Items

• 
  April 8, 2020

  Find the positive in the negative

  a look at the everyday life of Gabriella Bartley during the height of the 2020 pandemic
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  2021-10-07

  Positives of the pandemic

  This is a photo of a community garden at a park very close to me. Although this project existed before the pandemic, it has flourished much in this time to become a beautiful large garden with many different plants. I think this reflects some of the positive effects of the pandemic, as for some people, it gave them the chance to focus on things they might not normally have. Community engagement and connection in this way has provided hope for many people during this time.
• 2020-04-30

  Adventure Behind Uncertainties

  Different life circumstances bring different versions of us, sometimes it is how we approach it that determines the type of adventure that we are going to have. The pandemic has brought a lot of uncertainties of what our usual lives would be like. For me, it was the repeated days of not knowing what to do next which led me to start reflecting on what I can do now. My first goal in this journey was to reach out to family and friends. During my time of reflection, I realized that I was losing touch with those close to me. Rather than calling once in a while or during birthdays and holidays, I call and text more often than before. My second goal was working on my health. I began making healthier lifestyle choices such as exercising more often, eating healthier food and drinking more water. I also added a skincare routine which I enjoy doing and continue to improve as needed. Prior to the pandemic, I had a passion for painting though I have not really put my skills to use like I should. But recently I started drawing again to bring my paintings to life. Hoping before the end of the year, I can have some paintings to share with family and friends. One of my happiest moment during the pandemic was creating small humanitarian projects such as donating food. It taught me that I can still be involved in my community regardless of the distance. As the pandemic continues, I am still adapting , learning about new ways to improve my health and wellness and continue to find ways to contribute to my community.
• 
  2020-03

  March 2020: A Life-changing Month

  The year 2020 was looking to be much like other years that I spent in college. I was going to be going to classes, meeting up with friends, and working out most days. As March approached, my excitement grew. Spring break was coming, and I had a scheduled trip to Cancun, Mexico. There was talk of a virus spreading through China, but it was very unknown to us. Prior to our trip, we joked about contracting the virus. Little did we know, that would be the week living in the world the way we knew it. My trip to Mexico was everything I wanted it to be and more, but I was ready to come home and finish the semester. We came back from Mexico, and I returned to Duquesne. Within one week of my return, everything changed. Universities around the country started to close for, what we thought at the time, two weeks. Duquesne followed suit. School did not return that semester and the entire country began to shut down. There was a lot of fear and unknown. One minute I was having the trip of a lifetime, and the next minute I was at home with my family only leaving to get groceries. We began using masks everywhere we went, using hand sanitizer many times a day, and staying as far away from others as possible. Although life felt like it completely stopping, the pandemic allowed my family and I to experience something that we might never get to experience again: over a month of quality time together. I was now doing school via zoom and my father, brother, and uncle were home from work. During this time, my family spent a lot of time together. My father and I would find interesting ways to work out every day since our gym had been shut down (see artifact image for a picture of my watch after completing a weighted vest walk. We began these weighted vest walks during the pandemic.). We would watch Netflix series as a family, do puzzles, and even play board games together. I will never forget these memories, even though they were accompanied by fear of the Coronavirus.
• 2021-09-08

  Relative Distance

  A couple of weeks before lockdown began in March of 2020 I had reconnected with someone I met in college years prior. We went on a few dates before I left to study abroad and nothing developed further, but we had struck up a conversation over text and had made plans to meet in Boston the weekend that New York City declared a state of emergency. Needless to say, we never met for drinks that weekend, yet we talked every day without fail for the rest of 2020. Our initial conversations typically revolved around the different developments of the pandemic but we started to get to know each other as text conversations became phone calls then video calls. Our connection grew as a reaction to the large amount of time we suddenly had and by a new reality where distance meant something very different than before. Although I had not seen him in person for almost 2 years, he was there for me in the only feasible way a person could be during that time. He was there through personal tragedies or minor irritations in an evolving and confused stretch of months. Sometimes we did not have much to say at all - I deferred to topics like what I cooked for dinner or we compared notes on the new show that we had just watched. I called him first when my pandemic furlough turned into a lost job. I called him first when l was chosen for my Executive Assistant position many months and numerous applications later. He texted me on my first day of remote work to wish me luck and he consoled me over video chat through my tears of frustration and defeat as I navigated the new reality of learning a remote position in the typically highly visual and highly performative art world to which I was accustomed. On one of these calls he told me that he had to go back home to Italy. There were many more months of having a friendship and possibly relationship in a state of limbo with this person who now knew me better than most. We had become close through untraditional means; it felt strange at times but then again so did everything else. He came back to the United States in January of 2021 and we have been dating ever since. Connection to others took on a new meaning during that year. How we interacted and who we kept in contact with changed. Speaking with him was something I looked forward to and it gave me a sense of routine. More importantly, our conversations provided a dose of levity and joy to each day throughout a very tumultuous year.
• 
  2020-08-08

  Positivity Throughout a Pandemic

  I submitted a story of my life during the pandemic and the positives that I have decided to focus on when looking back on this past year.
• 
  2020-04-06

  We Will Get Through COVID-19

  Photograph of a sign on a fence to convey positive message in spite of COVID-19.
• 
  2021-02-21T14:40

  Mini Oral History with Jennifer, 2.21.21

  Transcript of Interview with Jennifer by Sharon Hunt Interviewee: Jennifer Interviewer: Sharon Hunt Date: 2/21/21 Location (Interviewee): Tucson, Arizona Location (Interviewer): Tucson, Arizona Transcriber: Sharon Hunt Abstract: Jennifer lives in Tucson, Arizona, and spoke about a positive result of the pandemic that she has experienced. She has been able to save money and pay off debts during this time period, as she has not been able to go out and shop or go to restaurants as she did in pre-pandemic times.
• 
  2021-01-26

  Pandemic Kindness

  The pandemic has caused so much death, destruction, and sadness. I wanted to share something positive that has happened to me during this difficult event. While this begins in tragedy, I promise it turns around... My service dog passed away suddenly from cancer one month after his first birthday. It was April and the virus was spreading rapidly so there were new restrictions being imposed everywhere. I had to go through the process of my dog passing away all on my own and my dog had to spend a lot of the time alone in a cage in the vet's office while I was forced to wait in my car. My mind was plagued with thoughts of my dog long after he had passed. I could no longer ride in my car that I had spent so much of my dog's last hours in. Everything was closed because of the pandemic so I was forced to stay at home and everything in my house reminded me of my dog. I became very depressed and barely came out of my room. I forced myself to get up and get a blanket from the living room and I saw a rock on the table near my daughter's crafts. I don't know what it was, but I just decided to paint one. One had a triangular shape and I turned it into a shark head because it reminded me of a shark tooth. I had never drawn or painted prior to this but I was proud of my work and, at the end of it all, I realized that I had spent hours in my living room! I decided to get up the next day and paint another rock. I did this for a week and once I gathered a small pile, I put a few in my pocket and went for a walk, dropping painted rocks in random places along the way. The rocks had made me so happy at one of the darkest moments of my life and I wanted to spread that feeling to others. The whole thing really taught me how something really small can make a big difference. Painting rocks has helped keep me connected with others during the pandemic. I've found communities of rock artists and we share ideas with one another. I've also discovered I have a talent for drawing and painting and have recently begun taking commissioned art requests. I still make sure to paint plenty of "freebies" and I leave them everywhere from gas pumps to hidden in trees. I am so grateful to be able to spread even a little bit of kindness during this difficult time.
• 
  2020-12-13

  Positive Affirmations for Mental Health (especially in a pandemic!)

  This is a journal entry consisting of positive affirmations and gratitude practice. Just like everyone, I have been dealing with many mental health issues during this pandemic and have had days where I wanted to do nothing but disappear into some alternate universe and be rid of all my problems. I spent a lot of time on the app, Tik Tok and stumbled upon many videos about manifestations, affirmations and spirituality in general. Though affirmations have been a thing for quite some time, some of the videos dove in deeper by talking about the law of attraction. I was a bit skeptical at first but I looked up some success stories and felt intrigued. I decided to give affirmations and gratitude a go as a way to not only brighten my mood, but to help me appreciate life more in general and bring more positive vibes into it. I’m not saying that doing this solves all your issues, but it has definitely worked wonders for me, especially during these darker days of the world. I advise anyone to give this a try because I truly think just about anyone would notice a difference by making affirmations and gratitude a daily habit. Whether one wishes to try specific manifestation techniques to dive deeper into these practices is subjective based on how much they believe in spirituality, but basic affirmations and gratitude alone can make a big difference.
• 
  2020-11-16

  Preston Potter Oral History, 2020/11/16

  This interview shares the perspective of not only a college student learning during the pandemic, but also a student athlete. Preston Potter strives to maintain his job, his grades, and also stay in athletic shape, while also trying to keep a sense of team brotherhood while staying safe. We explored how he tried to juggle all of this, stay sane, and lead a normal life. Preston gives a positive outlook on the struggles and challenges he faces, focused solely on achieving a dream career of being a professional baseball player. It is a unique look into how different students are handling the many balls they have in the air between work, school and practice.
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  2020-05-04

  Diamond Dog - HIST 393

  Covid really began changing my life when the news broke that I would not be returning to my college campus. I remained home from my spring break with my family in New England and lots changed, both positive and negative. The most positive change in my life since the pandemic began has been my new family member, a mini Australian shepherd named Penny Lane. Penny is my family’s first dog and has been a big part of how we stayed sane throughout the initial craziness of Covid. Having a puppy to unite my family was a huge help because we were all feeling divided and found ourselves crashing more than usual due to the extended time at home. We were all able to bond over the teamwork required to take care of a pet and the happiness that a happy puppy brings to a household. Penny has helped all of us deal with our specific anxieties as well. In my case, I found myself becoming more reclusive, and finding motivation to do school work was more and more difficult. Experiencing a dog being happy to see me when I walked back home helped my motivation tons and made me want to retreat less into my negative thoughts. Penny had been a silver lining because we would not have gotten her if we weren’t spending so much time at home, and she made adjusting to the new way of Covid life much easier. As time has gone on, I find myself reflecting on the positive aspects of my quarantine experience more than the negative ones, and Pennny has been the most positive change in my life during he plague year.
• 
  2019-10-16

  Making the Best of Covid

  Like everyone, at the beginning of the pandemic I was terrified. I didn't know what the future held. I had just started a new job substitute teaching and all of a sudden, the schools were shut down and I was out of necessary work. Thankfully, I worked another job that afforded me the ability to continue making somewhat of a living, although savings would ultimately get me through about 7 months of the pandemic. Cooped up at home, I had nothing but time to think, reflect, work through my own demons, and ultimately to find myself again. I finally had nothing but time-- the one commodity we all complain we never have enough of. I got to take care of my physical, emotional and mental wellbeing again, spend time with my horses and dog, finish crocheting a few afghans that I had tucked away for months because I simply didn't have time. I got my photography business off the ground and finally went out to photograph places that I loved but never felt I had enough time to drive to. I found a better version of myself--a happier, stronger, braver and fearless, take no prisoners kind of woman through all the time on my hands. I treated myself to a photography trip to Alaska in September, which turned out to be the final step in self discovery. I needed to spread my wings on a solo trip to one of the most beautiful places in the world to find that final missing piece. I can confidently say that I think I found the place I will call home next. This pandemic has been transformative in so many ways. It is still possible to respect the virus for what it is without sacrificing our own mental and financial health. It is easy to seep into the perils associated with the pandemic. Between the online bickering of political parties, the looming election, the vaxxers and the anti-vaxxers, the maskers and the anti-maskers-- what everyone has failed to take advantage of, is time. I wish people took a step back to re-evaluate their sense of self through all of this. I wish people took time to look at all the opportunity and blessings that the confusing time of the pandemic has provided us. I wish people took time to be grateful for the things they have and not disparaged by the things that they do not. I choose a positive perspective on an otherwise horrible period in our lives. I choose to make the best of covid. Photo: Matanuska River Bridge, Palmer AK, 2020. Taken by: Jordyn Clutter (Hot Mess Pony Express) Arizona State University, HST 485.
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  2020-09-03

  The Mental Load Of Motherhood Has Never Been Heavier

  I know I’m not the only mom hurting right now. Many moms across the world in this period of uncertainty are hurting. We’re hammered with issues. Not being able to leave our homes the way we want to. Not being able to see our friends. The fear of sending our kids to school. Deciding if we should take a vacation to bring some normalcy back into our children’s lives. To improve our mental health. Financial stress. Stress about when this pandemic will end. Taking care of our children 24/7 without a break for the last five months. Caring for kids and working at the same time. Supervising our kids’ virtual lessons. Increasing anxiety and depression. The list goes on. This pandemic has brought so many moms to their knees. I see you hurting, exhausted, anxious moms. I see you running on empty. I see the toll that it has taken on our children and on our families. I want to offer some advice that I know I would appreciate getting. Next time you see a mother and want to offer support in a way that won’t kick her while she’s already down, rather than tell her to find a silver lining in this chaos that we are living in, simply respond with “I am here for you. We will get through this together. I know it’s hard.”