up super early around 7 am or 8 am to get ready for class. After class ends, I will rush to my part-time job and begin working. This is what I do every day and I feel like this is what life is supposed to be like. After the pandemic started, I needed to stay home and attend an online course. When attending online courses, it gives me the anxiety of worrying whether I will pass the course or not. It is my first time attending the course online and I’m scared that I might not catch up with my education. I lost my part-time jobs and my parents stopped working due to the pandemic. I started to worry about the family income and planning to get a job. However, it is hard to find jobs during the pandemic and it is too risky for going outside. I started home every day and felt bored to the point I felt emotional numbness. My eating habits and sleeping habits change. I sleep almost the whole day at home and it causes some aches in my head. I often feel like I am lacking energy and easily tire. I also lack the motivation to do anything and think that the world is boring. I sometimes skip breakfast and lunch when I wake up at 4 pm when I sleep too much. These eating habits and sleeping habits are bad for my body. I decided to change a little to fix my health and I will start from sleeping and eating first. I feel like I need to find a goal or something to do in life to keep my motivation. -
2020-02-19
Silver Linings Oral History with Steven Bell
Silver Linings Oral History_ Steven Bell Interviewee: Steven Paul Bell Interviewer: Dana Lee Bell Date of Interview: 02/19/2021 Location of interviewee: Rogue River, Oregon Location of Interviewer: Fairfield, California Transcriber: Dana Lee Bell Abstract: This interview was for the Silver Linings mini oral history project within the JOTPY archive. The interviewer Dana Lee Bell is an intern with the JOTPY archive and is also the daughter of the interviewee Steven Paul Bell. Steven is a wildlife artist residing in Oregon with his wife of 25 years. In the interview Steven talks about how it is nice spending time with family during Covid-19. He also talks of enjoying spending time alone walking and hiking with his dog. Steven had a hard time reflecting on the positive things to say about the Covid-19 experience. Steven Bell is the father of Dana Bell. He thought it very amusing to try and act more formal for the interview. -
2021-02-18
Early Retirement Reflection
While I am grateful and privileged enough to have quarantined at home with my family, it was certainly frustrating. Once I had conquered my first taste of online learning all I had ahead of me was an uncertain and potentially endless summer. As someone who is a high-risk individual, I didn't feel comfortable going back to my summer job in retail immediately. Thankfully, both of my parents were able to continue to work and I was able to stay home. Being able to stay home for the summer and relax in my hammock most days was unsettlingly different than how others experienced this past summer. I regret not better using my free time to help those that lost jobs and housing and support, while I still had mine. Shockingly the gleam of my extended vacation wore off pretty quickly with my parents. When my parents finally got fed up with me drinking an afternoon coffee in my backyard every day they told me I had better find something productive to keep busy. After sending an unbelievable amount of e-mails and a couple of phone calls with some busy executives I landed an under-the-table research internship. The only issue? Not being able to research through their physical archives. Go figure. While my research wasn't extensive it did keep me fairly busy for my remaining time at home. My early retirement this past summer was a substantial setback in accordance with my previous plans, but it was thoroughly enjoyable. -
2021-02-18
Watching My Baby Cousins Grow Up On Zoom
At the beginning of the pandemic, when everything went into lockdown, my uncle started weekly family Zoom calls on Sunday mornings. Through these weekly calls, we actually saw each other more often than before the pandemic, and they became a nice time to check in with everybody and share stories and what's going on with our lives. My favorite part is seeing my two baby cousins, both of whom don't live near me. When we started, my youngest cousin was four months old, and through Zoom, we have watched her learn to walk and we celebrated her first birthday together. My other baby cousin loves to talk to the family and share her toys, clothes, and food through the screen. It is all very cute, and I am grateful for the family time I get to have through Zoom. -
02/16/2021
Lila Jue Oral History, 2021/02/16
I recorded a mini oral history with my mother in law about silver linings during the pandemic. The photograph is a family Zoom, as this is a positive of the pandemic year to her. -
2021-02-16
My Covid-19 Experience
The emergence of Covid-19 definitely took me by surprise. I remember discussing in one of my classes on the Brooklyn College campus of how potentially serious the virus was in early March of 2020. The majority of the class agreed that the virus was probably not going to get out of hand and it was just being over-covered in the media. Then a couple weeks later, we were stunned of how quick the situation surrounding the virus in the U.S. became which lead to Brooklyn College shutting down the campus and going virtual online. It was an overwhelming and challenging experience adjusting to having five classes from in person to online. What made it more challenging was contracting the virus myself in April where I experienced extreme fatigue, chills and a fever a couple nights, and lost of taste and smell. Through it all, I kept my faith in Jesus and trusted Him to heal me from the sickness and get through the semester. Thankfully, I passed all of my classes at the end of the semester and recovered fully within a couple weeks. My entire family was infected with the virus including my parents but they overcame it as well. Lastly, seeing all of the death totals on the news and staggering scenes such as freezer trucks taking bodies from hospitals to be buried or cremated were both alarming and saddening. What gave me hope was the general high survival rate despite the high number of reported infections and my faith in Christ who warned us in through the Bible (Mathew 24:3-8) that perilous times would come in the last days, including pestilences. As the pandemic continues to evolve, I continue to pray for those who lost loved ones, our country and the world that we would all become stronger, wiser, and closer to Jesus after this unfortunate experience. -
2020-04
COVID. A Blessing in Disguise?
The pandemic has allowed me to take a step back from everything in society to see what I truly care about and what truly matters to me. Not only what matters, but who in my life I love and care about that matters. The photographs I have attached show exactly who those people are. Throughout the pandemic I have made stronger relationships with my family. Although there were moments that it was hard spending time with just them 24/7. It was difficult knowing I could not see friends from home that went to different colleges during the year. This is because their parents were definitely stricter about COVID than my parents were. And I completely understood that, but it was tough not seeing one another knowing they were just five minutes away. To fill that frustration, we would have Netflix watch parties from our houses on our own computers so that it would feel as if we were all watching the same movie in the same room. Then after a few months we would take our dogs for walks outside, and that is shown in one of the pictures. We did this so that we could see each other while being able to properly social distance. It was just hard having to accept that for now it would be our new normal. Going home from Duquesne meant that all my friends from school would also be heading home. In another picture it shows a few of my friends and I all FaceTiming one another. We would all group FaceTime together just about once every day to play games and just catch up which also gave me something to look forward to. A positive that come from quarantine was being able to do workouts with my family three times a week. We never got to do this because I would be at school and my brother would be working. Two times out of the week we would work out at a local park near my house. Then every Saturday morning bright and early at 7 AM my dad’s trainer would pick a different sight throughout the city to work out at. This was something I definitely looked forward to once a week because typically we would just work out at the same gym. Now that the gym had to be shut down it allowed us to think outside the box. In one of the pictures it shows my dad, brother, his girlfriend and others that worked out at Point Park one freezing morning. It was definitely hard waking up on a cold morning, but having a change of scenery, being able to be outside and be physically active with some family and friends was nice and refreshing. We went to other destinations around the city too such as outside Hinze Field, PNC Park, and Pitt. In another picture is my mom and I. We have always been close, but with me being away at college COVID had allowed me to be around her more often. We would watch movies, cook dinner, and make fires together which was nice to be able to spend more quality time together. Overall, COVID was hard not being able to see certain friends that I have missed, but it had also allowed me to make stronger relationships with those I had not spent a lot of time with because I have been away at college. In some aspects I would say that COVID was a blessing in disguise for me and my family. -
2020-10-06
A Pandemic Birthday
This year, birthdays were different. I didn’t get to celebrate with friends and family, I didn’t go out to eat, I didn’t celebrate with drinks at a bar, and I had to cancel a trip to Chicago that involved museum trips and live shows. Leading up to my birthday, I felt a sense of loss and homesickness, and felt some resentment about not being able to celebrate while others ignored Covid restrictions and stay-at-home orders. That being said, I made an attempt to turn my attitude around, and planned some simple, fun activities I could do at home. I ordered food in, picked up a pie from a local bakery, carved pumpkins with my family, and ended my day with some Animal Crossing. It ended up being one of the most relaxing birthdays I’ve ever had, and I received lots of virtual love from friends and family that brought me a sense of closeness, despite the distance. -
2020-12-01
Tea Time Together
I am very close with my mom, and used to regularly visit my grandmother, but I moved across the country right before Covid-19 and was unable to visit this year. I was feeling extremely homesick during the fall, as my grandmother and I have birthdays near each other and usually celebrate together but we were unable to do so this year. While my grandmother and I did send letters and cards to each other and I facetime with my mom fairly often, I was still experiencing a feeling of loss and a lack of connection. To bring us together, my mom proposed that the three of us all use the same tea advent calendar to celebrate the holidays. We all got the same mug, the same tea set, and spent the month of December enjoying tea from three different places, which allowed us to feel a sense of togetherness, even when we are apart. -
2021-02-03
The Joy Of Receiving A COVID-19 Vaccine In A Nursing Home
Residents at a Colorado assisted living faclity got their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. They are now allowed to have gatherings as long as they continue social distance and wear a mask. Their family can also visit them once again as long as certain safety measures are followed. -
2020-12-31
The Luck of the COVID Draw
Throughout the pandemic, my family and I have been extremely careful as to not catch the virus. My mother made sure my brother and I always had little bottles of hand sanitizer with us when we went to work or to the grocery store, my mom had multiple masks in the car for herself at all times, and my dad has been social distancing from people since he was born, so he was well prepared to sit in the house in social isolation. Being in PA, Gov. Tom Wolf had just about everything shut down from December 2020 to the first week of January 2021, but despite this and all of the precautions my mother had made sure we all took, my brother had brought it home from work without realizing it. We all realized we were probably going to get it when my brother was sent home from his new job after getting tested for COVID. Honestly, we were all a bit surprised it had not happened earlier, as he used to work at a hospital, but from there, we all started dropping like flies. My mother started getting symptoms around New Years Eve and my father followed suit days later. At this point, I was terrified. All I could think of is how my mother is immunocompromised and that she had it, and that I myself am immunocompromised and I would be next. Worst of all, when I am home from college, I sleep on the couch due to damage in my old bedroom, so keeping myself away from these other people in my house would prove to be near impossible (hence the meme saying “I need to get out of here”). Even if I would have been able to isolate myself, they all felt too sick to take care of themselves or one another, so that job fell upon me. At this point, I am running around the house, trying not to breathe around my family in the last few weeks that I would be able to spend time with them before heading back to school, while also stressing about having to go back to school, as well as having to quarantine for additional time after my family’s quarantine was over. A couple weeks in I start to feel the early signs of COVID, headaches, body aches, coughing, the works. I went to get tested in an absolute panic as to what this would mean for my own health and how it would affect me going back to school, only to get back a negative test. The headaches? I have migraines. The body aches? Well, I sleep on a couch where the cushions come out from under me while I sleep, so you tell me. The cough? I have a cat and a dog that I am fairly allergic to but refuse to stay away from because they are so precious. How I, out of all of my family, was able to avoid getting COVID despite being the college kid with a weakened immune system who played nurse to 3 COVID patients is beyond me. This experienced that COVID is really a gamble. You may have everything against you and not get it, or you may have done everything you could possibly do to avoid it and still catch it. Regardless, I will continue to err on the side of caution and wear my mask and carry my mother’s hand sanitizer with me. -
2021-02-04
My Grandma's Passing
Travel restrictions and emotional impact. -
2020
Community Connections: addressing food scarcity in Sacramento, California
This website is a rallying point for Community Connections 95820, a community organization that works to provide food to families in need in the South Oak Park neighborhood of Sacramento, California. This organization is picking up where food banks are leaving off as many of the food banks in this neighborhood have closed due to the pandemic, and families have been lacking food for a variety of reasons. This highlights food scarcity issues during the pandemic and efforts of community members to make sure their neighbors are still able to get food. The “About Us” page says Community Connections was inspired by a project called Invisible Hands, in New York City. Community Connections highlights their commitment to safety, dignity, and anonymity for the families, sponsors, and volunteers. -
2020-03-13
The Covid 19 College Experience : Procrastinators version
My experience with Covid has been positive health wise. Mentally I feel the need to interact with my peers because that is what I enjoy doing in my free time other than sleeping. I thought I would be building memorable college relationships, talking to lifelong friends but it seems impossible and that saddens me. This pandemic has showed my how financially irresponsible I am! I have spent so much money on nonsense and now that I realized that, I see all the life altering things I could have done with it, but let's not focus on the negative. It isn't to late for change so all those things can still be achieved. -
2021-01-31
My Second COVID Christmas
My wife and I just had our second COVID Christmas, this time with my mom's side of the family. Because very few on that side can work remotely, almost everyone has had and survived COVID due to work exposures over the past six months. Until we're able to secure vaccines, I also expect at least some of us will have to endure a second round of illness. Having Christmas in January was a strange experience, much like Baseball in November from 2001. I'm glad we finally got to assemble for a few days, and I appreciated most everyone's responsibility with their conduct. My sister is a nurse and treats the pandemic with too little respect. Although she's potentially outside her immunization period, she still acts as though she's chock full of antibodies capable of defeating every new identified strain. AND, she waited until we'd all been together for a full day to reveal her boyfriend has had COVID symptoms for a few days but refuses to be tested. Beyond the drama and anxiety that inspired, I'm grateful to have seen my grandmother, and I'll be even more grateful to know that she doesn't develop signs or symptoms of illness in the coming days. The lesson I learned from this family function is that I can't trust those closest to me to candidly assess the risks those pose to the rest of us. They can't differentiate between their right to make their own health choices and my right to do the same. My understanding was that we had all been sufficiently careful for several weeks to ensure no one would bring COVID to the Christmas celebration, and I was wrong. My bad. I promise it won't happen again, and I won't attend another family function without being vaccinated first, at least not with my sister or a clear, deliberate, and sworn confirmation that everyone I see has been sufficiently cautious. This entire pandemic at this point for me is a balance between mental and physical health, and it turns out they can't both win. -
2021-01-31
Art to be together
These images and accompanying text express emotion of longing to be with loved ones and happiness at finding ways to feel together during prolonged times of separation because of COVID-19. The drawings and paintings were created as a means of spending time with others and creating things, both during quarantine (drawing together via video calls) and in public spaces (chalk painting in a driveway where neighbors passing by might see it). Some of the art was done for mental health, sense of family and community. -
2021-01-28
My Time with COVID-19
Well, it finally happened. After social distancing for the better part of a year, I caught COVID-19 from a trip to the grocery store (I think). At first, it started off as any other normal cold, but it soon degraded into the worst fever I have ever had in my life. It felt as though my entire body were a blast furnace, and the bodily fatigue I felt made the experience a lot worse. I was barely able to stand up to close my bedroom blinds for most of my illness. Thankfully, my family supplied me with plenty of love, good medicine, water, hot tea, and books to help me recuperate over the course of these last few weeks. As of January 28th, I no longer feel any fatigue or fever, but my sense of smell has yet to return. Hopefully, it returns soon because I miss the smell of my mom's cooking! This experience really put this pandemic into perspective, and I hope everyone stays safe and takes extra precautions to avoid catching this disease. It is no joke and it will knock out young people for the better part of two weeks. Protect yourselves! -
2020-12-01
The Covid Quilt
This is my Covid Quilt. When the lock down started I ordered a bunch of different fabrics to make masks with. The fabric size that seemed to have the most value was called a fat quarter. After making my family a bunch of bright colored masks, I had so many squares of fabric left over I decided to save them. I was not sure why I was saving them though. By the end of this summer I had hundreds of squares and decided to make a quilt. This is my Covid quilt. You can see a years worth of colorful masks represented in it. I really wish I knew how to do embroidery. I would embroider the words, "Covid Quilt 2020" into it. I am not even a sewer. I took a class in high school over twenty years ago. Defiantly imperfect just like the year 2020. But it is warm and thick. I think I will try my best to take care of it. -
2021-01-25
Covid statistics and how they effect me
During the past few months, I have learned a lot about viruses, especially covid from the news, my parents, and science class. When someone gets covid they usually recover in about 1-2 weeks which from my friends and family who had it seems right because that's how long it took them to recover. Right now the death rate according to a site is less than 1% in America and 1 per 800 people who had it have died. I personally don't know anyone who died from it but I pray for all the people who have lost friends or family because even though it's less than 1% it can still affect people very negatively. There have been roughly 24 million cases so far and I hope it gets better. -
2021-01-21
West Contra Costa Unified School District Food Services Meal Distribution During the Pandemic
This is an example of what many schools in California are doing for children and families during stay-at-home orders of the pandemic, as part of efforts of the US Department of Agriculture. Many families face food scarcity issues and the meals provided at school are sometimes the only source of food during the day for students. During the pandemic, many children will face food scarcity issues if they do not attend school in person. This school district has organized meal boxes that provide breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack. The website provides the pickup information in both English and Spanish to meet the communication needs of the families in their district, and stresses the importance of food for students' health and well-being. -
2021-01-24
Food, COVID-19, and my Mother
My mom raised her children around food. She made sure everything revolved around it just like the Earth revolves around the Sun. We ate whether we wanted to or not, as food was her way of showing love. Mom is now in her late 70's and still works miracles in the kitchen. When we visited my parents' house (pre-pandemic), she fed us until we could not eat anymore, then declared we were still hungry and loaded our plates with more. That is what Mexican moms do, she always says. Even though we protest, my husband, kids, and I love it. All of this changed once COVID-19 hit. Worried about my parents catching the virus, we did not see much of them in 2020. When we did, it was from a distance in their backyard and not for very long. It took an enormous toll on my mom. My parents cannot visit with their children and grandchildren, but almost just as worse, my mom has no one to cook for but my dad. Although she still enjoys cooking for him, it is not the same. Although we all know what food means to her, none of us realized just how much until this pandemic hit. Normally, she is rarely sick, loves to hike, and enjoys going to aerobics with her friends. However, lately, she has felt melancholy, is getting headaches, and is sleeping more. This is extremely unusual for her, which has us all very concerned. This pandemic is wearing on her both physically and emotionally. This feisty woman is slowing down, which is scary to us all. Over the past year, we continue to tell her we want to come over but would never forgive ourselves if we unknowingly pass the virus to her or my dad. Mom did not and still does not understand. She just wants what she wants, which is her family surrounding her. My dad is much more pragmatic about this situation, but mom will not have any of it. She is incredibly frustrated and is not afraid to tell us about it. Luckily, both of my parents just got their first dose of the vaccine last week. My dad said this gives them renewed hope that their family will be together again soon. I hear this hope when I speak on the phone with my mom. She is ready to get busy again in the kitchen. I cannot wait to eat her homemade tortillas straight off the stove, her spicy chili, and all of her other tasty dishes. People are now talking about the 'new normal.' I do not want a new normal. I want to get back all that this pandemic has taken from us, including my family crowding around a table full of my mom’s food. -
2020-01
Doggy Love for Patient!
The photo shows me and my dog while I was in the hospital doing chemotherapy for Testicular Cancer. By that point, I had been in the hospital for three weeks and we had got a prescription for me to be able to bring my dogs in order to cheer me up. My husband brought me our dogs Little Man (Miniature Dauschuand) and Lady (Whippet Terrier Mix). I was so happy to see them that I cried. The fur babies were so happy to see me that they just jumped on me and began licking me. This shows how lonely the covid-19 had made me and how the doctors were able to allow my furbabies to come to visit me which cheered me up. -
2021-01-22
A Covid Experience
I learn about myself through the stories of others; this account is both a recounting of my friend Stephanie’s story, a conversation we had after she contracted Covid19, and my own introspection about the different impact that written and spoken stories have. -
2020-04
Covid Portraits: Allston
I decided to do a series of portraits of family members in masks to document the pandemic. -
2020-04
Covid Portraits: Los Angeles
I decided to do a series of portraits of family members in masks to document the pandemic. -
2021-01-21
Covid Systems
When Covid started I didn't know much about it. All I knew was it was like another flu and it was another virus. After a few months of Covid, I started to have friends and family who got it. Some of the symptoms my aunt and her sister had was a loss of smell and taste and they had fevers and were kind of fatigued. My old basketball coach got it and he had the same symptoms. Many many people have got it all over the world and I'm glad that I only know a few people who have it, and are fortunate that most of my friends and family are healthy. -
2020-11-25
Loving Grandpa Brings Food
A grandpa drives 30 minutes to bring his granddaughter and her boyfriend some food and board games after finding out they were Covid positive. One commenter said, "Protect that man at all costs". Such a sweet and loving gesture. -
2021-01-19
Resilient Child, Resilient Mom- Reflection on 2020
The first picture was taken April 29, 2020. Remote schooling was not going to end, we thought it would only last a couple of weeks. My child was falling apart, I was falling apart. The second picture was taken about seven months later, November 27, 2020. I had been furloughed, school opened up and then went remote again, we learned how to wear masks, we learned how to social distance. We joined the family bubble, in Illinois. I reflect in January 2021 and I want to note that we are figuring it out together. We continue to teach each other. The second picture is my favorite picture of 2020 that I took. I think this picture speaks to the attitude we are putting forward together. This is a picture of my daughter with her cousin, this picture gives me hope and energy. -
2021-01-16
Enjoying home life
This is a brief entry describing some of my favorite personal things to come about from the pandemic. There were many difficulties faced, but still, experiences to enjoy and appreciate. -
2020-11-26
Thanksgiving Dressing Connection
My family Thanksgiving's have featured a wide variety of fare throughout the years. The one constant, the one dish that has always made an appearance is dressing. The recipe is a family one that originated with my great-grandmother, a wonderful woman who lived to the ripe old age of 102. Known across the extended family as the Queen of the Kitchen, her legacy lives on through the recipes she left behind. This Thanksgiving was more difficult than any I can remember. Out of the twenty-four Thanksgiving's I have been alive to see, I have never spent one without my sister. Now, she lives a state away and health concerns surrounding my 93-year old grandmother kept my sister away. COVID-19 drastically changed the mood of the holiday, but one dish still had to be cooked. You guessed it, dressing. Ingredients: 10 baked biscuits 2-3 cups of baked yellow cornbread 1 loaf of toasted bread 1 1/2 cup chopped onion 2 cup chopped celery 1 cup celery tops 1 tablespoon sage 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning 2 cups water 1 cup chicken boullion 2 eggs Salt and pepper to taste Original Directions: Break bread into small pieces. Set aside. Put all remaining ingredients except eggs in a saucepan. Boil till celery and onions are tender. Pour over bread mixture and toss. (Add more liquid if it needs to have more water. Cool. Add eggs. Mix lightly. Put in greased pan - Bake 300 degrees for 30 minutes.