Items

• 
  2020-03-11

  Positive Pain

  In March 2020, my life would change drastically, as I was just turning nineteen, but also entering one of the craziest pandemics the world has ever seen. It was not just my life that would change. My family, friends, and millions of people all over the world were affected by the deadly COVID-19. Because it is such a deadly virus, people were forced to go into lockdown and isolate themselves from one another. During this time, it got much lonelier in life as there was not as many people around. Many people were sad by this; however, I took it as an opportunity to look at myself and truly focus on what I needed to do to improve. There was less outside noise, so more of my energy was directed to my schoolwork that needed to be done which boosted my grades over the course of a few months. Also, working out is a great passion of mine and I was able to get more physically fit as I had more free time. However, it was hard because all of the gyms were closed, and I had to find an alternate route to reach my goals. In the basement, I had some rusty dumbbells that I am grateful that I was able to put to great use. It was enough for the chest, back, arms, shoulders, and legs that I was so focused on training at least. This situation was great to prepare for my life because I was faced with a minor inconvenience and set out to overcome it through strategic perseverance. This pandemic taught me that if you want something bad enough, you can attain it through determination and hard work. While I never saw many friends during the first lockdown, I was spending even more time with my immediate family. While I usually would have been at college, the pandemic gave me the opportunity to get closer to my parents and siblings. We made time for evening walks, family game nights, family meals, and also various other movies and activities we would love to participate in. At first, I did not know what to expect when I we were asked to move off of campus due to COVID-19. While there was a great deal of hardship that the pandemic brought upon the world and my family and friends, is gave me the chance to find myself and grow as a person, which I will always be grateful for.
• 2020-12-08

  How Covid-19 Changed my 2020 Plans

  5,4,3,2,1 HAPPY NEW YEARSSS!! Everything seemed in place to make 2020 my best year since my New Year's resolutions could finally come true as the time was just right and my mindset was determined. For a few months, things are going awesome. Word was spreading that a virus was attacking China “ nothing to worry about they'll fix things” “ it's probably just like the flu” what words that we threw around when bam march comes around school cancels. The two weeks the school said that we were going to be put quickly turned into 5,6,7,8, A whole year?? Nothing less it was a big letdown as the rest of the year seemed to be ruined. After a few days of reflecting I got myself together and decided that a virus wasn't going stop me from achieving my goals, “where there's a will there's a way” said my mother and she was right!! The determination got back into my head and I found safe ways to do the things on my resolutions list while taking precautions and thinking of others. My message is that don't stop working towards your goals where there motivation and determination nothing is impossible.
• 
  2020-10-16

  Can't Wait

  I had been deployed for quite some time already and had not seen my family in a long time. When I found out that I would not be coming home when I was supposed to earlier this year (due to Covid-19), it just crushed me. My wife was devastated too because she had been alone taking care of our two daughters. My oldest did not quite understand why I had to stay longer and my youngest daughter was just a couple months old when I left. I was longing to see and hold my girls. Time away from them seemed ever ending but I knew that I would be home soon but soon was unknown. The thought of that was scary but I had my girls as determination. The why I do what I do. Once I came home to my girls it completed my journey and they would not let me go. The baby was a year old and my oldest was so talkative. She never talked before I left. They were so different but I also felt like I stepped into a different country with new rules. (Arizona State University, HST485).
• 
  2020-05-13

  Finding hope in a pandemic

  A personal account of the pandemic.
• 
  2020-04-28

  A Local Temple Sign

  We are all struggling right now in some way, and I want this image to serve as a reminder for everyone to keep their heads up during this extremely difficult time and to keep pushing onwards:) #REL101
• 
  2020-04-18

  A mother’s portrait of her prep student deep in concentration during homeschool art class.

  This portrait of my son was the first time I have painted since my child was born. Although our household is busier than ever, I was inspired by my son’s love of art. We will look back on our time together at home as a special time.