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2020-10-08
The consequences of the Pandemic
The COVID- 19 pandemic has been extremely rough for my family and I. During the spring of 2020, the pandemic started to become the major event that not only US was discussing, but the entire world. I clearly remember during the time of spring break at ASU, an individual contacted the virus, which caused a significant amount of chaos for my family. The reason was because of my older parents. My family was concerned with their health and the possibility of them being infected with COVID-19. As time went on and ASU decided to move all in class sessions to Zoom (online learning), it made it much easier for my family to be isolated as I started to study from home. One of the biggest challenges that I faced was getting groceries, toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and much more. This brought a lot of major issues as the pandemic grew lager and larger, these essentials where missing. As time passed, my older brother was exposed to the virus at his work and then he contaminated all of his family. This news did not only cause a significant amount of worry to me, but more to my parents as they heard my brother in constant pain over the phone. As time progressed, my brothers condition worsens, which resulted in his being taken to the hospital. He was kept overnight for observation and was released the other day. Even though his health declined significantly, due to the virus, he fought it and won. After that experience, my family was extremely cautious of everyone around them. My family and I decided to completely quarantine ourselves for about a month or so due to the health of my parents. This was only made possible because our family prepared for this situation beforehand. Once my family heard about the pandemic reaching the state of Arizona, my father decided to buy the necessary supplies for us to last roughly a month, but other essentials where still missing. -
2020-11-07
Wear Your Mask!
I decided that I wanted to place emphasis on the importance of wearing a mask, because I witness so many people either failing to wear one properly, or sometimes failing to even wear one at all. It honestly is such an easy contribution to just stick a piece of fabric over one’s nose and mouth, so I do not understand why such a large group of people still fight it. The most common complaint that stems from wearing a mask is the fact that it can be hard to breathe in. While I do understand this concern, breathing through a face covering is a lot better than breathing with a respiratory device in the hospital. Even though face coverings have been required for months now, and they are scientifically proven to help stop the spread of the virus, people still argue the counter. Not to mention that if more people just started adhering to health guidelines properly, we could help curb the pandemic altogether. Suffering for a few months means that we will be closer to a world without masks sooner than if we do not take this seriously. I am sure the public is so accustomed to seeing signs in front of stores and buildings regarding the fact that face coverings are required, but I feel like the importance of why is not stressed enough. Wearing masks is something that is beyond us; it is for the sake of others, and more people need to understand this. Just because we might not be afraid of contracting COVID-19, this does not mean that we should not respect the people around us. It is just flat-out selfish to claim that it is hard to breathe so one does not want to wear a mask, because it is not about the individual. This pandemic is a worldwide issue, and should be treated as such. Even though it may seem unimportant to some, wearing masks are the least one can do when going about their business in the world. Making excuses not to wear one is simply not acceptable. -
2020-06-06
Graduation Through the Virus
In June of 2020, I graduated high school amidst a global pandemic. I attended St. Anthony High School, a private catholic high school in Long Beach, California. As a small school, myself and about 150 other senior students spent the months following quarantine procedures praying that we would get some sort of graduation to award and celebrate our hard work . After negotiating with the Arch Diocese of Los Angeles and adhering to the safety laws implemented by the governor, St. Anthony was able to provide a Baccalaureate Mass for their 2020 graduates in celebration of their four years of success, growth, and education. As one of those graduates, I was filled with immense gratitude to have been able to join with my friends and immediate family as I closed a chapter of my life, and stepped on to the next. St. Anthony High School was one of few high schools in the county to have been able to congregate in any way to celebrate the 2020 graduating seniors. Many schools had to divert to “drive by” graduations or even online ceremonies from home. With the amount of high school seniors we had, St. Anthony was able to host 4-5 different Baccalaureate Masses for the purposes of social distancing. This way, all seniors got the opportunity to wear their cap and gowns, dress from tassel to high heel, and experience what a graduation ceremony in the Catholic Church would be like. For this one day, the ability to come together and see many of my friends that I hadn’t seen for months brought so many emotions. There was much question prior to the mass as to whether we students would actually be able to get through with it. The safety of ourselves and the family’s of one another we’re of utmost importance, while our right to be acknowledged for our academic successes the past 4 years felt necessary. We 2020 graduating seniors of St. Anthony High School were so fortunate to be able to experience a graduation ceremony in the manner we were allowed. -
0000-04-24
Finding Inspiration in Community While Apart
At the beginning of March 2020, everything was going wonderfully for me personally, but also within my dance community. I grew up training intensely in several different styles of dance. But after three years of focusing my training specifically on Hip Hop, I had grown tremendously, developed stronger confidence in myself and a trust in my body, was engaging more actively in the overall Arizona Hip Hop community, and was on track to become President of my team for the upcoming school year. I had also organized a trip out of town with my team and a showcase to be held at the end of the year at a beautiful venue. However, as COVID-19 struck, all off those plans for the team, as well as all our weekly classes, practices and rehearsals were cancelled. Suddenly my most effective social, physical, and mental outlets were no longer available. I was going through my own significant struggles because of the pandemic, but I also became worried about what these changes would mean for the relationships and dance lives of everyone on my team. However, as true athletes and artists do, we found a way to reinvigorate ourselves and be there for each other. We decided to meet over zoom at least once a week to check in, talk about our experiences, and most importantly, find a way to dance together, remotely. . I was given the unique opportunity to listen and understand how collective times of crisis had affected my friends of various faiths and identities. The zoom call pictured is one where several of us met virtually to learn choreography from one of our teammates. This choreography would later be filmed in our individual locations and cut together to create a cohesive video. Throughout the pandemic, I have heard countless stories of creative people who lost their drive and inspiration in stress and defeat. However, I have also read and lived the stories of adjustment and perseverance. Being part of a community, whether it be rooted in art, academia, or religion, drives individuals to contribute. The dance community specifically has been devastated through lack of space to gather, learn, and perform. But it has also learned to utilize technology and been reminded of what we had taken for granted. -
2020-10-08
Essential Worker
The object that I have uploaded reflects several aspects regarding the pandemic as it presents an implication as to the spread of Covid-19 throughout the United States, methods regarding the prevention of the transmission of Covid-19, as well as the efforts of companies, in this case Dollar General, to mitigate the spread of Covid-19. On its own, as the mask of a Dollar General Employee from Sevierville, Tennessee, the object brings with it the implication that, in the event that evidence for Covid-19’s spread within East Tennessee is lost, there was at least a concern within the Dollar General corporation regarding the spread of Covid-19 into the East Tennessee area. The object, as a photograph of a mask, also provides information about the ideas circulating at this time to mitigate the spread of Covid-19, such as the donning of a mask to cover the mouth and nose. The object also informs regarding the efforts of retail corporations, in this instance Dollar General, to curb the spread of the pandemic through their establishments and across the nation, such as providing official masks for their employees to utilize. The uploaded object is important to me because it is a reminder of the various reactions, primarily from customers, to the spread of the pandemic within a retail-based environment. Among these reactions has been the bulk purchasing of certain products once they are restocked, specifically Lysol and alcohol but toilet paper and hand sanitizer were also frequently bought in the early months of the pandemic, as well as the influx of various hand sanitizer and face mask based products to be purchased. Aside from what items are frequently purchased, the customers of the store also react frequently to the implementation of face masks within the store as many comment on their lack of comfort while a minority speak positively about their benefit in preventing the spread of Covid-19, though the majority of customers make no comment at all regarding face masks. -
2020-07-10
Fear of the Unknown
Although I have been fortunate enough to say that no one in my family has contracted the virus thus far, that's not to say that it hasn't had an impact. Since the discovery of the virus, there has been an abundance of mixed information, terrifying rumors, and confusing data. There have been times when one could think there was nothing to worry about, and other times when one could feel uncomfortable leaving his/her home. Overall, the most terrifying part for me is all the things we don't know about what's going on. Along with that, is not knowing when you or a family member might have it. I'm sure we have all had our scares during this crisis, but one in particular really frightened me. My dad has been in and out of hospitals for over 5 years now, and it has been a rollercoaster of emotions for me and my twin sister. The most recent time he was in the hospital, he was transferred from my small hometown to a hospital here in Phoenix. In his condition, and after everything he has lived through, we knew that he would not survive if he contracted the virus. It sounds pessimistic, but if I were to go in-depth about his medical history, anyone would agree. With that being said, we were terrified about him being in a major phoenix hospital at the peak of the pandemic. Not to mention the medical facilities he would have to regularly go to after the fact. So far, he has not contracted the virus, but the stress remains present even more so than it has been in the past. Sometimes the stress and concerns that these types of disasters cause are just as impactful as the disaster itself, and COVID-19 has proved that to be true more than ever. -
2020-10-07
Time of Change
First off, I have to say that so far I have been lucky, if one can call it that, to not have lost anyone in any of my circles to this terrible pandemic so I view any of the misfortunes I have had during this time were all only minor inconveniences compared to the way too many others out there. First off, the industry I worked in got pummeled. I had two jobs. I worked for an Audio Visual Company in New Hampshire who did a lot of work for pretty much every presidential candidate producing quite a few of the events such as town halls and rallies. If you saw any news feeds from New Hampshire, there's a good chance the audio you were hearing was from us. My other job was being a tour manager for a French guitar player. I happened to be just starting the tour as Covid was known to be hitting our shores. It was odd time because the tour started in the south and traveling through North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee got pretty interesting with many peoples' opinion of the pandemic. Anyway, what was supposed to be a four month tour got cut short to about a week and half and during this time I was also informed that there was not anymore work to be had being that all in person campaigning had stopped. So the ended and I did not have a job to return to heading back to my temporary home. I had the "good" fortune of getting to live in two hot spots. My wife was in her last semester at Harvard Divinity School and Boston was hit pretty hard in the beginning. It was an interesting time, but things got a bit more under control as mask and social distancing mandates took effect. As the pandemic slowed down, it was really weird watching my home state of Arizona deciding not to learn lessons from the areas that had been hit early. After my wife's graduation, we came home to a governor who finally was forced to order mandates because covid was getting out of hand. It was quite frustrating to witness this after coming from a hotspot in which many lessons had been learned. Here is where I have to say, nothing was bad as it could have seemed. Being that there was no work to be had, I took advantage of my extra time off. I took the opportunity to practice guitar more seriously than I had for the decades before. I honed my skills in the kitchen. Between getting the bug to restart my education by getting to sit in on classes with Cornel West, E.J. Dionne and quite a few other world class educators as well seeing that this pandemic would be sticking around for a while, I decided that now was as good as a time as any to finish what ended up being only two more semester of classes to get my bachelors in both History and Religious Studies. The program has changed a little being that it was about 15 years ago so there's some new core classes that I need take because not all the classes I had taken before completely translated, but I have appreciated them so far and am very much enjoying being back in school. I feel rather fortunate to feel that I have been fortunate enough to be able to make the best of this time of somewhat chaotic transition. -
2020-10-05
The Year 2020
I hope people can relate to my message and see that it takes all of us to succeed. -
2020-10-08
Time to Slow Down and Reflect
What I have learned the most through COVID 19 is how much hate there is in the world. I am a miniscule piece of this planet and if I can strive and share a positive attitude, I would want that for everyone else. Life isn’t perfect, but we can try to be more respectful, caring, and understanding of others. This time of quarantine has really shown me how much I needed to slow down. Slow down and really reflect and meditate what is truly important to me now, and what is important to me and for my future. The hate that we focus on in our society comes from years and years of hurt and hatred. But it’s time for a change; it’s time for us to learn about each other and get to a point where we can all respectfully understand each other. You can never understand what everyone is going through, but they go through it every single day. It’s important to make sure others aren’t alone, and that healing takes time. The constant grind that we live going to work, being social, going to school, and traveling gets tiresome and the quality time of it all gets drowned by the stress and drama. We can use this time of quarantine to stop and realize what truly is important for our health: mental, physical, and spiritual. -
2020-10-08
My COVID Experience
My COVID experience has been mostly unremarkable. I am a fairly introverted person to begin with, so quarantine wasn't really a big deal for me. The only new thing to have come from this experience is having to wear a mask. Thus, why I added a mask to an image drawn of myself with a mask on. -
2020-03
COVID-19 story
Around the date that this image was taken was when the initial wave of COVID-19 began. I chose this image to best reflect my experience with COVID-19 because this was also around the time with the George Floyd shootings. As such, this document was handy for various reasons. For one, being an African-American male was a very unique experience at the time, since Floyd’s shooting brought about both people who supported either the BLM movement or was against it. The connection with COVID-19 was that during that point in time during the Floyd shooting, COVID-19 was not the main headline. However, as a consequence to the protests and COVID, curfews were put in place in various states nationwide. This image helped protect me from any unnecessary confrontation that could occur after curfew hours. During a time where there was already enough tension between African-Americans and law enforcement, I did not want to put myself in a situation where I could be compromised. In addition, this image will go down in history for future generations to see of the overall impact that COVID-19 had globally. This pandemic made drastic changes to the way of life in which we lived – from curfews to furloughing employees, to food and toilet paper shortages. This image reminds me of my experience with COVID-19. Around the date that this image was taken was when the initial wave of COVID-19 began. I chose this image to best reflect my experience with COVID-19 because this was also around the time with the George Floyd shootings. As such, this document was handy for various reasons. For one, being an African-American male was a very unique experience at the time, since Floyd’s shooting brought about both people who supported either the BLM movement or was against it. The connection with COVID-19 was that during that point in time during the Floyd shooting, COVID-19 was not the main headline. However, as a consequence to the protests and COVID, curfews were put in place in various states nationwide. This image helped protect me from any unnecessary confrontation that could occur after curfew hours. During a time where there was already enough tension between African-Americans and law enforcement, I did not want to put myself in a situation where I could be compromised. In addition, this image will go down in history for future generations to see of the overall impact that COVID-19 had globally. This pandemic made drastic changes to the way of life in which we lived – from curfews to furloughing employees, to food and toilet paper shortages. This image reminds me of my experience with COVID-19. #REL101 -
2020-10-05
What influenced me during the pandemic
Hello everyone, my name is Eddie Wu. I was born US but raised in Taiwan, a country that is nearby China. That means we are the first few countries that is influenced by COVID-19 due to the geography distance. At that time, my family was separated, me and my siblings living at Tempe, taking classes. My parents were at Taiwan that time facing the COVID-19, my parents are asked to stay home and put on masks when they go out. Then one more month later, the first case has happened in US. First, I think I will just stay here doing normal classes and will stay normal. Then my parents suddenly asks my siblings to go back to Taiwan, because Taiwanese government have already showing their ability to control the pandemic at Taiwan. So, it suddenly changed my day that time. My siblings are back to Taiwan, and I stayed here alone. It is scary that while the first few cases are founded in US, I am the only few person who put on masks in public places. I still remember at March, when I went to one of the store to get groceries, I have my masks on and my gloves on, some other customers told her child that I am sick so I put on my masks. During the pandemic time, it does change the ways I get groceries, socializing with friends, and taking class. The pandemic have make me getting bigger amount of groceries in once. When I am trying to doing activities with friends, mostly we are doing it on voice chat apps, if we have to meet outside, I always ask them to have their mask prepared, and also I will bring hand sanitizer to clean our hands. The last the changes the most is my classes, I am an UAS student, most of my class will be really hard to teach online because we don’t actually see the items in real life if the class is online, so most of my class are really hard for me that time, because it is online, somethings aren’t clear enough and I need to spent more hours to learn it myself. These are some major things that changes in my life during pandemic. -
2020-10-06
My Life During COVID-19
In early March of two-thousand twenty, my husband and I had just begun a journey of going back to mass on a weekly basis. When the governor of Washington, Jay Inslee, mandated that all gatherings of more than five people had to be shut down, that included our local church, gyms, local restaurants, and more. This mandate closed local parks, schools, and many businesses for the remainder of the Spring season. Easter mass was also cancelled which personally impacted my family as it is a tradition to gather at our local church with extended family for the holiday. My husband and I were both considered essential employees at our places of employment during this time. We had to carry a letter to prove our being essential while we drove to and from work. Working in the front office of a physical therapy clinic, the patients arriving before treatment and exiting afterwards began to feel unsafe due to the fear we all felt leaving our homes. This fear also resonated with my two co-workers because one was a Type I diabetic and the other was six months pregnant. Throughout the month of April, I began working from home in order to decrease my hours so that my coworker with diabetes was able to keep his hours. My other coworker who was pregnant took a leave of absence for two full months before returning during phase two. Since the state began phase two and released restrictions, churches and gyms reopened with capacity limits to provide social distancing from one another. My sister, who works for a private preschool, was uncertain if classes would reopen in the fall. She was making daily Zoom calls with her small preschool students from March until summer break began in June. As the state slowly begins to open up, our lives have changed with the use of masks and hand sanitizer. The distancing that has been placed over society has increased concerns about leaving home. The world is holding onto hope for a sense of normalcy that will soon arise from the clutter of dirty masks and used gloves. -
2020-10-06
Anchoring the news through a pandemic
In January of 2020 I was a wide eyed Junior at Arizona State University, trying out for an anchor position on Cronkite News, which airs on Arizona PBS. I had heard that typically Juniors were not selected and neither were sports journalism majors, like myself, who the faculty did not know as well, so I wasn't expecting to get one of the 10 spots. Somehow of the 60+ people to tryout I was selected and thus began my news anchoring experience. From the first time the red light on the camera turned on I was hooked, hooked to the feeling in my stomach unlike anything I had ever felt before knowing that messing up was not an option. My co-anchor was amazing and we built a great friendship that made every show even more fun, I was having the time of my life every Monday for two hours. Then, Spring Break came and with it the cancellation of basically everything due to the Coronavirus, including anchoring. I had other things cancelled like an internship and covering the Olympics in Tokyo that are much bigger deals in the journalism world, but for some inexplicable reason this one hurt the most. A few weeks later and we were doing our newscast from home; suit on the top, pajamas on the bottom and while it was good to feel productive, that feeling in my stomach was gone. That irreplaceable adrenaline rush of confidence and nerves that only came with someone counting down and a red light turning on, was gone for the foreseeable future. Summer passed and there was nothing to do. I knew I would be returning to school again in the Fall of 2020, but would they really let me anchor twice in two semesters? It seemed unlikely. A few weeks into the semester and I was playing it off, telling friends it was not a big deal and I, again, was not expecting to get one of the spots. The audition went well and then we waited. Suddenly I got a notification from Slack. It was a list of the anchors. I've never skimmed something so fast in my life. I found my name and a sigh of relief was mixed with pure joy, we were back. The pandemic tried to take something away from me, and I know it's nothing big, and I know millions and millions of people went through something that truly hurt or killed, but it felt good in that moment to beat it in my own way. Now, we're three shows in to semester number two and that feeling in my stomach is back every Thursday, as the floor director counts down 5, 4, 3, 2... -
2020-04
Missing out on important Life Experiences, stuck at home.
When my high school, Hamilton High, postponed the return of school for a few weeks due to the rising COVID-19 cases here in the United States, I wasn't all too bummed about missing an extra few weeks of school. I didn't consider how deadly the virus would be, how many lives it would take, and how many life experiences it would steal from me; all I knew was that I got to be at home doing whatever I wanted for an extra few weeks. I thought I was free, free from my usual life obligations, free from stress, free from all the problems the average teenager goes through. Little did I know that that was the start of mine, and many others, living purgatory. As the days passed by, seeing the cases rising and the deaths rising left me contemplating about how short life really is, what was I doing with my life, was I living my life to the fullest. I realized that any day I could wake up, not knowing it would be the last day of my life. Not only that, but as the return date to school pushed further and further back until finally, they announced that the rest of the school year would be canceled. That means that I would not have a traditional graduation, nor would I be able to attend prom. With COVID cases on the rise seemingly every week, I realized that most college campuses would be either closed or highly limited, and with a pandemic ongoing there wouldn't be much of a chance for social interaction, or going to classes in person, or really just living the college experience. I feel like I was deprived closure from high school, and my first year of college wouldn’t be the fun freshman college experience that most other people have. Fortunately, my friends and family have been safe from the virus, which I am very grateful for. However, I still can't help but feel slightly sorry for myself and other teenagers who are missing out on their freshman experience. -
2020-10-04
Life of a College student during the COVID-19 pandemic
My story is about how the COVID-19 affected my education starting from spring semester to fall semester. Taking all my classes from online, which is a little bit challenging. (REL 101) -
2020-10-04
#REL101
A bit of my experience living in coronavirus pandemic -
2020-10-04
COVID-19 From My Perspective
Luckily, this pandemic has only affected me in the way a dystopian film or novel has. I turn on the news and hear of increasing cases or public figures testing positive. I open my phone to find texts from friends who have lost loved ones and grieve alongside them. COVID-19 fearfully looms over my household but has yet to enter the door. I might have missed out on exciting opportunities and had to do things online that I normally do in person, but these things are minor compared to those who have lost jobs or relatives. Fear comes in waves, but normalcy seems closer than ever. My church has reopened its doors and students have returned to the campus I work at. While masks are required at most places and encouraged at many others, I have found myself this past week at places where people are connecting without taking severe precaution and it feels good to be a little careless sometimes. While I would always recommend wearing a mask and distancing oneself, it felt good to see people smile. I took my first COVID test last week and the experience was surreal. It brought everything back to the forefront when normalcy felt so close. I am beyond grateful for the distance between my family and this virus that has changed the world. It made us slow down and value time we were able to spend together. We typically go to Huntington Beach together every summer which did not happen this year, but it did not stop us altogether. We stayed in a cabin in Idaho which was much less crowded than California yet still delivered that family vacation feel. This pandemic did not prevent us from living the way we wanted to. Instead, it made us rethink our routines and focus on what we value most. It brought us together. -
2020-09-20
Musical Monday's
Chet Rosenbaum and his wife Dianne host “Musical Monday’s” every Monday night in their retirement village in Tamarac, Florida. Chet, a retired chief financial officer and military veteran, and his wife Dianne a professional performer and singer have always appreciated the joy music has brought to their lives. Now, in the midst of the COVID 19 pandemic, the couple takes that love of music and selflessly shares it with their retirement community. Whether it is Elton John’s “Crocodile Rock,” Billy Joel’s “Piano Man,” or The Platters’s “Goodnight Sweetheart” Chet and Dianne host an oldies party for fellow residents who comprised this county’s greatest generation. Solitude, boredom, and depression has turned into memories, laughter, and a strong sense of community with every note that is played. The tough times are subdued by the immense participation from the community. As each song is played another heartfelt memory from the past is found, and the hours of seclusion forced on them by the need for social distancing seems to be less and less significant. The love that Chet and Dianne give to their community members has been mutually shared in their appreciation and participation. Each Monday night Chet sets up his sound system and blasts oldies from his garage to a group of residents who although are wearing facial masks, dance and sing to every song that is played. The residents are so grateful, that the community presented Chet with a plaque of thanks signifying their appreciation. It read, “Your unselfish effort to bring some normalcy to our Monday is appreciated more than you can imagine, many thanks from your grateful Monday audience.” With that kind gesture by the community, Chet and Dianne realized how important music can be in our lives and how important it is with any difficult time to reach out to your fellow man, lean on one another, and use this shared strength to overcome adversity. Chet and Dianne are role models in their community, and I am proud to call them my grandparents. REL 101 *This is a photograph taken of my grandfather who was presented with a plaque of gratitude for his work in the community during COVID 19. -
2020-03-16
How Did The COVID-19 Affect My Education?
My story is about how the COVID-19 affected my education after I stopped attending the campus for my classes because of the pandemic. All the classes were done virtually, which was difficult at first, but througout the semester I got used to doing online which was better for me. REL101 -
2020-08-04
Adjusting to Change
This picture to me shows how we are working together to make small changes to our habits to continue with everyday life in spite of challenges.