Items

• 
  2022-07-08

  Box Office: How ‘Minions 2’ Brings The Covid Era To An Optimistic Close

  This is a news story from Forbes by Scott Mendelson. This is an article that discusses the moviegoing habits of people pre and post-COVID. The article mentions that Minions: The Rise of Gru and Top Gun: Maverick were meant to come out in 2020, but they were delayed because of COVID. Due to the high amounts of attendance to both films, the author is speculating that audience members that may have forgone streaming new movies are coming back to theaters. The box office gross for both films has broken records. Given my own experience of going to the movies recently since COVID began, I noticed that even though I did see signs about masks, it was never enforced, and restrictions were pretty much non-existent. I delayed going to the theaters in-person partly due to not finding many new releases interesting enough, in addition to not wanting to deal with masks while watching. I think that less restrictions make the experience more appealing now than during COVID, as movie tickets have been getting more expensive over the years. In can be hard to justify the steep prices with the restrictions in place that could make it less comfortable. My own experience that I had made it feel like it was the pre-COVID era, and that made it something I enjoyed. I think that given the snacks people eat at theaters, it would have been cumbersome to have to take the mask off and put it on again with eating. If I had to do that, I probably would not have wanted to get any snacks with those restrictions in place, and theaters generally make more revenue from refreshments than they do showing the movie itself. I think that the author is right that the high gross of both films mean that the "summer movie" is returning to what it once was, with audiences that may have been lost during COVID coming back.
• 
  2022-06-24

  The whole mask thing 2.5 years later

  This is an Instagram post from adrianmiller. Here, she is recounting changes that have happened within the last 2.5 years of COVID. These changes include not making small talk or checking for people's facial expressions.
• 
  2022-04-03

  Teachers reflect on covid struggle

  This article details the reflection of a few Arkansas teachers as we reach two years since the beginning of the pandemic. The teachers highlight the drastic changes not only in safety precautions, but also the adjustments in order to provide meaningful learning in an entirely new landscape. Many of the teachers reported excitement at the prospect of a return to normalcy, however they desire some aspects of the pandemic adjustments to remain in place. Flexible learning, new and creative ideas of conveying topics, and more individualized learning methods have seen an increase in retention of material, which is fundamentally what education is all about. The teachers would also like an end to the stigma surrounding the covid learning adjustments, primarily the notion that education is now "entirely computer based". This notion is quite the contrary, according to educators, rather the new methods not only encourage flexibility and invite individualized learning but also promotes computer skills which will be vital for adulthood. I think this article is interesting because it highlights the fundamental change covid has made and continues to make on society. In order to promote public health and safety, teachers were forced to adjust and were forced to rework how they educated. This compelling of behavior has rendered some positivity. I think it is critical that children are able to have the safest and most effective education, and while covid seems terribly negative, there is a small glimmer of improvement from the pre-pandemic world. This article was published in the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette.
• 
  2022-04-10

  Reflection of Life In A Pandemic

  As everyone knows, we went through a pandemic. From that point, more happened in my life in that timespan than the 18 years that have passed before that. Celebrated two COVID birthdays, had a death in my family, heart surgery, lost and gained friends, the number of times I felt sick but actually was not because it was all in my head, the battle I had against COVID-19, too much has happened to count. However, I realized and went through this weird journey that I cannot really explain. I learned a lot about my own body, my brain, my mental state and health, it went through one rollercoaster if I had to be honest. I do want to believe that those blessings in disguise were really that, but it was quite the actual opposite. To be honest, it was something spiritual that had changed me over the past two years and I don't ever regret going through with it. I found that there will be nobody who will ever put their lives for yours other than themselves, and I found that being selfless means WAY more than doing things for yourself. Helping others, giving things such as time, your body, mind, gifts and amongst other things that mean a lot to people and that is something we all needed during quarantine and the pandemic. Life is so short, and it has its precious moments, so do not ever let anyone destroy that and let anyone control what you can or cannot say. Be kind, and be gracious to others and be respectful, because you never know what someone is going through. Also, I definitely missed sports. The beauty of basketball, the sport that has given me a lot of love and hate, came back with a bang and cannot wait for this year's playoffs!
• 
  2022-03-20

  A Day in the Life of the Pandemic

  My daily routine has definitely been affected during the COVID-19 pandemic in multiple ways. During the height of the pandemic when most classes at ASU were virtual, I took advantage of the fact that I didn’t have to leave my house and got used to sleeping in late most days I could do so. I also noticed that as a result of being home all the time, I tended to order less food out, and regularly started making my meals on my grill again. Unfortunately, another thing I began to notice is that since began isolating at home, I have been very tempted to procrastinate on the work I have to do for classes. As a result, I sometimes had a hard time getting started on my classwork in a timely manner, so I would end up stressed trying to submit it closer to the deadline than I would have preferred. Additionally, since I have been stuck inside more than I would like, I have been using my bench and dumbbells much more to keep in shape. COVID-19 has also just made me instinctively feel very naked without a mask on, and it has just become a habit to wear one everywhere at this point. On another related note, I also have made it a habit to avoid large groups or crowds of people in general because of COVID-19, so I unfortunately not seen any live music since the start of the pandemic. I have however gotten into the habit of playing more music and video games, which has been a fun way to keep myself occupied when I am not busy with work or school. Although my daily routine definitely has changed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, I have gotten used to it in the many months that have passed since it began.
• 
  2022-03-20

  Day in the Life, Post COVID

  Now that it seems the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic is over, it is interesting to look back and see how the quarantine, rules, and regulations have changed our day-to-day lives. For me, I would say that it has changed many aspects of my day-to-day, here is a list of my routine and how it is different from before COVID. 1. I make coffee at home every morning. I hand grind whole beans and methodically use a French press. This came from not being able to get coffee at a coffee place on the way to work during covid lockdowns and closures. This one really is better; I save money and get to have better coffee. 2. I listen to one of the many podcasts I am subscribed to now on my commute to work. Prior to covid, I never really listened to podcasts but started to during the lockdown as there was literally nothing else to do. Again, I see this as a positive. Now I am learning things when I would usually just be listening to the same songs over and over. 3. As I walk into work I check to make sure I have a mask, even though it has been over a month since we have had to wear one indoors. It still feels weird not wearing a mask sometimes and I have little panic moments occasionally when I realize I don’t have a mask on me, then remember I don’t need one. I think that a lot of people experience this same thing. COVID changed a lot for people and many things will be the new normal. 4. My workday really did not change because of covid. Due to the nature of my work in the military, we did not have the opportunity to telework as we need access to certain systems that cannot be accessed from the regular internet. So I think there is probably resentment in there, seeing stories of people being able to work from home and spend more time with their families. Though other parts of the workforce, such as the service industry also did not have the opportunity to telework. I think it will be interesting to see if teleworking stays, I hope it does as it seems to have a lot of benefits that I would like to experience. 5. Another thing I do every couple of weeks is going for a drive. I never did this prior to COVID, but I would do it at least once a week to get out of the house in a way that wasn’t just going to and from work. Even though now I can go places and do stuff, I still find myself just wanting to go on a drive and clear my head. 6. I go home and make dinner. I never really ate out before covid, but my cooking skills greatly increased during the covid lockdown as I used cooking like a hobby, branching out and trying to make a bunch of different things. This was also a positive as now I can make a wider array of meals. The pandemic has forever changed our lives and though we may not think it, if we go through our daily routine, we can see things that echo that time. Hopefully, we can find that the changes are positive.
• 
  2021-12

  How My Life Has Changed

  My life feels weird. I feel like everything almost moved too fast, but not fast enough. I think due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we all have a weird feeling of how time works. It seems almost as if the days pass by faster than I can imagine, let alone each month. I blink and the semester is practically at a close. My life feels busy. My days are consumed with school work and nannying, as almost every week feels the same. I try to incorporate different aspects of my daily life into each day to have a feeling of change, yet also normalcy. I personally have faced academic and personal challenges. I feel as though I do not have the same energy I did when in the classroom. I felt like I have lost my passion for learning, as it almost feels more forced than it did before. To do all your work through a computer screen is not easy, let alone to do it for years on end. Personally, I have had a hard time with a lack of communication with family and friends. Some of my peers and I discussed the difficulty with just talking to people now! It just feels so strange. The sudden change to college was weird. I started off at a University and hated it. I think due to COVID, I had a hard time picking out what I needed in a school, as I also didn't know how the upcoming school year would look with the pandemic. I feel as though I have adapted, but I wish things could go back to the way they were. Nothing feels the same anymore and I feel as if my life is slipping through my fingers. Therefore, I try to embrace the time I do have, even though we are still living through the midst of a pandemic.
• 
  2021-10-18

  Looking Back to Look Forward and Adapting to Overcome

  This screenshot shows an Instagram post from St. Mary's University. The screenshot is in regards to the University's annual marathon for the neighborhood, depicting an in-person event with evidence of masks and other restrictions/changes due to COVID-19. Seeing as the event is back to being held in person, it has both clear similarities and clear differences in respect to the years before, further proving the fact that the pandemic is ongoing and continued adaptation is necessary before we will be able to overcome.
• 
  2020-10-15

  Looking Back to Look Forward and Adapting to Overcome

  This screenshot shows an Instagram post from St. Mary's University. The screenshot is in regards to the University's annual marathon for the neighborhood, announcing a virtual marathon this year, that participants can do from anywhere. This is different from the years past, as well as from the years to come, further proving the fact that the pandemic is ongoing and continued adaptation is necessary before we will be able to overcome.
• 
  2020-06-30

  Living on COVID

  It is Summer 2020 and students nationally, and even internationally, are preparing themselves to live on campus. For some, it is their first time, and for others, they are returning to their home away from home. However, it is a new experience for both as they adjust to the new rules and regulations of living on campus. This email from the President of St. Mary's University was sent to all Rattlers and is symbolic of the changes students had to adapt to in order to live on campus.
• 
  2020-04-17

  “Can You Teach Art Online?”

  “Can You Teach Art Online?”, published on Art in America online, examines the questions artists-instructors are asking amidst a transfer to online learning. Different instructors who teach in various mediums are interviewed and expose difficulties of teaching art virtually as well as the positives and new innovations that have come out of necessity. I found the argument by Carissa Rodriguez, a Harvard professor in the arts, very interesting. She discussed the limitations of platforms like Zoom and how it is difficult to engage others in an artistic subject behind a screen. Rodriguez teaches a screen-based artistic medium and she explains that for her subject matter “the platform seems a notch too self-reflexive, collapsing screenings, critiques, and discussions onto the equalizing plane of her students’ monitors, the same site where they browse social media and binge-watch TV shows”. The article highlights how instructors are using lockdown to explore ways to make art and complete projects without institutional resources. Therefore, questions of shifting models in academia arise.
• 
  2021-08-17

  Last Minute Changes in Teaching

  For Fall 2021, some teachers gave the option to zoom into class for students who were not comfortable being present in person. Out of my five classes, only two had this option specifically stated. I planned to attend all classes in person but the day before class was due to start one teacher switched to remote only. Initially, I was okay with it. It was the first class of the day so maybe I wouldn't have to get up so early. Then I realized I would have to wake up early anyway. The class after the remote one was ten minutes after. I would of had to rush even if the class was on campus. Situations like these showed that things were even unexpectedly changing for teachers. While the situation may have slightly inconvenienced me, I'm sure it wasn't ideal for the teacher either.
• 
  2021-09-09

  Looking Back to Look Forward and Adapting to Overcome

  These text stories are from St. Mary University's Rattler Newspaper. These articles relate to the pandemic and my theme because they are discussing how students are adapting from the previous year(s), whether it be dealing with changes to online vs. in-person lectures, new policies to promote safety, or anything else. This theme is important to me because I was still in high school during the start of the pandemic, so I had to go through lots of adaptations, not only because of my transition into college but also because of the ongoing pandemic. When I decided to attend St. Mary's, lots of things were still uncertain, for example, whether or not class will be held in person or virtually, mask and vaccination mandates, etc. Chloe Presley is the contributing writer, and Adrianna Mirabal is responsible for the graphics.
• 
  2021-03-14

  Paradigm Shifts

  The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about many paradigm shifts; everyone I know has undergone a lot of change in themselves, their beliefs, and in how they view and interact with the world. There is a lot of grief these days but there are changes worth being happy about.
• 
  2020

  Social Media Interactions

  I thought this interaction represented a common argument nowadays between people who are not as sympathetic to how the world has changed, and someone else who is trying to counter those negative ideas.
• 
  -2021-01-02

  Changing traditions

  Covid has changed family traditions, including the way we celebrate kids' birthdays. This picture is of my youngest niece on her birthday. We had a 'drive-by' birthday celebration where friends and family drive past the house and honk to acknowledge her special day. This development of the Covid age has been a difficult transition for all of my family members as social distancing has changed the way we handle even the most ordinary of events. How has Covid changed your family's traditions?
• 
  2021-10-08

  Lone Star Covid Archive

  My name is Cardin Madera I go to Lone Star Middle School, and I enjoy school. I would describe the start of this school year weird because it has been a long time when I last went to a full year of school and I am not into the routine yet, so it makes it weird. Last year is similar because we still must sanitize our hands to keep us safe. Also, the staff are still not messing around about Covid-19. If you were to tell a joke about Covid, “saying this kid has Covid” and it is a lie you would get in trouble. It is different than last year because we do not have to sanitize our hands as much. Then we get to have our masks off the entire day if you want and it is not like we have half of the school students at school and the other half at home. There are somethings that changed between 4th and 7th grade because during 5th grade we were almost done with the school year but then covid hit and we had to do online for the rest of the school year. Then in 6th grade at the beginning of the school year we were doing online for a long time, and it was not helping a lot because I really could not ask questions about the assignment we are doing and about the lesson.
• 
  2021-03-30

  Teachers Share Their Experiences Working During The Pandemic | Covid Confessions | Episode #6

  Video Interview with teachers giving their experiences during the Covid-19 Pandemic.
• 
  2020-07-13

  Voices from Quarantine: Kids Share Their Experiences During the Pandemic

  Scholastic’s SuperScience magazine asked kids to share their insights and experiences during the coronavirus pandemic. Hear how their lives have changed, how they’ve coped with school closures and being away from friends and family, and what they’ve learned about themselves.
• 
  2021-10-04

  How Covid-19 Has Changed My Life

  The reflection that I have uploaded is a short summary of the biggest impacts Covid-19 has had on my life. This was the first time I've had the opportunity to share how Covid-19 has affected my life and I hope my experience helps others understand what life was like during these times. This submission is important to me because I want people 50 years from now to be able to read this and know how this pandemic has changed the world and how adaptable humans can become.
• 
  2020-05

  Playing with a Bad Hand

  Alexander Krusec May 2020 Pittsburgh, PA. I’ve always liked using gambling terms to describe my life. Things like “I got dealt a bad hand” or “quite while you’re ahead” always rolled off the tongue well, and more than that they were effective at describing the situation. Unfortunately, there wasn’t exactly a good poker term for a global pandemic. The pandemic was bad timing on my part. I won’t get into the details, but my life in high school wasn’t the best, especially during my junior and senior years. To say I was severely depressed during those years would be an understatement, and I spent a good chunk of my free time crawling out of a hole of self-hate. And just as I was starting to not only feel better, but be better, my school let the student body know that we were going home for two weeks. Then a month. Then the rest of the year. I’ve always considered myself to have extremely bad luck. Given my track record, I always guessed something bad was going to happen, and often it did. That was my life, and I had always just accepted things for how they were. For the pandemic, that was the plan. I was just going to accept the hand I was dealt and try my best to play it. Luckily for me, things changed. I don’t know what it was, but one day in May I jwoke up one day and I had stopped worrying about things, stopped obsessing about my own bad luck. I went to my grocery store job that day and for whatever reason I just did better. I did a good job that day despite the fact that the store’s shipment came in about two hours late. It was as I was driving home when I realized that my life did not have to be define by what happened to me, but rather what I did in response. I could name off a dozen different books and movies that have the exact same message of “persevering through adversity no matter what”, but the movies don’t hit as hard as a real-life epiphany. Of course, I wasn’t expecting my life to change in a used Honda Civic, but the fact of the matter was that the message finally hit me. Despite all that had happened to me, from my own depression to a pandemic, the thing that mattered was that I was still standing. There’s a great quote from the video game Destiny 2 that describes the type of resolve and will I now strive to have. It’s message is simple: don’t let the darkness in our lives break us, and as the pandemic still rages on a year later, it's a message everyone can use in these times. “I am a wall. And walls don’t move. Because walls don’t care.”
• 
  2020-04-06

  The City That Slept

  When you look at this picture, you notice something right off the bat. Most likely the fact that the streets of New York City are completely empty. On April 6th, 2020, New York City was as quiet as it’s ever been. The streets were empty and there was a ghostly feeling to it. If you were downtown that day, something had to feel wrong. I chose this picture to submit to the archive because these streets represent how the majority of people felt during lockdown; empty and alone. When people are cooped up and confined to the safety of their home, they start to realize the things that they took advantage of when things were normal. This picture also represents the odd nature in which the pandemic brought upon the world. We’ve never experienced anything like this before, and didn’t really have any idea how to prepare. It kind of just happened, and whether we liked it or not our way of life was going to have to change for the time being. While sitting in our homes, time was never an issue and, for me personally, I kind of just expected that one day this was just going to be all over.
• 
  2020-08-24

  Adventures in Virtual learning

  I’m in grad school now for the second time. I got my B.A. in 2009, and since it was right after the recession and collapse of the loan market, I panicked about jobs and went straight to an M.A. program. It wasn’t the best fit for me professionally or academically, but I didn’t have the life experience to identify that at the time. However, it was still valuable, and I met some of my best friends and professional connections I maintain to this day. Starting in 2012, I left academia and worked in a variety of jobs and fields before realizing I wanted to engage with archives and public history academically again. I found out I got into my dream grad program in late January 2020, and I was elated! Almost a decade after leaving my first graduate program, I was ready to start the next step of my educational and professional career. The excitement of a new city, new colleagues and friends, and fresh intellectual challenges awaited. More than anything, I was thrilled that my program wasn’t online, as that is not my preferred mode of learning. I don’t remember the precise dates, but COVID-19 came onto my radar around then. I know I tracked its progression through Washington state and then its spread to the rest of the country. Finally, it came to my town, and everything shut down. I ended up moving cross-country during the pandemic (another story entirely). Then, horror of horrors, classes began—online. The classes I’d been so excited for were moved to Zoom, my new classmates and colleagues nothing more than little squares. Some of them had pets, which was exciting, but in many ways, it felt like a waste of a year in terms of networking and developing camaraderie. Shifting to what is essentially a virtual, full-time job was a unique challenge. I wore pajamas most days, which was fun. I read all the advice telling me to put on clothes that I’d wear to the office or to campus, but I struggled to summon the motivation to do so when I knew I wouldn’t be going outside. My schedule was interesting, at least until I got a teaching assistantship gig that required more set hours. (The sleep inversion that occurs when the only things you’re required to be at are evening classes is incredible.) However, the lack of oversight meant some really great things! For the first time in my life, I was able to develop a reading/writing schedule that worked well for me. I had to, so I did. I was also able to put Netflix on in the background or play podcasts while I worked. Most importantly, I conquered my unease with online education. While asynchronous courses are still not my preference, over a year of remote learning means that Zoom is old hat. I, an introvert, also have a much easier time reaching out to strangers or new acquaintances. As we’ve met in person over the last month, some of those people have become great friends! While virtual learning and teleworking still aren’t my ideal, I love the new possibilities they offer for more accessible work and educational opportunities. [cat pictures] My coworkers were pretty great, and they miss me a lot now that I’m back working and studying in person. I still see them, but it’s just not the same.
• 
  2021-07-24

  Pandemic Response and Religion in the USA: Ritual

  This digital archive consists of online materials related to the COVID-19 pandemic and religious practices during this time.
• 
  2020-03-24

  Disabled People React to Coronavirus Work From Home Accommodations

  Individuals with disabilities have fought for accommodations to work from home for years. The pandemic has seen the development of widespread teleworking, with employers now providing accommodations for their workers to work at home. This situation is bittersweet for disabled individuals, who have experienced job loss and job frustration because of the lack of accommodations they faced in pre-pandemic times. It is hoped that now that employers are providing alternative work options including working at home they will continue this trend post-pandemic and provide more job opportunities and job growth for disabled individuals who require work-at-home options.
• 
  2020-12-04

  Henshin! The nostalgia wanes and reality sets in.

  Overcrowded movie theaters, expensive popcorn, and escapism entertainment made for the best days as a child of the 20th century. Surrounded by an ever growing crisis of climate change, the rising political tensions domestic and foreign; nearly every issue fades away as the lights dim in a theater, directing all attention to the action set pieces of the latest blockbuster hit. Unfortunately now, there are no lights to dim, no popcorn to smell, the once intense reverberating sound and art of audio mixing, is now forced to protrude from broken TV sound bars. The magnificent subtle nuances of orchestral scores, become muffled by the yelling of neighbors. As basic and selfish as it may seem, Covid-19 served as a reminder of the unobtainable nostalgia and senses that surround my past, the art of escapism through film. In 2020 I witnessed the passing of loved ones, relationships dwindle, and ironically the comfort of escapism...has now escaped me. Movie theaters were closed, the discomfort of the slightly course and rough woven stitched seats, became a desperate dream, a return to normalcy. The artificial smell of buttered popcorn, along with the overpriced snacks, became memories of an easier past. I wrote Henshin, as a manifestation of the changes of Covid-19. It isn't necessarily that films can never be enjoyed again, but the ability to truly escape, is gone. We view, smell, feel and see things differently now. The bombastic sensation within a theater, sharing the laughs, cries and emotions with other children, is now replaced with a constant checking of watches to return again to the world. The smell of artificial flavoring may be gone forever. Loved ones will never carry us out of a theater again. The inconvenient sounds of crowds, machines, and other viewers, are now replaced with conventional house noises. Undoubtedly film will return, theaters will open up again, but the once wholesome experience from the past has changed. The families laughs have now turned to cries, quoting movies with one another has turned to editing eulogies, smells are now memories instead of new experiences.
• 
  2021-06-02

  'A Journal of the Plague Year' relevant 300 years after publication

  During the pandemic, I took a graduate history course in which we read Daniel Defoe's 'A Journal of a Plague Year.' I had read the piece about 5 years before, but I missed so many of its nuances because it all seemed so foreign. It was striking to me both how much and how little has changed from 1665 to 2020/21. Quarantine, death tolls, travel bans, hoarding had all suddenly become commonplace occurrences that I could relate to. The centuries may have changed our technology drastically, but nothing seems to have changed about the human condition nor the human spirit.
• 
  2020

  A Photo Journal (2020-2021)

  This is a short photo journal of my life through the Covid-19 pandemic. It includes birthdays, quarantine life, graduation, protests, nature, and photoshoots. These are all important to me because these are the things that changed the most for me during this time. Birthdays changed from big parties to small gathering of friends or zoom meetings. Graduation turned from a big, movie-like event, to a closed-off, exclusive gathering. I began to explore myself more through photoshoots and Instagram. I became more informed on social injustice while I, a mixed woman, was able to help others understand my family's story. I got out into nature as inside became increasingly dangerous. Everything changed for me. For the better but it changed so much. I wanted to share my experience because it was such an important time for me.
• 
  2020-09-17

  How an eighth grader felt about the pandemic at the end of 2020

  I’m doing great! This is definitely a hard time for everyone during this pandemic, but we are all slowly getting used to it. It stinks not to be able to hang out with a big group of people, but I’d much rather prevent this virus from affecting people. I’m worried for my family because I don’t want them to get sick especially since they are all older than me. I hope it will all be over soon, and that the vaccine will come soon too. One thing I really wish was school could go back to normal. I don’t like having to wear a mask all day and wish I could see people’s faces. Also, I wish we could do group projects because they’re always so much fun. Along with going to lunch and being able to eat in the cafeteria. School is definitely the biggest change throughout the pandemic for me. Otherwise, I’m adjusting pretty well so that’s good!
• 
  2021-03-10

  Nursing schools response to Covid

  Covid-19 and the pandemic has had a significant impact on the healthcare industry. Healthcare providers that were nearing retirment had a good reason to retire early, and many others that felt the job became too dangerous or mentally taxing left the medical field forever due to Covid-19. The numbers of nurses have suffered as a result, and that means that during the worst healthcare crisis in recent history, the nurses that were working had even more burden placed on them by staffing problems. This article explains the ways in which nursing schools have responded to try and get more people into the field.
• 
  2021-04-23

  The Dorbin Journey

  This past year has brought many challenges with it for almost everybody. For me, and my family, this past year has brought equal challenges and blessings (although they usually appeared as blessings in disguise initially). Throughout the pandemic, I achieved great things at work, ended up quitting that job, started helping my family's business, experienced deep trauma after my wife was assaulted by a friend, navigated the legal system amid Covid-19 to seek justice, experienced justice being denied first-hand, worked through the grief caused by the denial, and then came out the other side of the trauma with an even stronger relationship, and I experienced a continued strain on all of my relationships caused by the distance required by quarantine. For me, this pandemic didn't greatly affect my work-life - I still had to physically work the entire time - but it changed the way all of the people around me lived. This was difficult, of course, because change is scary, but the change also became a catalyst for myself and others to change ourselves for the better. Personally, work got harder as tensions rose throughout the pandemic, and while dealing with the backlash of these tensions was difficult, this opened my eyes to the fact that I truly wasn't happy at work. I enjoyed the people I worked with, but I didn't enjoy the work or the product of my work. So, while I was grateful for the opportunity, the stress brought on by the quarantine woke me up to the realization that it was time for me to move on. There are many things that this pandemic brought, and while I wish I could elaborate on all of them, the short version of the long story, is that it was a traumatic event for everyone, but after working through the trauma, many of us found blessings in disguise or used the stress to give us the courage to change.
• 
  2020-03-18

  All We Have Is Each Other

  From the start of Covid-19 schools begin to get cancelled and change their way of teaching the students. Children, teens, adults, and seniors had to change everything involving their lifestyle. What we knew as a normal life could no longer be the same. Everyone had to be cautious of their surroundings and use protection gear. Before everything changed our lives my family and I would always get together every sunday. After the CDC recommended that there should be an approximate of 8 people per house in gatherings we decided to not get together as often since a family member worked in a senior home and we had learned that at that time seniors were more likely to get the virus. As the number of cases grew in Arizona and the border closed we didn't get time to see some family. It has been over a year since I haven't seen my grandparents. We call each other to see how we are doing. In my household it is only my mom and I along with my 3 dogs. What we took out of this was better bonding time, school ended early and jobs started to lay off employees because there weren't enough jobs. I had time to train my dogs and learn more commands, which was fun. I learned to do new things. My mom is a cosmetologist so she taught me how to cut hair, and how to apply gel polish. As things started to calm down families around my neighborhood would come out their front yard together and play with their kids and pets more. Families would eat outside and have a good time. But now everything is going back to normal. Sporting events are getting open to the public, and schools are going back to in person. I had learned that many families around my neighborhood shared the same experience.
• 
  2020-05-27

  Community Solidarity Creates Resiliency

  Community solidarity creates resiliency. Fed up and want to get involved? Follow these local orgs for updates and latest actions: @blackvisionscollective, @reclaimtheblock, @mpd_150, @mnfreedomfund
• 
  2021-03-21

  Don’t Give Me COVID

  For the past year, my husband has been the only one to do errands to keep the risk low. Anytime he went out, he showered and put his clothes in the laundry. No one has stepped foot inside our house in over a year. It may see extreme, but more than once during COVID, Southern CA was the country’s hotspot. We have been extremely cautious, and with both the death rates and people within our own circle who weren’t cautious getting infected during the winter spike, I do not regret our decision. Now numbers are thankfully declining and, even more significant, my mom (who lives with us) has received both doses of the vaccine and my husband and I should receive our second doses next week. Slowly, our lives will hopefully be able to open up a bit. But the moment captured here reminds me that the shift may not be as easy for our kids. My son, who hasn’t had a play date or left this street in months, flattened himself against the wall and refused to move when my mom came back from a Target curbside pick up. She didn’t even get out of the car but my son was terrified that she’d give him COVID. It’s going to be a long process to make them feel safe again.
• 
  2021-01-26

  The 2021 Social Justice Outlook

  NEW YEAR. NEW SOCIAL JUSTICE OUTLOOK. 2020 will be remembered for the COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide civil unrest spurred by killings of unarmed Black men and women by police officers. With a new president in office, what will social justice look like in 2021? Get your questions ready and join the conversation tonight at 7:30 p.m. on NBC 6 Voices with Jawan Strader on the NBC 6 Facebook and YouTube pages.
• 
  03/14/2021

  Layne Williams Oral History, 2021/03/14

  Layne Williams is a Physical Therapist Assistant who was working in a hospital during the pandemic. Her role shifted during the early months of the pandemic and she found herself doing any job that was needed to help with the increased numbers of patients coming into the hospital. She recalled the surreal feeling of walking into her first Covid positive patient’s room and how the mentality of healthcare providers shifted as more information came out about Covid. She also discussed the challenges of being a healthcare provider while living with her husband who is not in healthcare. Her job certainly exposed her to increased risks and those risks spilled over to impact her home life. However, her overall impression from the pandemic is that it showed what the healthcare field is capable of achieving when challenged.
• 
  2021-01-21

  You Got This

  There were many moments that took my breath away during yesterday’s Inauguration ceremony. When @michelleobama and @kamalaharris fist-bumped was definitely one of them. These two women are bonafide American royalty. The sisterhood, the beauty, the style, the grace, the elegance, the brilliance, the charisma, the ground-breaking careers, the determination, the dedication to creating change. I felt like this was a moment where Michelle was passing the torch to Kamala and saying “Take it away, you got this”. What were some of your favourite moments? [Image description: Title: Michelle and Kamala, on yellow bubble, Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, 2021, on dark purple bubble. Michelle is on the left, Kamala is on the right. They are both wearing crowns. Michelle is saying “You got this”.] #inauguration2021 #michelleandkamala #kamalaandmichelle #americanroyalty #bidenharris2020 #sisterhood #feminism #celebrateblackwomen #inaugurationday #bidenharrisinauguration #bidenharrisinauguration2021 #thankblackwomen
• 
  2021-03-03

  ‘Just a beginning’: Black Lives Matter sign to be installed in Sacramento’s Oak Park

  From the Article: It’s a simple sign for a clear message, backed by the city of Sacramento: Black lives matter. A wooden structure spelling the words “Black Lives Matter,” the movement and global rallying cry for racial justice, will be installed at McClatchy Park, located in one of Sacramento’s historically Black neighborhoods. Unanimously approved by the City Council during its Tuesday meeting, the sign is covered in hundreds of names memorializing unarmed Black people killed by law enforcement. Community advocates say they hope the sign will be a symbol of a commitment from city officials to improve the lives of Black residents in Sacramento.
• 2021-03-06

  A Niche Online Community of Writers

  It feels a little strange to be sharing this on this platform since it’s not typically on the hobbies-to-try lists. It’s roleplaying. It’s like acting, but with writing. Instead of on your own, it’s with a partner, a community, and so on. I’ve been roleplaying for over five years now, and I’d always find solace in joining the community of writers. If one group didn’t work out, there was always another that was a quick search away. I started because I wanted to live vicariously through my characters. Everyone has different reasons for doing this, and a common one is just to escape from real life. With the pandemic, it’s easy to see people cling onto this hobby if they already had it or wanted to start. There’s been a lot of escapism behaviors during the pandemic, and this is easily one of them. What I noticed, however, was many of those groups closing their doors. Some long-running communities with likely a hundred different writers just stopped because they couldn’t find joy in it anymore, it got too hard to manage, or otherwise. I’ve also seen a great deal start brand new groups only to close down within a month, or not even get to open (one of which closed due to the group manager getting covid-19). As a result, these writers have been left “homeless” in a way, because now they have lost their safe haven to get creative and use the groups as their stress-relief. I’m sharing this because I know many roleplayers wouldn’t even share this hobby with others who don’t share it. I feel like it’s a niche that’s neglected in the mainstream world. I also think this is a part of fandom culture that doesn’t get talked about because it’s so common nowadays that we’ll simply assume that it’ll always be there; that we’ll always know without any context.
• 
  2020-03-11

  just as you thought things will continue the way you want it to be for your entire life comes a new disease that could change everything within our daily lives especially students who are doing all that they can to reach that Goal for it to be accomplished. with covid 19 being the forefront of not only this country but around the world it can our sense of normal can be in danger.

  my experience when dealing with the pandemic is something new that i didn't think it can occur within a lifetime based on how it's being portrayed by not only in the media but how it's describe from doctors and experts within the health field in which in thend makes it confusing for the majority of individuals. because when covid 19 first hit the U.S last year that is when everything change especially with schools because instead of going to school in person which this is the place where we go to meet people face to face including professors and others in different departments we transitioned online. my experience with being transitioned to online was a bit challenging because this is something that i feel would take time to adjust to the new form of learning regardless of the circumstance that is not in my control especially since i'm a returning student at brooklyn college who is very used to doing it the old school way which is in person learning
• 
  2021-01-25

  A Year of COVID-19 in Canada

  This is a collection of photographs for the anniversary of the first COVID-19 case in Canada. The photographs depict the changes the country underwent in the last 12 months.
• 2021-02-07

  Gas and New Covid

  When I was pumping gas I realized how much has life has changed from about a year ago. This time last year I did not have to wear a mask, glove, and wipe down everything just to get gas. It is crazy to think that a simple task like getting gas requires people who are responsible to put on their mask, put on gloves, get their hand sanitizer/ hand sanitizer wipes and wipe down the card machine and the gas handle. Then finally, after that is all done you can insert your card push the buttons, choose your fuel grade, then pump, and finally, you can place the pump back on the machine. Then you have to strategically take off the gloves like I was trained when dealing with blood and then I have to use my hand sanitizer then I can get in my car and leave. This new task and very detail-oriented "dance" was foreign to most of us this time one year ago and now it has become a way of life. This is important to note this change because there was a time before that it was not like this and maybe one day we may get close back to that but if not we need to document the change.
• 2021-01-26

  Statistics of Covid-19

  Currently there are about 25,152,433 confirmed cases of Covid-19. And sadly 419,827 have died due to Covid-19. In California alone there are 3,136,158 cases with 7,937 cases per 100 thousand. There are also a couple new strains of Covid-19 that either spread faster or are more serious. Luckily, there are a few vaccines that are being distributed now. Covid-19 has caused a lot of trouble to many people, and lifestyles have and will change due to Covid-19.
• 2021-01-25

  COVID-19

  I haven’t personally been affected that much by COVID-19. My brother had it in January, before everyone knew what it was, but other than that no one in my family has had it. The way it has affected me the most is with school and sports being canceled. I wasn’t able to see my friends very often and I couldn’t get as much activity. Even with all the bad things that happened because of COVID, there was still some good things. Many people learned new things or got a new hobby. For me it was skateboarding. The COVID quarantine is definitely not fun but there is some good that has come out of it.
• 
  2021-01-22

  Fish Out of Water

  Since March 2020, my life has taken a complete turn. For my past high school years, I’ve constantly been in the pool playing water polo or swimming. In an odd way, I have built a connection with the water. It’s become a part of my day, a part of my life, and I took it for granted. I thought I would get to feel the adrenaline and the nervous wreak on game days when our season came, but it never did. As someone who was always in the water and active throughout the week, it was a change of scenery when we had to stay home because of the severity of the pandemic in California. Not being able to play my sports represents my high school experience as a junior because everything feels out of place. Most of my days used to revolve around practices and games, and not being able to attend these felt strange. This might be a minor inconvenience, but this little change threw me off guard. I had to find other ways to adapt to the situation and learn how to organize my days so that they could resemble one similar to before everything happened. I’m sure there are also many others who feel very unmotivated during this time of unrest. I, too, fell into a hole where I lost motivation because there was nothing to look forward to and I feared that things would never go back to normal, but I eventually adapted to this new reality because I realized that I could not predict the future. In a way, the lockdown was an opportunity for me to improve myself and take on new hobbies I have always been interested in. I started to cook more and even tried baking!
• 2021-01-21

  Signs of Covid

  When I first learned about the symptoms of COVID, I didn't really understand what the concern was about. People with COVID would experience fever, aches, chills, loss of taste, soar throat, and sometimes nausea. I just sounded like a flu to me. We don't wear lock everything down for the flu every year, so why should we do all this for COVID? Some time later, I learned that COVID has additional effects on the elderly and people with underlying health conditions. People in those categories would often develop a respiratory tract infection, which can be deadly. On the opposite side of things, most young and healthy people experience little to no symptoms at all. We've been living with COVID for almost a year now, and I've only known a few people who have gotten it. I can't be sure that I've gotten it, but what I do know is that the changes that came with COVID have impacted my life greatly. Hopefully it will all be over soon.
• 2021-01-19

  Covid Restrictions

  Throughout the Covid 19 Pandemic there have been many changes in my life. The main one and the hardest one for me was not bring able to see friends that much. I still get to see them but not as frequently as I used to. The second restriction was having to wear masks. I personally believe that masks help, but they are a pain to wear especially during sports and other physical activity.
• 2021-01-01

  New year, new goals

  For this new year I have many goals and aspirations. One of them being that COVID goes away (I know that is not how it works). I want to go back to regular life and be able to see everyone’s smiles. I do not want to be shamed for going out to get food instead of staying home 24/7. I do not want to have to take my temperature three times before going to work. Something else I want to change, is that I want to stop living through historical events. I am a history major and I prefer to read history books, not live through them. It seems that in 2020, if it wasn't something that was going wrong, it was another. I will be graduating in May and one of my biggest goals, although I do not have control over it, is to have a ceremony. I am a first generation graduate and I know my family and friends have been waiting for this day. I also want to get into graduate school and continue my education journey and continue to grow. This year I seem to have a lot more goals and resolutions than I have in the years past.
• 2021-01-14

  Virtual learning

  During the crazy year of 2020, we weren't allowed to have school in person. Instead, we had to learn remotely. There was both benifits and obstacles in this time. Some of the benifits were that we didn't have to wake up early, or go to different periods, because everything was one click away. Although there were some benifits, there were also difficulties. Some of them included no socializing, technology could sometimes fail, and we didn't have the same tools that we had in the classroom. Overall, this year has been a great change, and I think that we haver to start getting used to a different life.
• 2020-02-01

  A Description of my Experiences While Learning Virtually

  Things started out O.K., but band was a mess, and classes seemed very boring. I usually got up around my usual 6:00 a.m., but I didn't make my lunch as I used to, because I didn't need to. I then would practice piano, and then I would have an hour to do nothing, unless I had Jazz Lab, then it would be more like 30 minutes. School itself wasn't all that different, sine the only thing that changed was that it was a block schedule and that almost everything was online. The homework load decreased significantly, there were almost no group projects. They changed the Wednesday schedule a few times, but I got used to those pretty quickly. After a while, I kind of felt like there was no schedule at all. Once we got to go to campus to do remote learning, things felt more normal which was really nice.