Items

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  2020-04

  Coping with Quarantine

  I must say 2020 so far was not what I expected it to be. I began Brooklyn College on January 30th, 2020 for spring semester after taking a 10 year break from when I received my associate’s degree.I enjoyed getting back into the swing of things and coming to campus, making new friends and getting to know my Professor’s and engaging in my classes. This was a new routine me and it was exciting but challenging as well, between work, home life and taking five classes to say I was super busy was an understatement. When I first heard of the Corona Virus and what was happening in China, the resilient New Yorker in me thought “ this is NYC that won’t happen to us, we are fine “ but I was wrong. I was truly blindsided when the virus started spreading and became a world wide pandemic. Sadly I realized that it was serious when the mass hysteria began and I could not find toilet paper, hand sanitizer and everyday cleaning products. Shortly after, College became remote and I found myself unemployed. My busy, hectic, challenging and exciting new routine suddenly came to a stop, but I would soon realize the blessing in disguise with this quarantine. I was now home with my Sixteen year old Son and we were both learning from home. It was not easy for me, I soon noticed that I learn better in a class setting. I found it difficult to give my full attention to my Professor’s and my assignments but I pulled through and found the discipline to pass all my classes. During the quarantine I needed to find ways to make life interesting for myself, my Son and Fiancé. We started spring cleaning early, I started cooking takeout dishes that we missed, such as Chinese fried rice and Magnolia Bakery’s Banana Pudding, and I even learned how to dye my roots blond. My family and I were blessed to not be affected by Covid-19 personally and the quarantine did bring us closer together and although 2020 was not what I expected I am thankful and blessed for what it has given me and I hope that we all can only move forward and I pray there won’t be a second wave. God Bless us all.
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  2020-04-30

  "Love in the Time of Coronavirus"

  Wall mural on a French street created by a French artist, C215, showing his interpretation of love during Covid-19. He completed the wall mural before France’s lock down. He is selling prints of the piece online, with proceeds going to the Paris Hospitals foundation.
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  2020-03-22

  Family Photo

  This photo is important to me because it shows how having to be at home forced me to communicate with my loved ones in different ways. I think the photo also represents a strengthened relationship between my boyfriend and I and my sister and I, and how the three of us became friends.
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  0020-04-19

  During the Covid-19 quarantine I was living alone with my dog and cat in a 3 bedroom town house after losing two of my roommates to a financial crisis.

  during the stay at home order i could not take my dog on our daily walks in the beach. She has a huge personality so she got mad at me and would poop on my carpet in my dressing room. The bissell green machine is important to me because it helped me save a-lot of money of a real carpet cleaner and it helped keep my house sanitary when thats all I had to stay.
• 2020-05-21

  Groovin' Through It All

  A longboard and a kayak: two objects created in order to give the sense of fluid movement amongst a sea of chaotic concrete and wobbling waters- and that is my experience in this pandemic to a T. In the beginning of the pandemic, my family chose to keep ourselves isolated from other people and the possibility of encountering COVID, as my sister and mom had immunodeficiencies. Me, being an extrovert, found this so incredibly hard to be apart from my friends, my rocks, the people who make me feel as though life has color in a scheme of black and white. The first time that I was allowed to see people was when we all met in a parking lot, staying 6 feet apart, and longboarding. A segway. A form of connection. A light. A board. Almost every night after that, I would go on rides around my neighborhood, feeling the curve of each carve, the wind whistling through my hair, the last taste of the golden sun fresh on the tip of my tongue, and the feeling of being a part of something greater that just me in that moment. The same goes for my kayak- the outdoors, and people. For me it really seems to all come back to nature and my loved ones, I guess that is what fills my heart with happiness.
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  2020-05-07

  JBL

  One day I was sitting in Central Park. I was saying goodbye to my friends who were leaving for college. We were also there to celebrate my friends birthday. I remember the bittersweet vibe like it was yesterday. My friend gave me her phone and told me to queue song I thought fit the situation. There were so many to choose from. With the power of music, it was able to lift people up and remember the times we all had together.
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  2020-04-12

  Me, My Water, and my Dying Cat

  My cat was the only routine I actually was able to keep during quarantine and COVID precautions. Every morning when I woke up, he would state his presence with a loud meow and proceed to cuddle with me for the forseeable future. Every night, he would curl up at the end of my bed and lull himself to sleep with his own purring. He was the only consistency I had while isolated from the rest of the world.
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  2020-06-07

  A Beautiful Wedding Amid a Black Lives Matter Protest in Philadelphia

  In the middle of a big BLM protest in Philadelphia, a couple got married. She wore a white wedding dress and he was in a tuxedo. They struck a powerful pose and the whole event was tremendously moving and beautiful.
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  2020-06-06

  I Broke up with My Boyfriend because, Quarantine, and Got a New Family

  I broke up with my boyfriend because quarantine forced us to spend much more time together and the problems we'd been able to sweep under the rug became too apparent to us. It was time to make the break which would have been devastating normally but since I was able to move in with old friends and turn a negative into a positive. This wouldn't have happened without the Coronavirus.
• 
  2020-06-07

  Philadelphia Couple Gets Married During the BLM Protests

  This is a wonderful story of a couple that got married during a BLM protest in Philadelphia. Due to the Coronavirus, the couple had to postpone their wedding, but they were able to make up for it for sure! The bride and groom were beautiful and very happy! I love this article because it shows the resilience of people as well as their creativity. And, it celebrates love in a turbulent time. Some things never do change no matter what is happening in the world.