Items

• 2021-12-22

  Charleston, South Carolina 2021 Christmas Trip

  After COVID travel restrictions were lifted, my family and I seized the opportunity to visit Charleston, South Carolina to spend Christmas with my cousins. Despite the chill of December, we were able to explore the historic town at our leisure. While some shops remained open, their hours were adjusted due to the holiday season and COVID precautions. Similarly, many restaurants offered a limited menu, which disappointed my sister and me as we are both picky eaters. During our visit, we made sure to visit Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, a renowned historic house with beautiful gardens and one of the oldest plantations in the South. However, due to COVID, several attractions within the plantation were closed. It was also mandatory that we follow the necessary safety measures by wearing masks around other groups of people and inside the gift shop. Despite the limitations imposed by COVID, my time in Charleston was truly wonderful. I had the opportunity to immerse myself in the city's rich history, even if I couldn't fully explore all the places and shops as I had hoped. But most importantly, I cherished the moments spent with my family during this special holiday trip.
• 
  2021-12-25

  Immunocompromised at Christmas

  The impact of COVID-19 on travel and tourism over the past three years has been significant, and in my experiences, travel for me in post-COVID era has been wildly different - as my mind swirls around a large concern that I could possibly do harm to my immunocompromised husband. He’d experienced major spinal and heart surgeries in the summer of 2020, and the following year a round of COVID left his nervous and immune systems permanently weakened. My parents had planned a large family trip in May 2021, and my thoughts continued to swirl around the potential for another round of COVID afflicting my husband. I had us cancel. Months later, my family finally convinced us to get on a plane for Christmas to Austin, Texas to see my sister’s new home. It would be our son’s first flight, too, which only added to my anxiety. It was December 2021, and most restrictions were still in place at airports at this time. I was grateful for the number of passengers on the flights, in the airports, and in public transportation hubs utilizing masks and maintaining distance from one another. I recalled seeing one family, completely maskless, at the airport. They seemed so out of place - and to be honest they looked very uncomfortable - too. Luckily, like us, my extended family was hesitant to explore the hustle of downtown Austin, so much of the trip was spent with everyone at my sister’s new home, cooking, reading, completing puzzles, and most importantly: getting her lawn familiarized with several dozen rounds of Bocce ball. It was the first time we were all able to come together after the start of the pandemic, and I felt grateful for the opportunity to be with my family in the same safe space. We got way too competitive, but the laughter during Bocce proved the most memorable part of the trip. I loved how happy my family looked in this moment, especially my sister (front in orange) and my husband (over her right shoulder). I am not sure what the future looks like for COVID and travel, but for me, I know that it already looks different - I will continue to mask, I will distance, and I will choose options that will do the least amount of harm to those I love and the people I may meet along the way.
• 
  2021-12-24

  Xmas Present

  A comic strip about Covid-19
• 
  2022-01-02

  Quarantine Post Lockdowns

  HIST30060: This was a photo taken before dinner during my self quarantine at the beginning of this year, as I had come into close contact with my mum who had COVID on Christmas day. I was then promptly messaged by the Department of Health and Human Services to quarantine for the next week, which also meant I had to self isolate on my birthday (New Year's Eve). This dinner was the final night of that quarantine, in my apartment with my girlfriend and her dog, eating a dinner we had organised through having our groceries delivered for the first and only time. This quarantine reminded me and still reminds me of the presence COVID still has in our lives even in 2022, years on from the beginning of the pandemic and outside of lockdown restrictions. The virus still restricts us in ways we had not experienced before 2020.
• 
  2021-12-20

  And a Happy New Year

  My boyfriend and I had visited his parents over our Christmas Holiday from college. They had just recently gotten back from Hawaii, so they had travelled through several airports to get to and from Baton Rouge. Despite my boyfriend and I being vaccinated and wearing masks around his family, we came to find out that his mother had COVID (she is a staunch anti-vaxxer). Not one week after our visit, my boyfriend and I both tested positive. We spent Christmas and New Years holed up in our tiny apartment, feeling guilty that we had been to our respective works and to visit my relatives without knowing we were positive. His mother is still suffering from COVID complications, nearly eight months after originally having it. I'll never understand why people assume that public health and health education are a hoax. It could have saved everyone a lot of time and effort and suffering if the truth about vaccinations wasn't barraged by misinformation and public hysteria.
• 2021-12-26

  Gifts on a Line

  Last Christmas, one of my cousins contracted Covid. This threw a wrench in our entire plans for the weekend. We stayed with my grandmother instead, but we were debating whether or not to even show up to my cousin's house or if the trip was all a bust. My dad convinced me to go but to stay distant. It turns out my cousin had come up with this elaborate line system that allowed her to slide us our presents from the house down to the street on a hook. It was the craziest gift-giving moment I have had and I hope not to experience that again if I don't have to.
• 
  2020-12-09

  Santa Covid's reindeer

  A comic strip about Covid-19
• 
  2020-12-06

  What do you mean by "feet"?

  A comic strip about Covid-19
• 
  2020-11-30

  Tree decorations

  A comic strip about Covid-19
• 
  2020-12-22

  First Christmas not with Family

  This is a picture of the first Christmas tree that my brother and I bought to set up in our apartment. It is a small tree because I figured we did not need a big one since we had a small number of ornaments to hang up. This tree also represents Christmas 2020, the year of COVID-19 and the first year we did not spend Christmas Eve with our parents. My Mom has an auto-immune disease and she could not go out much in 2020. However, at some point, she either went out or COVID was brought home. She ended up in the hospital a day or two before Christmas and tested positive for COVID. Therefore, it was for the best for my brother and I to not go home on Christmas Eve. I was disappointed we couldn't go see them. However, my brother and I decided to order Shari's, a diner restaurant local to Washington and Oregon, for dinner. We didn't see them that day, but we were able to go over the next day to open presents and not much else. Not the best Christmas, but I suppose it could have been worse.
• 
  2022-01-03

  It finally happened

  We’re two months short of the two year anniversary of the Covid outbreak here in the US. My family of four followed the rules, masked up, quarantined and my husband and I were vaccinated as soon as we were able. This holiday season we found ourselves living life as we had before Covid, we got too comfortable. Our children are small and we were still unsure if we wanted to get our six year old vaccinated. We went into public spaces unvaccinated, participated in all the family Christmas festivities and then we got sick. I thought it was a cold at first and then one day it dawned on me that my sense of smell and taste were gone. Then the guilt and shame set in. We got too comfortable, we lost sight of the fact that Covid is not gone. People are still dying. My husband and I are fine, it’s like a cold with the added adventure of not being able to taste anything. I worry for my kids though. I feel guilty that we didn’t get my oldest vaccinated. I hate to watch her fight this with only over the counter medication to help her. I feel for my three year old. I hope they don’t get worse. This was a rude awakening for us all, Covid is not gone.
• 
  11/10/2020

  Kenneth and Wendy Moran Oral History, 2020/11/10

  C19OH
• 
  2021-10-09

  Christmas 2020

  Over the holidays, it was a good way to reflect on how the year turned out. When my fiance flew home for the holidays, we had to wear a mask to go pick him up from the airport. There were even some family members that came to visit over the holidays asking us to wear a mask around them as we opened up presents. The only time we took our masks off was for family pictures.
• 
  2020-12-25

  Covid Family Holidays

  This picture was taken on Christmas Day of 2020. Due to my cancer diagnosis, a weak immune system, and the need or me to socially isolate Christmas gifts were delivered by the matriarch of my family, my mother. Adjusting family holiday traditions has been another consequence of Covid.
• 
  2021-10-06

  Life with Covid-19 United in Isolation

  I had a few other objects I could have used for my story but I decided to use this one because it is the one that has meaning to me. This pandemic affected several areas of my life, as it did for most people in the world. After considering all of the relevant memories that impacted my life, like working from home, and switching from in person classes to online and zoom meetings, I decided that the area that impacted my life the most was not being able to see my family for over a year. My family is very united, we meet for special events, birthday celebrations, holidays, and for any other reason we come up with just to get together. None of us ever imagined how difficult it was going to be to be isolated from one another for such a long time and the impact it was going to have in our lives. At first it was ok because we didn't know for how long it was going to last, and how bad things were going to get in such a short period of time. We definitely did not think that Christmas of 2019 was gonna be the last time we would see each other in over a year. This photograph reminds me of the feeling of isolation that we were all feeling as a family. I could tell that this situation was difficult for all of us. It was taken in the summer of 2020, everyone was pretty scared. We were all trying our best to stay healthy, one thing that I remember hearing over and over again was "We have to stay apart in order to be able to stay healthy and see each other again". No one is to be missing next time we gather. Most members of my family were raised with Christian values. This was definitely an important factor for most of us, prayer and religious encouraging words and bible quotes were common on our group chats. Many of my family members live in Mexico and to this day they are not able to cross. During the worst days of the pandemic, prior to the vaccine, life changed 100% for all of us, but this screenshot is a perfect example of how we managed to stay together even when w e were so far apart. Social media and technology kept us united. We were able to see each other exactly one year later on Christmas of 2021, we followed recommended guidelines and celebrated outdoors, with masks as well as social distancing. This experience really changed the way we lived our lives in more than one way, one thing is for sure is that we stayed united through it all. This screenshot of a zoom meeting with my family will always be a reminder of what we endured at the beginning of the pandemic, a global event that we will never forget.
• 
  2021-10-06

  Moving from Turkey to the United States During a Pandemic

  This story describes moving a family from Antalya, Turkey to the United States during the pandemic of 2020/2021. It attempts to enlighten the reader to the types of issues people are dealing with and how it can change a person and reveal who people are.
• 
  2020-12-25

  Pandemic Christmas 2020

  This is a polaroid photo of my family getting together on Christmas day in 2020. We are all wearing masks because some of us have more hazardous occupations that may have exposed us to covid. We had been tested but wanted to err on the side of caution. We thought it would make a good picture, and wanted to document our lives during the pandemic.
• 
  2021-05-21

  A COVID year...book

  Being one of two editors for a school-wide yearbook is challenging enough, but when COVID hit, it changed the way that we were able to record our schools history. Events were cancelled, and those that weren’t imposed limited attendance policies, which made it more difficult to take photographs and conduct interviews. To aid with this, we sent out requests to the student body, asking them to submit photos for the yearbook. This relieved some of the pressure, as we now had access to more content, but it still posed challenges. Even with the photos that we were able to obtain, the subjects of the photos were always wearing masks, making it more difficult to identify who was present. Despite these numerous struggles, we were able to complete the yearbook and publish it for the student body to enjoy. To capture the year as a whole, we chose to theme the book after the most prominent event of the school year; COVID. Each page in the book was designed to reflect COVID in one way or another. Although this implied a more serious tone to this book, my co-editor and I strived to add humor where and when we could. Of these, my favorite was a poem that I wrote, titled “ ‘Twas the Night Before COVID-MAS”, a parody of “ ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas”. While some lines of the famous poem remained the same, I added my own touches to most of them, to better reflect these troubling times. With this story that I have now shared to the world, I have also included an audio reading of this poem. I hope it brings you a few laughs.
• 
  2020-11-30

  Creating New Traditions in a Pandemic

  One of the traditions in my family is to make lefse, a type of Norwegian flatbread, at Christmas time. This tradition was started by my grandmother, because it was one of the foods that she associated with her childhood Christmases as the child of Norwegian and Swedish immigrants. Every year, no matter what was going on, we gathered together as a family at the start of the Christmas season to make lefse. If you’ve made lefse before, you can attest to it being a labor-intensive process, which involves ricing pounds of potatoes, rolling out dozens of balls of dough until they are paper thin, and frying them one by one on a hot griddle. It’s one of those recipes that works better if you have several people to help. In my family, everyone had a job to do. The youngest children of the family were put in charge of popping air bubbles that rose from the dough while it cooked. The older kids took turns flouring the rolling boards and rolling out the dough. The adults were responsible for cooking the lefse, a process that involved transferring huge rounds of dough to the hot griddle using long turning sticks. Even family members who were not culinarily inclined were put to work, folding the finished lefse and packaging it up so that it could be frozen, so that it was available for Christmas morning. It was a family affair, that filled the kitchen up with laughter and stories and more than one flour fight. Family lefse day is one of the most enduring memories of my childhood. When the pandemic made it unsafe to travel or even to visit my family, I found myself facing a Christmas without being able to participate in my family’s lefse making tradition. There were many teary video calls to family members as we all came to terms with the fact that we would be missing this tradition for the first time in nearly 40 years. At this point, after enduring months of isolation because of COVID-19, I was devastated. It didn’t feel like the holidays without this tradition and making lefse by myself felt overwhelming. I was telling my friend Mike about how sad I was over missing out on this tradition, when he offered a solution. We would both quarantine for 14 days, purchase all the ingredients we needed and have them delivered, and then he and I would make as much lefse as we could. I was stunned by his generosity. After all, this was not his tradition. In fact, he’d never even eaten lefse before. But he saw a way that he could help a friend feel better after such a trying year. So, we did just that. With only two of us, it took us about six hours, but we ended up with nearly thirteen pounds of lefse that eventually got sent to family members in four different states. The best moment came when we all video chatted from our homes on Christmas morning, just to eat the lefse together. It was different than normal, but it was a joyous moment. Mike joined us on the call and shared some of the challenges we had making thirteen pounds of lefse in a tiny apartment in the middle of a pandemic. This year, he’s been invited to my parents’ house to join in on the family lefse making day. After all, it’s tradition.
• 
  2020-12-31

  The Summer Your Librarians Became Youtubers...

  I am a children's librarian in rural Louisiana. We are approximately two hours away from all major forms of entertainment, so the library acts as not only a community hub but a place for children to learn and participate in extracurricular activities year-round... until Covid. Though our community hardly noticed the virus itself, the effects of being locked down soon took hold, and we were left with a community of children, families, and elderly people more isolated than they usually were. The depression set in. And my director had the fabulous notion to take what we did to the airwaves... Or rather the internet. Our seriously underutilized Facebook Page became the hub of activity, and overnight we went from librarians to Youtubers leading digital craft and art classes, Zoom creative writing workshops, and nightly bedtime stories. What initially began as a means to cheer up the children soon developed into full-fledged outreach. Local politicians, law-enforcement, and other community leaders read stories for us on our page as a means to connect with the people in our community. We did special digital story hours with schools once they opened back up in the fall, and also read stories to patients in the nursing home. Continuing with this train of thought, we partnered with our local American Legion Hall, which is located on a main thoroughfare and has large windows clearly visible from the road, to set up our annual "Christmas Around the World" exhibit (which features Christmas traditions from many different countries as well as Kwanzaa and Hanukah traditions) since there was no way to feature the display in our small meeting room safely. Every program was modified, digitized, and brought to the people of our community in the best possible way they could be... which turned the 'year of the plague' into a year of learning, cooperation, and ingenuity for us.
• 
  2021-05-25

  Being 16/17 in a Pandemic

  This is my life during the pandemic in the United States which on personal experiences and reactions that I and those closest to me went through.
• 
  2021-04-01

  #JOTPYFuture from MacKenzie Brash

  I am really hoping that at least my older relatives are vaccinated by summer (though I have little hope for myself). I'd love to be able to travel outside Canada by Christmas. #JOTPYFuture
• 
  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.
• 
  2021-03-09

  Oral History with a Rural Church Pastor

  Abstract: Josh Colson grew up in Southern Illinois. He attended Welch College, earning a BS in Christian Ministry and an MA in Theology. Additionally, he is currently a student at Vanderbilt Divinity School, pursuing an MTS. Mr. Colson is currently the pastor of Brandon’s Chapel Free Will Baptist Church in Bumpus Mills, TN. The church is part of a small rural community, being in one of the smallest counties in middle Tennessee. In addition, Mr. Colson is the Faith Representative for the community health board. In this interview, Mr. Colson recounts the effects COVID-19 has had on his duty as a member of the clergy, his congregation, and his community.
• 2020-12-25

  a COVID Christmas

  This Christmas my father unfortunately contracted COVID-19. He was unable to leave his house for two weeks, and it was obvious it hit him hard. My father lives alone and is 71 so my brother and I took it upon ourselves to help him as much as possible and isolate ourselves. We would bring him food and medicine and leave it at his bedroom door to keep a safe distance. During Christmas it was just the three of us eating dinner, but my brother. and I ate in a separate room as our father. It was very lonely but he is all better now with the vaccine so next holiday will be better.
• 
  2021-03-04

  COVID Christmas

  My Christmas was the same as always despite COVID. My family ate breakfast and then we opened presents and then watch basketball. We didn't worry about getting COVID just by being around my family so it wasn't that much different than the previous Christmases.
• 
  2021-02-26

  Black Boston COVID-19 Coalition's Holiday Social Distancing Message

  This twitter post by the Black Boston COVID-19 Coalition features a video warning Boston's Black community not to gather with their families during the holiday season. It was also shown on television as a PSA announcement on a local news station. The video shows a family celebrating Christmas dinner with their grandmother, a group of children receiving gifts from their uncle, and a dining room decorated with lots of party decorations. These happy scenes are interrupted by the grandma vanishing (to represent her death from COVID), a child critically ill with COVID in the hospital, and a coffin sitting alone in a funeral home. These stark images are meant to remained the Black community of their vulnerability COVID deaths and encourage them to avoid meeting their families in an attempt to stop their community from getting COVID-19. This twitter post shows the self-activism of Black community by showing how it mobilized to create COVID warnings and resources to help their people be informed and to warn them of the dangers of becoming a source and recipient of the virus.
• 
  2021-02-12

  #JOTPYSilver submission from Lynn Okiec

  We had a quiet and peaceful Christmas! @covid19archive1 #JOTPYSilver @DM_JayKelly @ohsochelly @BernieSanders @BuffaloHistory @NicoTortorella
• 2020-12-24

  Breaking Tradition while the clock continues to Tick

  Every year since I was a child I always looked to the holidays for multiple great reasons. When I was young of course the idea of getting presents always trumped the other great qualities that comes with Christmas. As I grew older, I started to appreciate what these holidays really meant to me. That is family, seeing everyone all together happy for a moment in time like nothing else mattered. When Covid hit now over a year ago it seemed like a bad dream that would pass in a few weeks, but a few weeks turned into a few months which turned it over a year now. When Christmas came around this year, we knew it was going to be different and that was okay with me. What really upset me was that I wouldn’t be able to see those I’m closest to and those I cherish my time with. I am mostly referring to my grandparents, on both sides of my family I have loving grandparents who are always a joy to see. In the last few years, I have come to appreciate every time I get to see them one because I love them but also because there could be only a handful of times left that I will get to see them. It is a morbid way to look at family, but one has to come to reality that family isn’t here forever, and this fact helps me appreciate family while they are here. Covid comes into play in this story because this year the virus separated us at a time when family should be together. It deeply upset me to not be able to make another unforgettable memory with my grandparents. What really hurt me was how I could imagine they were feeling about all this. At their age family is everything and they just want to be around everyone as they are getting older. So, we tried our best to all zoom in on Christmas eve and Christmas morning to try and make it as normal as every other year. Of course, it was not the same but with the technology we have today we were still able to share some great moments through the video cameras around the room. After we had the family zoom call I could tell my grandfather really just wanted to be here with all of us and that is a hard pill to swallow on a day like Christmas. I proceeded to call him and reassure him that with time this will all go away, and we will make up for this lost time that we have all suffered through. He told me through it all through world war 2, Vietnam war and the cold war that this pandemic was the hardest to overcome in his lifetime. Which puts into perspective that this is my first true struggle to go through and has seen to be one of the worst events in recorded history. If I look at the right way, it can only get better from here and I’m ready to make up for that lost time with my close family and friends.
• 
  2021-02-10

  A year of Zoom church

  We are approaching a year of dealing with COVID-19. Our little Presbyterian congregation has been worshipping by Zoom during this time. Zoom Palm Sunday; Zoom Easter; Zoom Advent and Christmas. We are preparing for Zoom Ash Wednesday as we live through our second COVID Lent. How do you do Ash Wednesday over Zoom? We will impose ashes on our households or by ourselves, as we hear “From dust you came, and to dust you shall return.” The PCUSA sent advice about what kinds of ashes are appropriate. Burned candle wicks, outdoor dirt, or even house dust were all deemed OK. This letter, with ashes from last year’s Palm Sunday palms, came from one of the church elders. It speaks to the longevity of the pandemic and its disruption. It also speaks of all the little things that individuals have done to keep our traditions in some form and keep our community connected to each other and to our communal rituals.
• 
  2020-12-20

  Borders

  The way covid has affected me has been through seeing my family in Canada. Each year my family travels from Akron Ohio to Ontario Canada so we can see my mom's family. My dad's side lives in Akron so we see them a lot, but it is hard to travel to see my family in Canada sometimes. Covid just made it that much harder. Clearly traveling up there in the middle of the epidemic in the spring would be a bad idea so that already took away one of our three trips out of the year. Then halfway through the summer before we were thinking about going up to our cottage the borders shut down. That really put a damper on things because now two of our trips were cancelled. At this point it has been a little over a year since I have seen my family and that is unprecedented in my lifetime. Finally, as Christmas was approaching, we had hopes that covid would be handled by then, but the borders remained closed and the cases and deaths kept rising. This was upsetting because I was looking forward to seeing my family at least once in 2020 and those dreams collapsed. When we go up to see my family at Christmas time it normally starts off as the first few days are catching up with each other. I love to tell them my stories and they all love to hear them. We then proceed to relax the next few days by going out to lunches with everyone and then making dinner at someone's house. Things can get pretty wild once the people of age start drinking. We have had many karaoke nights along with pool parties and barbecues during the spring. They may not go smoothly, but everyone ends up having a great time. I miss goofing around with my cousins who are all younger than me by one to 8 years, so I always am the leader of the group and decide what fun we get up to every night. Often times we end up chilling in their basement listening to music and telling stories after everyone starts to go to bed. Then on Christmas we wake up to a big breakfast and start opening up family gifts. After all the gifts are open it's time for lunch and to start partying again. We then proceed to get dinner ready and then after dinner we go right back to partying. We normally stay another two days and then leave. All in all it is a really relaxing experience and a chance to get away from the world. It really sucks that covid ended up taking that away from me.
• 2020-12-25

  Christmas

  This years Christmas was not different from the rest of my Christmas'. Every year it is usually just me my sister and my parents at home because my family lives in Iowa. Occasionally my aunt will come over for Christmas but that is really all we do for Christmas. In the end Christmas was not different this year.
• 2020-12-25

  Christmas 2020

  This years Christmas was very different. Because of the pandemic, my family and I could not travel we stayed at home and had a small family Christmas. We went to the beach because we live somewhere were it is always warm. I got to go surfing. We then had a family zoom with our family who lives in New York who we would regularly have been with. Overall I like change and had a great 2020 Christmas!
• 
  2020-12-31

  They Never Saw the Sun

  For every birthday and Christmas, I get new running shoes. I tell my mom and husband to buy them when they’re on sale, save them, and wrap them up for me. I run A LOT. When quarantine started in March, I took one run outside. Two days later, the CDC confirmed everyone’s worst fears - the virus was airborne. Although running is a low risk activity, where I run, the trails are very narrow. Unfortunately, the people who walk/bike/run there are apparently pretty narrow minded and refuse to wear masks. Could I run outside and not catch COVID? Probably. But with both my husband and I working from home, my +65 mom living with, and a perfectly fine treadmill, that risk just didn’t seem worth it. Man, I miss those trails. But I am lucky to have my treadmill. In July, I pulled out a new pair of running shoes. I honestly didn’t think about how long they’d been tied to the treadmill, I just laced them and put them on like I had done so many times before. One virtual marathon, three virtual 10Ks, and 600+ for fun miles (all on a treadmill) later, it was time to retire my trusty running shoes. On December 31, I announced their retirement with a snarky picture on my Instagram. But what a bizarre pair of shoes to retire. Perfectly clean on the outside, completely destroyed on the inside. The poor things never left the house, they never saw the sun. As a trail runner, my running shoes are always filthy by the time I’m ready to retire them. How strange to retire a pair of shoes that look brand new. How tired they are inside. A symbol of the bizarre year that was 2020.
• 
  2021-02-25

  COVID Statistics

  As of now, there have been roughly 100.17 million COVID cases worldwide. Of those 100 million people that have had COVID, about 2.14 million have died. This means that the death rate of COVID-19 is about 2%. Most people who get the virus have little to no symptoms, and recover quickly. However, the elderly and people with underlying health conditions are more likely to develop complications because of COVID (respiratory tract infection). Luckily, everyone I knew who got COVID were pretty healthy. My cousin Michael, who just graduated from UC David and is training with the Marines, contracted COVID and recovered very quickly. My family cancelled our Christmas celebration in Burbank to prevent my 94 year old grandpa from getting COVID. He is definitely in the high-risk category because of his age. I am thankful that no one close to me has died of COVID, and I pray for those who have passed away.
• 
  2021-01-24

  Surge of Student Suicides Pushes Las Vegas Schools to Reopen

  This is my worst fear for my students. All of us are on high alert for our students right now. The feeling of hopelessness is overwhelming our children. The next town over a child ended their life a few months ago. At the school board meetings, the children are saying that they feel desperate. I had a student who would put on a 72 hour hold for attempting to take her life before Christmas. I worry about my own pre-teen who is the most adaptive child I know, but he is missing his friends and his whole world has changed. I know my district is worried for the wellbeing of our kids. They want to open now, even if the numbers are high and even if we are not vaccinated yet. Anything to get these kids back into the classroom. The thing is suicide and depression are nothing new with kids. We know this. But now, I do not greet them at the door every morning, I do not see if they fall asleep in class every day, I can't stop them on their way out and ask if they are ok because I noticed a change in their body language. That ability saved kids before and now teachers cannot use that superpower to catch the kids when they fall. I worry that I will receive an e-mail telling me that one of our students did not make it through. That is my biggest fear right now.
• 2021-01-25

  COVID-19 statistics and in my life

  Worldwide, there are 99.3 million cases of COVID-19 54.8 million recovered, and in about 2 million deaths. In the U.S. there are about 25 million cases of COVID-19 and about 419,000 deaths. In california (locally) there are currently about 3 million cases, and around 37,000 deaths. This has taken a toll in many people's lives, losing family members, distancing from family and friends, and many other things. I have been affected by COVID because my whole family already had it. We had it during Christmas, because of that Christmas was very dull as we couldn’t see anyone and we had no christmas dinner. I was still able to open Christmas presents in the morning which i am extremely grateful for, but it just wasn’t the same as it always was. When I had COVID I went into quarantine for 14 days and retested after the 14 days, it showed that I had the antibodies. I am not entirely sure how I got it but it happened. When I had it I didn't have any major symptoms since I am so young and healthier than most people, the only thing that happened was that I lost my taste for a few days and then it came back to me, my mom had basically no symptoms, my dad just felt a little tired and same with my brother. We were all fine at the end and now we have extra protection from covid now. I have a family that has been affected by COVID but thankfully no one has died yet. One of my family had to go to the hospital but he recovered, but that’s a story for another time. Right now since I have the antibodies I am not too scared of COVID, but for people that don’t have it I still think that it is a good idea to wear a mask and social distance. I hope that stores and restaurants are soon to reopen as I think that rule wasn’t necessary in my opinion. I don’t think life will ever be the same or at least for a while, but I hope that things can go back to normal as soon as possible.
• 2020-12-25

  Holidays in COVID

  Holidays have never been particularly important in my family. Most holidays would end in a fight between me and my mother so the lack of family interaction wasn't really a big deal for me. My mom ended up driving down from California to spend time with my grandmother and me. These holidays ended up being good as my mom and I got along better. It seems as though without the pressure for the holidays to be fully good my mom and I were able to let go and just enjoy being around each other.
• 2020-12-25

  Personal COVID Story in 2020

  It was during Christmas time, and my aunt wasn't feeling too good. She went to get tested and she tested positive. I had seen her on Christmas day, and she felt sick a few days later. It didn't really affect me, but I got scared thinking that I might have it because I was near her during Christmas. I ended up not getting COVID, thank the Lord.
• 2021-01-22

  Covid Exposure

  We have a night nurse (NCS) come over to take care of my 3 month old sister. One night we were eating food when the night nurse came down and said that she had bad news. She said that she tested positive for Covid but still decided not to wear a mask when telling us and came really close to us. We had to tell her to put on a mask and go because she asked if she should stay regardless of having Covid. This was a week before Christmas so of course it ruined all of our plans and didn't have anyone over. A couple days later after she confirmed she had Covid, we went to get a rapid test, and a normal test in both of my nostrils with a total of 4 swabs and i was very much against it. They all tested negative. We then got tested again a week later with again another 4 swabs. We had a total of 9 swabs so far because i also got one in early quarantine. They felt like they were stabbing at my brain and one time gave me a gushing bloody nose. Luckily we still tested negative but Christmas wasn't as good all because our night nurse didn't tell us that she had an exposure (which she new about for days before telling us). After a couple weeks she tested negative and came back.
• 2021-01-21

  My Experience with a Positive Covid Test

  I personally haven't really been affected by Covid, but I have had a few friends who tested positive. It was kind of funny because the two friends that I would talk with every day and hang out with were the two to get it. One of my friends tested positive on Christmas Eve and the other tested positive a few days before Christmas. I didn't know for a while because of Christmas plans and holiday festivities, so it wasn't a huge deal, but we couldn't get together for new years' which was kind of sad.
• 2021-01-21

  COVID Symptoms

  The symptoms of COVID ranged from nonexistent to deadly. Most people who contracted it got flu - like symptoms which were fairly easy to deal with. Another large percentage of those who were infected didn't have symptoms at all. Those that remained were hospitalized and put on ventilators. Quite a number of these people died. 400,000 in America alone. I got COVID over Christmas break in 2020. The worst part of it, was being stuck at home the entire time. I was one of the lucky asymptomatic people along with my two younger brothers. My mom and dad got fatigue and my mom was pretty crabby on Christmas day. I was also lucky enough to get out of my period of isolation just in time for my return to in-person school. My poor five year-old brother had to wait nearly four weeks from his positive test to return to school, because of his unreasonable principle who clearly did not understand the CDC's guidelines for when a person tested positive. Overall, my experience with COVID was an easy one, made more enjoyable by the new games that had been received for Christmas.
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  2021-01-21

  How We Lost the Summer

  I used a meme for an item to describe my Quarantine and I thought it was a good example of what quarantine was like for me since I don’t like showing others especially my parents that I’m having a hard time even when I’m really stressed about so many things at once. 2020 in five words is boring because nothing new was going on since we had to quarantine, lonely because I couldn’t hang out with my friends, slow because every day was pretty much the same and it felt like it wasn’t going to end, different as well as frustrating because we had to learn in a new way and it’s not something that I’m really comfortable with especially with our wifi sometimes being really slow so it makes the meeting laggy. The holidays were barely any different from a regular day except for the fact that there was more food and on Christmas, we had gifts to give and receive. My workspace isn’t really much, just a desk with my school books and binders on the side, my computer in the middle, and a snack for the day in front of my black table lamp on the other side with my school supplies in the drawer. Three things I would include in a quarantine survival kit is my phone/book so I have something to entertain myself with, fuzzy blankets since they’re really soft and I like being cocooned in it and lastly is a bunch of boxes filled with snacks since I like to eat when I watch or read something.
• 2020-03-20

  Rules are meant to be broken

  In my covid experience rules suck. At the beginning of quarentine my mom found out that the Virus was airborne. So, she did not let us go outside for a month. I had to wear a mask all Christmas Eve. I also had to socially distance Christmas morning. My family to be safe abbides by a ton of rules during quarentine.
• 2021-01-20

  Covid-19 Procedures

  During the Coronavirus pandemic the government has assigned us many rules to follow, and suggestions so we are able to stay healthy. Around march when the pandemic took control of the U.S. We were ordered to stay home and we were advised to no come in contact with friends or other people. For most of march and April everyone stayed at home, and rarely went out because everything was closed including grocery stores. Whenever my mom and dad would go they would wear a face mask and gloves to make sure the didn't catch the virus. Also lines in stores were socially distanced so we'd have to stay six feet apart from all people. At first masks were hard to find, and some people even said that masks don't do anything. Soon enough, everyone was able to get a mask, and the government required you to wear a mask anytime you went somewhere in public. Throughout the summer all these rules remained in place, and since I was starting 8th grade; we had to continue with online school. We did online school until Christmas, and luckily throughout these months more stores had opened up, and even thought superiors still advised we didn't see any friends, I still got to hang out with my best friend quite a bit. It is currently January of 2021, and the covid-19 cases are higher now than the ever were. At this point wearing a mask has almost become second nature, and we recently went back to school earlier this month. We are required to wear a masks, and the desks are socially distances in the classrooms. The procedures can be a bit annoying at times, but we all know that they are to protect us and the rest of the community.
• 2021-01-17

  An Unusually Quiet Holiday Season

  Our family holidays consist of fun get togethers full of traditions we enjoy. Thanksgiving is loud, full of chaos and laughter. Christmas means the entire family at my house. We make a ton of food, eat, and open presents, have a Secret Santa and white elephant exchanges, which again are fun, loud and chaotic. At the end of the night we take a huge family selfie in front of the tree. This year it was just my husband, daughter and myself, no siblings, nieces and nephews, grandchildren, or great grandchildren. We didn't quite know what to do with ourselves after we opened presents so we watched movies all day then ate leftovers for dinner. My parents spent it alone for the first time since 1964. They were sad but they enjoyed reminiscing about their first Christmas as newlyweds. Although it was still a nice day, it wasn't the same. Once more, it reminded me never to take seeing family for granted. It is a precious gift. I hope and pray that this will be the only year we deviate from our family traditions.
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  2020-01-17

  Christmas Without the Joy of Shopping

  My story deals with how I had to change my gift giving approach for my son in the 2020 holiday season. I chose not to shop in stores for his gifts, to reduce my exposure to the virus and avoid passing on a virus from myself to others. Instead, I gave him gift certificates. This change reduced the holiday joy for me, as I greatly enjoy shopping for just the right gifts for him by directly engaging in the shopping experience in a physical location, and he appreciates the effort and the unique gifts I always found for him. This is a response to the #pandemicprompt on the holidays for Arizona State University, HST 580.
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  2021-01-17

  Old and New: Holidays in Round Rock Texas

  These documents tell the story of my COVID-19 Holidays. It is important to me because it shows what changes I experienced in my holiday plans and offers a unique perspective. Description of images: 4th of July Concert at the Dell Diamond Baseball Park in Round Rock TX. Note the 4-person "Pods" on the grass indicated by the blankets. The blankets were brought by people who had purchased a Pod. Google Santa Tracker Dec. 24th, 2020.
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  2020-12-25

  A Pandemic Christmas

  Christmas was different for me this year. I grew up with a big catholic family so we have many traditions around the holidays. Christmas eve we all dress up, have a nice dinner, and go to mass. Then on christmas day we dress more casual, open gifts, and have a buffet style dinner. With COVID being a factor, I didn't get to see much of my family for the holidays. I spent the actual day with just my siblings and dad. Christmas Eve I didn’t get to see anyone or do anything, I just stayed home and took pictures with my dog in our matching Christmas pajamas (target has everything). I had to trade gifts with all my cousins and other relatives individually in an outdoor setting. Some of the gifts I dropped off and rang the doorbell. Other family members I would meet with in their front yard from a distance. This year was a bit lonely and we all agreed that when COVID is over (hopefully by next year) we will have a huge celebration.
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  2021-01-13

  The Covid-19 Holiday Season

  The holiday season during the Covid-19 pandemic brought many changes to the family routine. In total, my wife and I usually have four different houses to go to because we have both have divorced parents. This does, of course, make the season incredibly hectic. This year, however, every house seemed much more amenable to change. About half of our typical gatherings were cancelled to protect the elderly in the family, as well as those with pre-existing conditions. Of the family events that did occur, we had only ten people or less at each event (in a typical year, each house usually brings at least twenty guests and some bring several more). Even at the gatherings that did occur, things were still atypical, with most wearing masks and everyone following social distancing. In addition, many in my family have had COVID and were quarantined during the holidays. Nonetheless, we spent a lot of time on the phone and wishing each other a Happy Thanksgiving and a Merry Christmas. Another thing I enjoy doing with my wife each year is attending a Nine Lessons and Carols service at various churches in the area. Because of the pandemic, however, we chose to forgo this Christmas tradition and watch a service online. While the pandemic has brought many changes and challenges to our lives, we are fortunate to be able to connect with our family from a distance. Technology has certainly mitigated many issues that the pandemic has brought, and without that, social distancing and cancelling holiday plans would have been much more difficult for people to concede doing. However, hopefully, the cancelled family plans this year will provide us with the opportunity to celebrate with our families next year. The pandemic has hopefully reminded everyone that while the holiday season can be stressful (like visiting four different houses on one day), it truly is a wonderful time of year.