Items

• 
  2020-11-20

  International Student on Coping with COVID-19

  In this interview, I, Hailey, interview Briana who is an international student in London, UK. She talks about how her coping mechanisms for dealing with stress, anxiety and sadness have shifted due to COVID and the nature of the virus. She gives some great tips for staying mentally healthy during such a tough time, especially for international students, or student very far from family.
• 
  2020-11-18

  Meditation during the Pandemic

  Anxiety is something that is not fun to deal with especially during a pandemic when we have no one to talk to or can't really go out much. A way that helps me calm down is meditation whether it be turning off the lights and lighting up a scented candle or just going outside and take a breath of fresh air. These new creative ways that were taught to me by a Professor at St. Mary's University has helped me a lot in different situations. Lying down with a scented candle helps relieve your stress or anxiety by calming you down and not thinking about the situation that is happening around us. Doing this for ten minutes a day really does make a difference in your everyday life. Going outside for a breath a fresh air is also very calming because you would be outside your house and looking at nature really does help forget about the pandemic that we are dealing with. So whenever you are feeling anxious a candle or going outside can help relax your thoughts and body.
• 
  2020-11-15

  The Healing Power of Music

  My friend Sarah who currently lives as St. Mary's University sent me pictures of the way she gets through her anxiety which is with music. The pictures that she provided show that the Healing Power of Music is a way to escape all the chaos that is happening in our lives around us. This shows when there is no where else to turn music always seem to have your back by providing comfort.
• 
  2020-03

  A Pass for the Lockdown

  This is an important submission to me, because it was a weird way for me to feel like more than just a simple grocery clerk, but also I felt more heavily the weight of the whole COVID pandemic. I was given this letter by my store manager at Kroger, back in late March I believe, when the city was placed under a lockdown. It was in the event any employee, on their way to work, was pulled over and asked why they were out driving during a lockdown. It makes me proud, in a way, to ensure that people still are able to shop, but it's also scary because, well people still come to shop for groceries. I haven't kept it in my car since the lockdown lifted, but I am concerned I will need it again, with the rise of cases.
• 
  2020-11-16

  St. Mary’s Graduation Planner

  College can be very difficult, and it is very common for it to be harder for freshmen. Now add the stress of a freshmen along with a global pandemic; it can be very difficult for freshmen to stay on track. St. Mary’s University, however, is combating this by mailing and handing out graduation plans booklets to all freshmen. These booklets contain a handy graduation plan along with a planner and schedule imbedded inside the pages. Personally, I’ve found the book to be extremely useful in my studies and greatly encourage others to use it during these difficult times. Over all, I thought it was very comforting for the university to do this when the pandemic has left a lot of freshmen feeling unsure and lost.
• 
  2020-08-30

  Amplified Uncertainty

  With the car all loaded up and ready to go, my mother and I posed for one last picture together before I embarked on a new chapter in my life. My mother tried to muster up a smile and wipe away the tears as my dad snapped the picture, but the emotion surrounding this day engulf her. Despite being in the midst of a pandemic, I had decided to attend university in the fall. However, pandemic aside, this day was already an emotional toll on my mother. I was the last of her children going off to college and unlike my siblings, I would not be a short hour-long car ride away. I had chosen to attend Northeastern University in Boston, a not-so-short fourteen-hour car ride away. Everything about this day was new territory for her—not having kids in the house for the first time and one of her children moving far away. And to only make it worse, I was leaving her in the middle of a pandemic. What this pandemic means to my mother is an added layer of anxiety or worry. My mother is very cautious about contracting the virus and above all, she worried about her loved ones contracting it. And now her youngest child left for college in a new state and new city unfamiliar to her, all the while a deadly virus was spreading across the country uncontrollably. The pandemic has taken the already stressful times in our lives and amplified them, adding a new layer of worry and uncertainty.
• 
  2020-11-10

  Cuddly COVID coping mechanisms

  The COVID-19 pandemic has been painful for me in a lot of ways — fear and anxiety that my mother, already immunocompromised, would get COVID after open-heart surgery this fall; loneliness and frustration that, after moving to a new city, it's been very hard to make connections and build community; heightened depression stemming from social isolation and what feels like a never-ending state of crisis. My coping mechanisms, and those of the people around me, haven't always been terribly healthy. I've spent days at a time curled in bed, not eating or drinking, just staring at a blank wall. I know people with substance abuse problems who've relapsed. In a more constructive vein, some of us have picked up new hobbies or revived old ones (crochet, in my case), just to occupy our hands and minds with something that doesn't involve death and disease. My favorite coping mechanism, though, has been pandemic pets. My own sweet COVID kitten, Dutch, is of barn cat stock. This spring, while I was living with my parents between leases, his mother dropped him and his sisters in the middle of our driveway, apparently done taking care of them. They were only about five weeks old, unlikely to survive on their own, so I took them in. I had managed to find homes for two of the three kittens by the time I moved from Wisconsin to Pennsylvania in August, but shy little Dutch was unclaimed, so I brought him along. He has been an absolute godsend, a substitute for human connection in a city where I don't know anyone and can't really meet anyone without risking infection. Taking care of him has been a reason to get out of bed on hard days. Plus, the little dopamine boost from a cuddle session is an important supplement to my other methods of managing my anxiety and depression, conditions that are thriving amid the stress and uncertainty of the pandemic. My sisters, ages 16 and 19, also jumped on the bandwagon. Each adopted a pandemic puppy from a litter born this April, the mama dog belonging to a friend of a friend. Their experiences have been mixed — both underestimated the commitment involved in raising and training a puppy, particularly an intelligent, high-energy breed (their dogs are German shepherd-Akita-Great Pyrenees-border collie mixes), but they're both very grateful for the constant companionship and uncomplicated love of a dog in the face of prolonged social isolation. We're far from the only ones turning to furry friends for companionship. When my sisters started looking for low-cost spay/neuter services in September, they were discouraged to find that every service in southern Wisconsin was booked until at least January — a result of temporary closures and a swell of new pet owners. I can't help but worry about the consequences of this surge in pet ownership. Animals are a long-term commitment, and having grown up in farm country, I've seen plenty of cats (and a couple dogs) dumped far from home by owners who were tired of the responsibility. I can easily imagine people getting bored, getting frustrated, getting annoyed with the fact that their cute kitten has become an adult cat. Will animal shelters see a bump in demand in the coming months? I hope not. I hope that the animals adopted during the pandemic have found loving, stable homes — though I’m sure some haven’t been that lucky. Still, the bonds between pets and their owners have taken on a heightened importance during this prolonged period of stress and isolation. I’m profoundly grateful that I was in a position to adopt my own COVID cat, without whom my experience of the pandemic would certainly be lonelier, not to mention utterly bereft of hairballs.
• 
  2020-07-27

  Going to College During COVID-19: Tips for College Students and Their Parents

  In this interview with infectious disease specialist Cynthia Snider and clinical psychologist David Gutterman, they outline some tips for navigating college during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pair outlines important issues like wearing a mask, social distancing, and proper hygiene. This interview also touches on the anxiety and uneasy feelings both parents and students are feeling going back to a crowded campus. All in all, it’s important to listen to oneself and keep a line of open communication, as well as stay safe and stay healthy. If everyone follows these guidelines, these two experts feel that universities should be able to allow students safely.
• 
  2020-04-29

  "Reasons I Can't Do My Homework"

  This digital comic demonstrates the anxiety and fears that arose during the pandemic around April of 2020. The artists shows how they are being overwhelmed by the fears for their own life and the lives of their loved ones because you can clearly see “mom” and “grandma” in the fears scrolling through their brain. Because of these fears there is no room for “school work” and “classes”.
• 
  2020-03-12

  Microphone Touching

  The NBA was considering a stoppage of games due to the outbreaks of COVID-19. During one of the press conferences a player named Rudy Gobert decided to touch all the microphones in the press room after speaking with reporters, within days the world learned that he had contracted Covid-19 and the sports world began shutting down all sports, including NCAA tournament and all sports around the world. Gobert was one of the first celebrities to contract COVID-19.
• 2020-03

  Going to The Market During COVID-19

  During the COVID-19 pandemic the only time most people left there houses was to go to a market to get food once and awhile. In my house one person would go once a week and everyone always wanted to be the person to go. We would have a shopping list that everyone would write what they wanted and the person selected would have to get everything on the list. During to the market it felt like no one was on earth anymore. The roads were empty with no one insite. The markets were the busiest place so they had to restrict the number of people inside at once. While inside the market everything felt so dirty because you would constantly think about “was this touched by someone who had COVID.” This is important to remember because this is the only place people went during the pandemic and it made them happy just to get out of the house.
• 2020-10-27T12:06

  An Unexpected Return

  After being out sick for a week filled with chills, doctors appointments, the smell of soup, and the feeling of my warm blanket, I finally returned to school on Friday. I could see the empty classrooms, hear the quiet rooms, smell the hand sanitizer, touch the desks and door handles with precaution, and taste the uneasiness in the room. I heard whispers of people talking about “the coronavirus”. I saw people wiping down their desks and chairs. I smelt of constant cleaning supplies. I felt my heart beating faster than normal. This were all new senses that were coming to me in one day. I was confused and scared of the uncertainty of it all. I was barely comprehending and my mind was filled with thoughts and heat full of emotion. Little did I know, that was my last day of school.
• 
  2020-04-12

  What Baking Feels Like During a Pandemic

  I found this video on reddit and it really speaks to the sense of dread I feel baking during the pandemic. It's like nice when you're doing it then you feel the weight of everything hitting you when you're not otherwise occupied.
• 
  2020-05-01

  What I did During Lockdown

  During the Covid pandemic lockdown was starting to ramp up and my manager came through the hospital with sheets that basically were to be shown to police or someone who would stop me from driving on the highway, or roads while going to work. This paper stated that I was an essential employee of the UNC hospitals, and that I had permission to leave my house. However many people were not allowed to go to work because their buildings were shut down and local government were not allowing businesses to operate. Some of my friends were let go, my sister was furloughed, and my roommates had to work from home. I never realized that the sheer boredom started to get to people. One of my friends had to take medication for anxiety because not being able to go to work or do anything social was becoming too stressful. While I worked a full 40 hours every week, I found that I had my weekends that I filled with classic films, new TV shows and all types of social media. Cleaning the house every weekend was part of my weekend routine because there was no where else I really felt like being, and seeing the whole hospital cleaned up I started finding things to clean around the house. Within a few weeks I began going to the local lake, Falls lake and would take long walks around it or just sit and watch the sunset, during the later part of the summer I went to photograph the sand storms from Africa that made the sunsets spectacular. While many people had to make things up and go back and forth between work and boredom and being in the same environment all the time, I was given the luxury to see the weekend in a whole new way. With the coming of the summer at the time people were expecting to have a summer hopefully and as can be seen in this video from Wral planning on having outdoor time that they could go about in the old social environments, such as the mall or local shops.
• 
  2020-10-20

  Suicide watch

  This post is not my own but it did make me reflect. Social distancing and quarantine are affecting people in a variety of ways. Mostly increasing depression and anxiety. Last week, my cousins twelve year old daughter killed her self. On the outside her life seemed normal, some would even say she lived a privileged life. Internally though, it’s clear that she was suffering. She was silently carrying a heavy burden which because unbearable when she was no longer able to leave the four walls of her home. I can only imagine how many stories there are just like hers. COVID is killing people physically and emotionally.
• 
  2020-10-20

  Sunshine

  These lyrics are from the song “Sunshine” by rapper Young Dolph. This song was released near the beginning of the coronavirus era in April. During this time, I was longing for these difficult times to come to an end, despite them just beginning. I wondered when the sunshine would come back, when all the anxiety and grief would be replaced with relief and glee. The sunshine I had been longing for didn’t come as soon as I expected, but that doesn’t mean I’m giving up hope just yet.
• 
  2020-10-20

  Carly's Quarantunes

  This is a playlist of songs I've listened to during quarantine and an explanation about each of them.
• 
  2020-10-17

  There's no cure for anxiety...

  Everyone has different approaches against anxiety during Covid, from self-care to cooking and exercising. Everyone has an opinion about it, everyone has a miraculous solution. Personally, I have tried many things: watching a movie, diet, moving furniture, cleaning, etc... Sometimes works and others don't. The meme that I chose reflects how anxiety is not a simple problem that can be fixed with a time-out. Anxiety can be a serious health condition and not every advice works the same in every person. Also, we need to consider accessibility to health, the possibility for self-care, healthy food, time for exercise, etc...Not everyone has the economical stability for self-care. Is easy to say to take a warm bath, drink some wine, and forget about everything. Think about all that priority workers that are exposing themselves to keep our daily lives working. Think of nurses, doctors, teachers, immigrant farmworkers, among many others.
• 
  2020-07-01

  Juniper Berries Grant Volunteering at the Santa Monica College Food Pantry

  Before the pandemic, my dog, Juniper Berries Grant aka Juni, was on track to becoming a therapy dog and helping stressed out students at Santa Monica College, where I work. But we closed campus and moved all classes online, so Juni was out of a job. After the pandemic happened, I started volunteering at the Santa Monica College Food Pantry. Every Wednesday, we give produce, dairy, eggs, meat, and dry goods to our students in need. It’s all amazing and fresh, if we have extras, we donate it to local resources and staff. It has been great to see the community support students with food insecurities. Anyways, one Wednesday, Juni was able to come up and volunteer. And while students couldn’t give her pets, her cuteness put them at ease from a safe distance.
• 0202-10-15

  Fears of COVID from within the archive

  Yesterday was my first official day as a curator at A Journal of the Plague Year. The only feelings I had were of complete joy and gratitude to be able to have a job, one where I get to do something that interests me, at that. But as the day went on, I began to feel something that many have tweeted about. I started to feel achy and I was coughing. Some have tweeted something like, "is it allergies or COVID?", and while I should have reflected on the fact that I had not taken my crucial allergy medicine in two days (I am severely allergic to dogs, yet I have two of them in my small apartment), I spent a good hour bundled up and lying in bed. By the afternoon, I felt completely fine. It was one thing when I would have these fleeting moments of panic, or see people online posting about their own, in the past. But it seemed to be a particularly interesting moment that right when I start a job at an archive documenting the COVID-19 pandemic, I experience one of the specific anxieties of actually living in that pandemic. I think this short instant shows how the the pandemic is both all-encompassing of everyday life and shows up in particular moments. It is at the same time impersonal and extremely personal. Despite the fact that even the illusion of being an observer is inherently participation, in one moment I went from being an outside observer of the pandemic to being subject to the worries it causes.
• 
  2020-10-15

  Golf Industry Goes Full-Swing

  Working in a golf shop at a golf course obviously has its peak times, the busy times being in the summer and the downtime being in the winter, especially in Utah. Winters in Utah can get especially brutal, so as golfers, when February and March come around, we all get pretty excited as the new golf season approaches. However, none of us knew what was to come in February as we started preparing for the upcoming 2020 golf season. As the virus began to spread through the nation, and various states started reporting cases of COVID-19, we knew it was only a matter of time until it reached Utah, and specifically Cache Valley. As the virus reached Utah, many schools and businesses were shutting down, thereby forcing people indoors. Due to the fact that golf is played outdoors, our mayor suggested we stay open, but with heavy precautions and changes to the overall operation in order to ensure the safety of players. These precautions included raised golf cups to keep people from touching the same golf hole (picture attached), tee time slots being placed in larger time increments in order to keep everyone spaced out, players riding in carts individually, and online reservations being suggested so as to remove people from going inside to the only point of contact in the golf experience. As a result of these precautions, we were able to remain open for business to allow players a chance to escape from their homes, and because of this, the golf course saw record numbers. Tee times were spaced out, which meant that instead of a group of golfers teeing off every 7 minutes, we made it every 10 minutes. Despite this change, we saw groups of golfers literally tee off every 10 minutes, from 6:00 A.M. until 7:00 P.M. on most days! As the national shutdown continued, it only gave people more of a reason to select outdoor activities in order to escape the house, and it only increased the desire for most to try golf. The phones in the shop were off the hook nonstop as people called inquiring about potential open slots for them to tee off. Most calls were unsuccessful, as we found ourselves booked out days, and sometimes a week or more, in advance! This year was a strange year in many ways, filled with sadness, anxiety, and lots of stress. As an employee in the golf industry, unlike most businesses in the COVID-19 pandemic, I actually saw a dramatic rise in time spent at work, and I consider myself very fortunate for that, as many struggled regarding employment. The golf industry exploded this summer, and with the special precautions that were taken in order to ensure the safety of the players as much as possible, many people took advantage of the possible outdoor activity, and used golf as an escape from the stresses of their lives. Many...including myself.
• 
  2020-03-16

  The Beginning of the Decline

  My six year old (shown here) and my ten year old began distance learning March 16, 2020. This photographs captures my kindergartner's first day of distance learning. She found it new and exciting but that feeling did not last long. This photograph is entitled "The Beginning of the Decline" as it was the last photograph I snapped of her before she would be diagnosed with anxiety. Arizona State University, HST485
• 
  2020-10-14

  So Much Noise, So Little Peace

  I wrote this document to describe the constant noise that surrounds me on a daily basis.
• 
  2020-10-14

  What I Wish I'd Known Seven Months Ago

  I wrote this essay to help make sense of my feelings and experiences during the pandemic.
• 2020-10-10

  Unorganized Mind

  As a mom of a 17 month old the pandemic had me unprepared for what was to come. My mind went into fight or flight mode. I had to get food for my family, enough household goods to last us during quarantine or potential lock down. The first 3 months I had to learn how to work from home, be a wife, plan activities for my son and have me time. Well its October and me time has yet to be here. Planning my days became harder and harder as I was constantly in meetings, while my son screamed for attention in the background. The day that daycare opened I was terrified but relieved at the same time because I had someone to look after my son. It has gotten better but I do fight some moments of anxiety. My mental health took a turn for the worse as I had to seek out help. I am thankful to my husband, family and daycare workers.
• 
  2020-10-09

  Japanese Pokémon Cards Keep Me Sane.

  I chose to write about how Japanese Pokémon cards have helped to keep me sane. While it might seem silly at first, I am serious about this topic. I’ve been diagnosed with severe anxiety, and at one point went outside in a thunderstorm holding an umbrella because my mom wasn’t home when she said she would be. Being only 6 at the time, I didn’t really understand that her job doesn’t always end at the same time everyday since she is a professor at UWSP. Going back to the anxiety and Covid, I’ve gotten much better at handling my anxiety since then, but I cannot help but worry about my family. Due to my anxiety, I need to get confirmation that they are ok before I can fully relax. I am currently in my 3rd semester of Japanese. I’m also a huge nerd, so I really like Pokémon. I saw a video on youtube of a guy opening Japanese Pokemon cards, and it clicked in my head that I could distract myself by using Pokemon cards. Since I didn’t take any classes over the summer, I used that time to practice my Japanese by translating the cards to English and comparing them to the English versions of the cards from pictures I found online. Because I was able to do that , I was able to make it through my summer mostly anxiety free. It did cost a bit, roughly $50 US dollars for 20 packs of 7 cards, but it really did help keep me sane while the world went to hell and back.
• 2020-10-08

  How Covid-19 took over the world

  It has been such a crazy time witnessing how this pandemic has evolved these past couple of months. I clearly remember how queasy I felt once I heard that there was a positive case confirmed at my university. The environment around campus just seemed a bit odd; everyone felt confused, anxious, and even a bit fearful. At that moment, people really didn’t use masks and were downplaying the virus as if it wasn’t anything to worry about. This made me feel a bit hesitant to wear a face mask since I didn’t want people to think I seemed too exaggerating. As the days passed, the number of positive cases drastically increased not only on campus, but around the world as well. At that point I knew it wasn’t a simple virus and that I shouldn’t care about others’ opinions in regard to face masks. I started to be very precautious and wear my face mask everywhere I went. Eventually, the transition to virtual classes was instituted and I got to stay home for the rest of the school year. Although I felt safe staying inside, the news and social media was very successful at causing anxiety in my household. It was very overwhelming to hear the progression of this virus and how many people were losing their lives because of the pandemic. This made going out to buy groceries such a fearful experience, especially since not everyone used their masks which could have exposed so many people to this deadly virus. I remember asking myself, will wearing a mask become the new norm in this society, will we have to get used to carrying face masks everywhere we go just like our purse or identification card? I remember learning about the bubonic plague, or the Spanish flu in my history classes, but I never imagined I would experience a pandemic myself.
• 
  2020-10-07

  Lifelong Mental Illness and the Pandemic

  Mental Health is stigmatized, especially in the United States. How does the Pandemic effect someone who had lifelong mental illness before Covid-19?
• 
  2020-07

  Finding Myself Through Walking

  During this pandemic, I begin to fall into depression and anxiety which I never faced before. I didn’t want to go to the hospital to see my provider to be put on pills for depression and anxiety because I was nervous due to the virus. I slowly begin to pray asking God to help me overcome this battle. I started to do different types of self-care, but nothing would help. I decided to go walking one morning and I knew right away this would help me. Every morning, I get out of bed to go walk the minimum of 3 miles, the maximum would be 6 miles. I enjoyed watching the sun rise and seen the difference it made while being up. I also enjoyed the different weather changes from being summer to beginning to get cold. It has helped me see another day, by making great healthy choices in my food intake. I enjoy the nature and the environment I am walking in. I love hearing the birds chirp, the quietness at times, the cars go by. When I listen to music and sing it helps me release my depression. As I begin to walk, I begin to pray to God and giving him thanks for another day, another day to see his creation and continuously praying. It's important to me because my health reflects my life. This not only helped me with my better living path in staying healthy but involving my son to my walk. Taking him along with me during the walks. I enjoy his presence as well as implementing games, so he doesn’t get bored during our walk. The thing that also helped me out is a great friend who also runs every morning. She gives me encouragement to have a better healthier lifestyle. In order to have life, we need to take care of our inner self. It has helped me physically, mentally and spiritually.
• 2020-10-03

  Eating in Front of a Mirror

  Pre-Covid I already lived an isolated life, both physically and due to pervasive anxiety. I would spend weeks pushing myself, go inside the store, talk to three people at yoga, text four people, a million little social tasks that I did to keep my human animal happy. I live in a rural area, work part time at a library, and survive in a sort of genteel poverty. About every three months I'd drive to visit an old friend. Beyond customers at the library and polite friendships with coworkers, that was the only social interaction I really had. Stage one of the pandemic and my workplace closed, we were furloughed. Still paid. And after a single massive shopping trip at the end of March I just stayed home. Really stayed home. I was lucky, I'm already an introvert, have a home on acreage, pets. It wasn't great, but I was comforted knowing so many people were quietly going through the same thing. Then George Floyd was killed and I was called back to work a week later. This was the worst time so far. The building was closed and yet staffed, so we sat surrounded by clorox while people banged on the windows and cursed us. The pointlessness of it, we were only there so our employer could qualify for the PPP money. The anxiety of each coworker potentially being ill. And then, in the lull of work, the many many political opinions of all my white coworkers. I stayed silent, the lone POC, but I can assure you, I now detest them all. This phase ended when my boss got covid an ill-advised vacation to the Gulf. Coming back from our isolation I entered phase 3 of my pandemic. I now hate all my coworkers and view them as existential threats. Due both to their extremely foolish behaviors and their racism. They attend 200 guest count weddings, take discounted flights, and attend funerals. I try to work around them, taking vacation days to avoid them directly after they return. I have moved my desk out of the shared office and directly into the main room of the building. We are fully open again. Masks are not required. It is possible to drive around my small town and see not a single sign of the pandemic. The local diner which has flouted all the mild restrictions since April still has their sign out front, "Our Fried Chicken is to Die For!" I've started to feel mildly insane for still isolating, for still wearing a mask. But I'm also used to having the sole dissenting opinion in the room. For now my plan is to just not get sick, there's no plan if I do get it. I just go home and spend another weekend eating in front of a mirror, and sleeping with a hot water bottle to try and quiet my lonely human animal.
• 
  2020-09-30

  Up, Up, and Away

  This was mine and my family's first trip we took during the pandemic. We had been quarantining since March and we were both essential workers so we also had been going into work everyday while so many other people were being laid off or furloughed. It was stressful because it is a pandemic and there is always worry about catching the virus and getting sick. We were also traveling with our 9-month-old son, which added even more worry to an already stressful time. This photo is important because it shows the new restrictions when it comes to flying. A mask is to be worn at all times or risk getting escorted off the plane and banned from flying with the airline again. It involved an endless amount of hand sanitizer every ten minutes or so and being hyper aware of the surfaces you are touching going through the airport. Flying is already riddled with anxiety and flying during a pandemic elevates that anxiety tenfold.
• 
  2020-04-27

  Life in the Times of Covid-19

  This is a description of the way that covid changed little things in my life but also how it affected by academic life and my relationships. This is important to me because the impact that Covid has had in my life has been shocking and eye opening, which is a story that I thought would be worth sharing.
• 
  2020-03-24

  An Unforgettable journey story

  It's my personal experience related to the pandemic. This experience prepared me to overcome greater challenges which I may still have to face in the future.
• 
  2001-03-02

  what I have done with all the free time the virus gave me

  My document talks about what I have done with all the free time the virus gave me
• 2020-09-25

  The Rippling Effects of COVID-19

  COVID-19 came as a shock to everyone. No one could have predicted the rippling effects it has had in everyone's lives. This pandemic impacts all kinds of people- young, old, single, married, rich, and poor. It is the common thread among all of us. It is what binds us together during this difficult time. This time will never be forgotten. It will be written in textbooks and taught to future generations. Many families are going through a hard time. Who knew a virus could infiltrate people’s lives like this and flip them upside down? No one saw this coming. Many families are struggling financially including mine. We weren’t prepared for this. We thought it will all blow over soon enough. Unfortunately, we were wrong. First, my school closed. Then, my job place closed. Then, my gym closed. It seemed as if the whole world was shutting down right before my eyes, slowly stripping the things I love the most. The thought of being trapped in the house, all day, every day, for who knows how long, gave me anxiety. Slowly, life began to become very boring. Waking up knowing that you’re trapped in the house. Curfews were put up in my city. It’s like we were little kids and the Government was our parents trying to protect us from the monster- COVID 19. I suddenly had so much free time on my hands and didn’t know what to do with it. I decided to pick up some new hobbies. I tried everything. From painting to reading. It was a crazy time for all of us. When we were finally allowed out, I was so happy. Happy that everything will go back to normal, happy that I could get my old life back, happy that I could leave my house again. However, it wasn’t what I expected it to be. We had to wear masks, gloves, and maintain six feet apart between people. I remember the first time I went out in months. Everyone had covered faces and only eyes of sadness and fear were able to be seen. We all looked the same, yet on the inside we were different, each of us experiencing the impacts of the pandemic in a different way. I was shocked. I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that a virus, something that is not visible to the naked eye, has turned our lives upside down and forced us to deal with the consequences. As of now, September 2020, life is somewhat what it used to be, but it will never return back to the way we’ve known. The fact that this has become our new reality, is kind of scary. But we are not out of the clear yet, there’s still so much work to do. We have to cooperate with all the guidelines and stick together. Especially during these difficult times, together we are stronger. This is all my own interpretation of the times we live in now and how it has impacted me and changed our lives forever.
• 2020-04

  The impact COVID-19 had on my mental and emotional health.

  My experience throughout this unexpected pandemic took a toll on my state of mental and emotional health. When I first found out about how quick this virus was spreading throughout our city, schools were still not closed officially and I was still traveling on public transportation to work. When taking public transportation, due to the lack of masks, I had to wear a scarf around my face because that was the only way I could think of protecting myself. I was anxious all the time, but most especially on the train and bus rides, my anxiety would get the best of me, so much that at times I felt like I had to hold my breath so that I can minimize my exposure to contracting this virus. Once things started getting really bad and schools and non essential jobs finally shut down, it was a slight relief. Switching from in person lectures to virtual learning was not as easy as I had thought it would be. I was now not only anxious and worried because of this pandemic and the health of myself and my loved ones but also because I was having a hard time trying to adapt to a different style of learning. I was taking two science courses, both biology and chemistry which were not the easiest topics for me. To prevent us from "cheating" professors had made the exams much harder which was another stressor. Throughout the spring semester I was staying up really late at night trying to study in every way possible so that I would do well on my upcoming exams. Whenever I had the time to sleep I just couldn't because my anxiety wouldn't let me. I would have never imagined this getting so bad, I thought maybe with quarantining we would have it under control but unfortunately this virus is still on going and who knows when we'll get back to what was considered normal.
• 2020-09-24

  Watching Pre-March 2020 Movies and TV Shows

  I’ve spoken with a few friends about this strange phenomenon I experience sometimes when watching movies or TV shows now. When watching a movie, when I see a large number of people in a room together without masks I get a short bout of anxiety. I immediately think, “What are all those people doing in a room together without masks on?” But then I remember that the movie I’m watching was filmed before March 2020. I’ve noticed my roommates do the same thing when we watch movies together. I distinctly remember this scene in “Gone Girl” where there are many people in a large room walking around and one of my roommates said, “Wow, look at all those people in a room together.” I think this shows that while many of us view the pandemic as a temporary moment in history and will “soon” be over— the pandemic has still embedded fears and anxieties in me that I would otherwise not think about. How I would approach normal things i.e. walking around in a grocery store or watching a movie, I now approach in a completely different way. I don’t think these fears or anxieties will last very long after the pandemic is over. It’s just interesting to see the ways both my friends and myself behave towards completely normal things pre-March 2020.
• 
  2020-09-22

  Professor Shares Anonymous Student Anxieties

  A professor shared student's anxieties about the Fall 2020 semester. Most of the responses show the toll the pandemic has taken on student's mental health. Another common theme is that many students face a multitude of difficulties when it comes to online school. Whether it's finding the motivation to go to class or how a student's home-life creates a toxic environment for online learning.
• 
  2020-09-18

  Romi Hera interviewed by Esha Jain about her pandemic and quarantine experience

  This interview talks about a college student's experience during the pandemic. This interview is important because it gives a student's perspective on the quarantine and the pandemic.
• 
  2020-06-17

  Not Everyone's Cup of Tea

  While looking for items to submit to this archive, I tried searching Pinterest for some humorous memes to add. After reading a lot of heavy articles, i felt a little humor was in order; only to be thwarted by Pinterest. After searching for "Covid19 humor, I received a message saying that pins relating to this topic often violate community standards guidelines and so, results were restricted to established health organizations... I guess gallows humor is not for everyone... I tried a google search for the same search term and came across a few things but this article stood out. It discusses the rise of 'dark' humor and how it can, in some cases, actually help those trying to cope with difficult subjects. It confirmed my suspicions that those of us who have a 'gallows humor' approach may have been on to something all along.
• 2020-09-11

  The Struggle of a Small Business Owner

  Throughout the Covid-19 Pandemic and my time in quarantine, I struggled with a multitude of things. I was distraught over my senior year being taken away, lonely from the lack of human connection and interaction, and full of anxiety and fear because everything about this virus and the future was still very much unknown. But none of this compared to my biggest and most upsetting struggle. Coincidently this struggle of mine wasn’t even my own, it happened to be my father’s. My father owns a vintage bowling alley named; The Fox Bowling Center located in a small town in Upstate New York. For over 25 years my father has owned and operated this bowling alley, and he has been involved with this business since he was 9 years old when his parents bought it in the early seventies. This bowling alley has been an integral part of my father’s life for almost 50 years, and during March of this year he had to shut down business due to the Covid-19 pandemic. My father was absolutely distraught and shattered over this news. He was worrying constantly over the future and when things might take a turn for the better so he could open back up. He also struggled severely with trying to pay bills and manage the money in a time when he had zero income. I think seeing my father struggle with money issues really hit home for me the most. The bowling alley never really made a lot of money to begin with, and when this happened he had nothing to fall back on. He worked tirelessly on trying to secure any type of loan that would help him just pay the bills and keep the business afloat. Seeing him go through this each day was torture. I just wanted to help in some way and tell him that everything was going to be okay, but I had no money to offer him and in total honesty I had no idea what the future held for small business owners like my father. Even though watching my father go through all this pain and sadness was one of the worst things I ever witnessed, he still managed to teach me some amazing life lessons I will cherish forever. He showed me to always persevere and look towards the future, and he also showed me that you can’t give up on the things you love and hold dear. I’m happy to also share that because of his hard work and perseverance with financial issues, he is able to reopen now that bowling alleys are allowed to open back up in New York. My father is overjoyed and can’t wait to have his loyal customers and friends bowling once again, even if it is a little different. I will never forget his struggle to keep the business open and when I think about those long months in the future I will always remember his hard work and dedication.
• 
  2020-09-10T07:30

  New Jersey School Bus Stop, September 2020

  My 11 year old was not interested in doing a first day of school photo like we've done in the past. I get that it's embarrassing since "nobody else's parents walk around with big cameras." But I couldn't pass up the opportunity to preserve the moment for posterity, so I snuck a picture with my phone and cropped it afterward. I think the photo says a lot about the moment without words- the American flag, the masks, and the way the two girls are talking to each other while staying at least six feet apart. The flag represents, to me, the event that broke the idea of American exceptionalism for Americans in denial. Despite my prediction that Trump would screw up the response to the virus back in March, I was sure we'd be back to normal by the fall. I thought someone would get Trump to do the right thing. All I can say is I'm glad to live in one of the few states with strict rules that have brought our March and April infection rates low enough to have safe, hybrid, public education.
• 
  2020-09-04

  Coronavirus in the U.S.: Where cases are growing and declining

  This article was published by National Geographic and made public by them to help spread awareness of the current state of the Coronavirus epidemic. This article is important because often information is gained second or third hand from someone who heard from someone who heard from someone else and by the time the information gets to you, the actual info is lost. National Geographic has long been known as a reputable source of information and so the information from them can usually be counted on to be accurate. Having an accurate source of information can help ease anxiety people may have simply from 'not knowing.' This article stated that, in the US, cases have been steady but with the cooler temperatures coming, may rise again as more people are spending their time primarily indoors. This article serves as a good snapshot of the current state of things in the coronavirus universe in September 2020.
• 
  2020-08-23

  Plane Phobia

  COVID-19 is something that will forever be engrained in our minds. It has impacted the world in ways only imaginable in apocalyptic movies. We as a society are differential in our cultures and ideas, but COVID-19 has brought us together. COVID-19 spread throughout the world at an alarming rate due to 21st century modes of rapid transportation (specifically airplanes). Normally, walking through an airport brings excitement and happiness, but tensions felt high travelling during this time. Excitement was replaced with anxiety, and happiness with cautiousness. For my addition to the Moakley Archive, I decided to include a photograph taken on a recent flight from Miami to Boston. More than half the seats were empty and I couldn’t help but notice how desolate the flight felt. 2020 has been an economic recession, and a social depression. Travelling will never be the same at least in this lifetime, and for many, flying will be a last resort. Nobody knows when COVID-19 will end, we are fighting a war with an invisible enemy taking one day at a time blindly.
• 
  2020-08-18

  THE IMPACT OF CORONAVIRUS ON THE MOST VULNERABLE

  Several of my friends are high risk to contract the virus because of compromised immune systems. This article is written to sensitize people to this group
• 
  2020-08-20

  The Inner Turmoil

  The pandemic has led me to often sit alone in my room for hours at a time. This type of free time and idleness has fixated my brain on the vast negativity circling around the coronavirus. From the array of mental health issues from the picture, I have been battling anxiety, stress, and panic, mostly coming from the idea of losing nearly six months of my life. I will never be 18 again, will never have these six months back of being an adolescent in my last year of high school, and will never get a chance of making my final mistakes while it is still ‘acceptable’. I have to enter adulthood without truly finishing off my adolescence.
• 
  2020-08-17

  Divide in social interaction

  This photo speaks a lot about the current pandemic that is rapidly spreading among the world. I chose this photo because it represents how much we have taken seeing our loved ones and friends everyday to totally not seeing them at all in an instant. This photo I personally can relate to in a way. While I have been fortunate to not have any family members contract this virus, I still was not able to see any family or friends for months! This photo speaks for the pandemic because so many people are stuck in hospitals and they aren’t allowed any visitors. I feel we have all taken life a little bit for granted before this pandemic came along, but I also feel we have all learned more about our selves, lessons about life, and to always cherish time with family and friends because you never know what could happen.
• 
  2020

  The Paradox that is COVID-19

  It was early morning on the 7th of July, 2020 and a cough from down under woke me out of my sleep. It is 2020, the Plague Year. Somewhere in the depths of my mind I heard a voice that said ‘CORONA VIRUS!’, a social media phrase made all the more famous when said best by rap icon, Cardi B. This time the voice was not hers but mine. I fell back asleep and woke again at 7 am preparing to catch a flight to Ft. Lauderdale in just an hour. I had a fever. I never have fevers. I felt off in a way where I could not focus on the present because a dark cloud of fear was hanging over me. I shook it off as CoronaVirus induced anxiety is a common thing these days. I hung back in order to board last and ensure myself an empty row on the plane all to myself. It was mid flight that I knew without a doubt that I had COVID-19. COVID-19 in nutshell is near impossible to explain and is a paradox not unlike the paradoxes it created in the moral structure of mankind. Covid-19 began introducing its pervasive nature into a plethora of my systems. You are freezing cold to the touch but burning inside. One moment your blood pressure is so low you begin to think out loud to yourself…’excuse me everyone while I just lay down right here and die’ followed by hours of pounding heart rates that require medical intervention. Of course there's diarrhea and I lost bowel movement in the hotel walking back to my room. CoronaVirus also almost had me convinced that I was going to throw up in my mouth for the rest of my life. Every few days the virus manifested itself in a new profound way but not before convincing me that it was ending. At one point my brain was shaking so intensely that the left side of my face drooped and my arms went numb landing me back into the ER for a round of anticonvulsants and fluids. The fatigue and muscle pain and swollen diaphragm were the last to leave or were they? Yesterday I woke up with pink eye and stomach cramps just a few days over 4 weeks since my symptoms started, 3 weeks after diagnosis and 10 days after testing negative. COVID-19 has affected the moral structure of mankind in a pervasive nature in a plethora of misinformation, egotism and political affiliation. And just like its symptoms, CoronaVirus has no middle ground of sensibilities in the human psyche. Some of the most prevalent concepts of the Plague Year range from government conspiracy, global terroism, the wrath of God, a hoax, a completely fraudulent non-existent virus, or a huge covert operation to inoculate the world and take the spotlight off the rampant sex trafficking and police brutality wreaking havic on the worlds children. 2020 is The Plague Year in every way. Who can blame us for our ignorance but ourselves. As a society we have turned our backs on books, professors, scientists and even our friends’ own experience for the misinformation machine known as social media. Many of us have let politicians determine the depth of our hearts. COVID-19 has made me question the paradox of the heart as an emotional or love centered force that exists in all mankind. I am writing as a Biological Science Major, PreMed student at Arizona State University and as a part of Religion, Culture, and Public Life course where I have been given the opportunity to share my story to ‘A Journal to the Plague Year’. In this course we study what is rational thought as it pertains to religion, spiritualism and the conditions of the heart in retrospect to whether or not man can do good for mankind without the need to also do bad to mankind. I lost several friends through this year and diagnosis. Some of them have never returned a text or call and others called me a liar and some laugh at my symptoms when I tell them. Then there are those that laugh at posts of people in hospital beds and turn their noses up to simple fever checks at local businesses. CoronaVirus would not be complete however had it not also brought out a global connection of assistance. Mortgages and rents are suspended, utilities are not being disconnected, the government is sending cash assistance and our food and medical welfare services have expanded to all in need. The Small Business Associations in combined efforts are bailing out businesses left and right with grants to the tune in the billions. For once in history the little man, the big man, the poor man, the rich man, the athlete, the teacher...all of us were in need and all of us were susceptible to the same affliction; COVID-19. My final thoughts on COVID-19 are one of simplicity in the midst of madness. Regardless of the plethora of theories or origination ideas and outside of the political or religious realm; CoronaVirus is still a real biological virus. CoronaVirus does not need to be highly fatal to wreak havoc on an individuals life but for far too many it is. As a future practitioner of medicine it is my oath to believe that one life is too many. It would do humanity some good to stop and weigh out the inconveniences of a silly mask or a temperature check or an imperfect trip at the grocery store for the sake of just maybe the scientists are correct. Just maybe we can stop this before The Plague Year of 2020 becomes the plague decade.
• 2020-08-10

  Finding Out My Grandfather Has Terminal Cancer in the COVID-19 Pandemic

  In the midst of an already chaotic season, my family and I received news that my grandfather has colon cancer. It started with the doctors first finding multiple masses on his colon as well as his liver. As time passed, multiple tests, scans, etc. were done and the results came back as cancerous. When we got the phone call that it was incurable, all I wanted to do was drop everything and go see him but then I remembered.. We are in the middle of a pandemic. So then the anxious thoughts started to creep in of whether or not I would have a chance to see him before he dies. My grandfather lives in Texas, while my husband and I live just outside of Nashville, Tennessee. We had a trip scheduled toward the beginning of the summer and had already pushed back so I didn't want to reschedule this trip once more knowing it could be the last time I see him. Coming to a conclusion was very challenging. We changed our minds back and forth multiple times and almost didn't go. However, my husband and I were able to pack up a week's worth of clothing and technology (I am a full time student at the moment) and we drove down to Texas. We were given the opportunity to see my grandfather at my grandparents house while we wore masks. Overall, the trip was great. My husband and I were grateful for the chance to see my family, especially my grandfather. While the decision of if we should see him or not was a difficult one that took a lot of thought and guidance, I am glad we went in the end.
• 2020-04-14

  Children in a pandemic

  Children and the pandemic. My four year old daughter does not understand what a pandemic is. She repeats that she cannot go outside or to school or to the park because of "the coronavirus". Her and her siblings, along with children all over the world, have been greatly impacted by this pandemic with no understanding of the ramifications of it's spread. Children have been sent home, isolated, many removed from space places like schools or after care programs. They have lost friendships and socialization. They have lost structure. Some have lost family members. Parents out of work have cost their family food or housing. Adults struggling to cope with their own depression and anxiety has increased children's as well. For me personally all seven of my children have been affected. My son was forced to move home from college and fell into a deep depression. My oldest daughter never walked across a graduation stage or finished her senior year. My fifteen year old with autism lost support services from school. My thirteen year old lost sports and his friendships. My ten year old with epilepsy had medical testing pushed back and then had hospitalizations with only one parent allowed, even had to be taken by paramedics alone to the hospital once. My seven year old with ADHD lost all class structure and intervention programs to help him and his anxiety and panic attacks have grown more severe. And my four year old, pictured above, lost her classroom and her joy from attending preschool daily. The new round of "return to school" virtually is brought with more anxiety and worry that the kids are not alright. The picture above showcases the innocence of a child wanting to explore the world, trapped inside and the slight sadness that this may be for the long haul. #REL101