Items

• 
  2021-02-06

  Model UN in the time of a Pandemic

  I uploaded a screenshot of my Model UN conference that had to be conducted over Zoom during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a normal year, a Model UN conference would take place at a large event space, usually a university or a hotel. Model UN teams from high schools across the globe participate in the conferences that my school attends. Unfortunately, I did not get to have this unique experience during the pandemic year. Instead, my school took part in an online form of the conference via zoom and discord, through Boston University. Although it was not the same, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to meet plenty of interesting people from all over the world! This screenshot shows the "bloc" (or alliance) that I had formed with students representing countries such as Mexico, Nigeria, and Russia. I can be seen in the middle box on the right, representing the nation of Afghanistan!
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  2020-07-23

  Is it ok to be different?

  A comic strip about Covid-19
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  2019-10-06

  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 awards ceremony. Seeing as this event is clearly being held in-person, with little social distancing and no evidence of masks, it is different from the years before, further proving the fact that the pandemic is ongoing and continued adaptation is necessary before we will be able to overcome.
• 
  2020-11-26

  A New Sense of Taste

  The memory I related is about the difference in taste and smell before I had covid versus after. It is still altered in some ways and did not return as it was before. I still find it jarring eat something that I used to love only to find that it tastes different and I no longer like it.
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  2021-10-08

  My life During the Covid 19 Outbreak

  Hi, my name is Shay Wurst, and I am 12 years old. I go to Lone Star Middle School, I like to hike, play outside, and play with Legos. These last 2 years have been hard being online and wearing masks. This year is different than last year because we have lockers, go to school 5 days a week, see the bottom half of people's faces and be at school for the rest of the year. This year is different than 4th grade because. 4th grade I was in elementary school, I have lockers, and I don’t switch classes. I very happy that this year is better than last year.
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  2021-10-08

  Lone Star Covid Archive

  This text is important to me because it tells me how hard life was during the pandemic. Everything was just restricted and I was not able to do the things I wanted to do. I signed up for flag and it was my first ever time playing football but when Covid hit or submission got canceled. Looking back at this moment in time helps me think that life is better than it has seemed before.
• 
  2021-09-09

  A whole new world

  After being in school for 12 years you get use to the way things. Once covid had hit it was a whole new change and something to get used to. The desk had all been separated from each other, lines in the hallway telling us where to walk to divided us so we weren't so close. Only so many students going on one day to school and the others on the opposite days us. You kind of felt like a freshman in that sense.
• 2020-12-25

  The Holidays with COVID

  Holidays in America means at least for me have always been a time to gather with family and friends to celebrate. Big parties and gatherings have been a staple of the holidays for years. But this past year has been much different than the years before it. With the global pandemic happening the norm of these parties and gathering became inexistent. This year for the holidays I celebrated over what has become the new norm and that is Zoom. Eating and attempting to celebrate with your family on a Zoom call is one of the weirdest things I have experienced. Well it was nice getting to see everyone's faces doing it over a video call is not the way I enjoy. Hopefully things will turn soon as I am growing increasingly annoying by Zoom and video calls.
• 
  2020-05-31

  High School Graduation-- Covid-19 Edition

  May 31, 2020 Senior year, something that every student looks forward to the second they enter high school. It’s supposed to be a time for celebration, big life steps, and most importantly, spending one last year with the kids you grew up with. Starting senior year in the fall of 2019, everything seemed laid out before me, it was just a matter of finishing college applications and deciding on a college, worrying about who might be my prom date, and whether I would be starting goalie for my varsity lacrosse team. All those worries disappeared when schools got shut down March 13, 2020. At the time only for two weeks, given that Covid-19 was really beginning to hit the United States. My friends and I thought nothing of it and were hopeful for a return to school to finish out senior year. But weeks went on, and one-by-one, everything began to be canceled. First, it was lacrosse. Next, it was the permeant switch to online school. And last, perhaps the worst of all, the cancelation of prom and graduation. When it truly hit that the end of senior year had been taken away from us, I wasn’t quite sure what to do. I sulked around for a long time, and even began to feel like I was losing friends. Flash forward to May 31, 2020, and I’m sitting in the back of my Dad’s truck, which was decorated in my school’s colors of green and black. I sat in my graduation cap and gown all by myself with my parents in the front of the truck. The community had come together to celebrate the Class of 2020 in the only safe way they could think of—a parade. We waited in a parking lot to drive by my high school one last time. Most of my classmates were there, sitting on top of cars, looking through sunroof windows, or sitting in the back of trunks. It was heartbreaking to see all of my friends split apart, all waving from our cars. Friends who I was only really friends with in class smiled and waved, all of us wishing the other well, and dying to give out a hug. As we began to drive through the neighborhoods leading up to the high school, the streets were lined with so many people (all socially distanced and with masks), holding signs and screaming for us. I didn’t cry until I saw my favorite teacher, who saw me and also started to cry, saying she got the letter I had sent her, thanking her for being my support throughout high school. It was such an overwhelming feeling of sadness and joy. When we finally made it to the high school, we all parked and waited to drive by the entrance one more time where they would call our names, as if we were walking across stage. The picture I am submitting is a moment when we had stopped, and I was standing there crying looking out at the high school and all of my classmates. The picture I feel captures how so many were most likely feeling in that moment. Knowing there was so many you didn’t truly get to say good-bye to, but so thankful for the opportunity to see each other from a far. Covid-19 took away so many things for so many people. Graduation was something I had been looking forward to for years. But to see the community come together for us high schoolers in such a confusing time is something I will never forget.
• 2021-01-28

  Silences

  I’d like to talk about potential “silences” in the Journal of the Plague Year. Although the journal is shaping up to be a fantastic archive that future historians will surely make use of, it is not a perfect representation of life during the pandemic. In my view, the journal has certain assumptions built into it that tend to produce certain silences. The journal likely encourages contributions that show change rather than continuity. We tend to focus on what is different -- online school, perhaps not participating in large gatherings during the holidays, etc. -- rather than what is basically the same, and there is a lot about our pandemic world that is strikingly similar to the pre-pandemic world. For example, capitalism, and consumer capitalism in particular, has largely continued in its pre-pandemic mode with a few minor tweaks (masks, for example). Stores like Target, Wal-Mart, and Costco have not only been open but have been open for indoor shopping throughout the entire pandemic. Also, people have a tendency to believe that they are spending more time at home and online. While this may be true for some, the fact is that American life had been trending this way for a long time, with more and more people spending more time isolated at home and engaging in less face-to-face social interactions, being less involved in community groups and associations, etc. Lastly, in order to make a contribution to the journal, one needs to have access to the internet; of course, there is a percentage of the American public that lacks internet access and likely an even larger percentage of people worldwide that lack access to the internet.
• 2021-01-21

  Symptons of Covid-19

  There are many symptoms of Covid-19. My Nana got covid and here are the symptoms she had, she had a sore throat, and was coughing, she also had a little bit of a headache. Within about 2 to 3 weeks her symptoms were gone. What I've learned from people who have had covid is that it affects everyone very differently. These 3-year-old twin girls that I babysit got it and one of them just had a runny nose and the other didn't have any symptoms. However, the mom who also got it and lost her smell and taste and that's all the symptoms she had. Some other common symptoms are sore throat, headache, muscle aches, loss of taste and smell, cough, fatigue, and vomiting.
• 2021-01-20

  Covid-19 New Norms and Rules

  All the new rules revolving around the virus have were strange to get used to but seem normal now. Wearing masks, social distancing, not seeing close people who. may be high risk, etc. If someone was to tell me this would be my life a couple years ago, I would never believe them. It sounds like a different planet, completely different from what I'm used to.
• 2020

  journal of the plague year remote learning

  Remote learning has been super different compared to pre-covid learning in good and bad ways. First of all it is good because there are longer breaks and in between classes, you can go take a short nap or get some food or play video games. Also you can do school in your sleeping clothes. However it is really bad because they give 5x more work, and class periods are twice as long now! Also it is really hard to learn things, I had to enroll myself in tutoring for the first time. Those are the benifits and bad things of online school.
• 2020-12-25

  A Covid Christmas

  How COVID impacted a family's traditional Christmas celebration
• 2020-01-07

  consider how Christmas was different for you this year because of covid-19

  This year with Covid-19 going on my Christmas was a little different. Every year on Christmas day we go to my grandparent's house and all of my cousins that live in town go to my grandparent's house but my other cousins that live in Virginia cannot come down to spend Christmas with us this year because of Covid-19. We all go over and exchange gifts and eat dinner as a family. I feel if covid-19 wasn't around I fell like all holidays would be extra good just because we get to see our close family members.
• 2021-01-07T14:30

  Covid Christmas

  This year was way different than normal. I normally love Christmas/winter and I tried to enjoy it but it was very difficult. After Christmas day my Aunt, Uncle and grandparents (on my mom's side) would come stay at our house or we would go to my grandparents. This year we did not see then. On Christmas Eve my Aunt, Uncle and two younger cousins (on my dads side) would come over all evening/night. They decided not to come over this year so we briefly exchanged gifts and talked. 8:00am on Christmas morning my mom woke me up. My parents and grandparents (on my dads side live with us) where already up. My older brother woke up shortly after. We opened our stockings at the fire place then went to the living room with the Christmas tree. We opened the other present there and talked for a few after. We all went to our rooms to use the new stuff we got. I was kind of sad that Christmas was over because it barley felt like Christmas. Later that night we had Christmas dinner. As much as I tried to enjoy Christmas and the long break from school the vibe wasn't the same and was slighting disappointing.
• 2021-01-07

  Christmas in a Pandemic

  My Christmas this year was different than the years before. What is usually a day full of family, was a day of no people, distancing, and zoom calls. My family usually has a giant Christmas eve party, but this year some of my family wasn’t even able to gather together. We were still able to have my cousins over, but it wasn’t the big party experience I was hoping for. My cousins also usually spend the night and open presents with us, but this year they had to go home. We ended up having a nice dinner and we even held a zoom meeting to try to connect with other family members who weren’t there...but it just wasn’t the same. It was the first year where it truly didn’t feel like Christmas.
• 2021-01-07

  Covid Christmas

  I got out of school for Christmas break. Once I was out of school, I felt like it just was a normal weekend due to being online. Usually, I celebrate with my friends at school but we couldn't do that. I just tried to excite myself for Christmas but I just felt empty because I knew I couldn't see my whole family. Its Christmas. Usually, on Christmas Eve I get home from being with my uncle and grandparents. But we did not go to that so I was really down. I walked downstairs to the presents. I waited for my sister to get up. She got up we were ready to open gifts. My grandma was not scared of covid and still came even we told her not to. We were still happy to see her. It was fun opening gifts. But after I had fun, I realized we weren't going to be able to see my other grandparents after opening gifts. Usually, we go to our other family but not this time. I was sad because usually after opening gifts I am excited to go. I spent time with my one grandparent and also had fun with my parents and sister. But even though we had a fun time, it wasn't the same.
• 2020-12-25

  Christmas 2020

  My 2020 Christian was just a little different from last year. One main thing that change would be me getting to go to my grandparents and uncles house. For Christmas Day I would usually open my presents at home which my Mom, Dad, and sister got me then go to my Uncles but I wasn't able to because of Covid. Instead My family had called them and had to wish them a merry Christmas. We also weren't able to have friends over or go to friends houses. But everything else was the same.
• 2020-12-21

  An 8th grader's Christmas in Covid

  My Christmas this year did not feel right. Every year, I look forward to Christmas break from school and every year there is some sort of party or celebration for it. This year I had online school so the entire time I was just sitting at home, by my desk. The week of Christmas, it didn't feel like Christmas. We normally don't go anywhere for Christmas but it still felt different. We still held the same traditions as every year but the initial excitement was gone. School really does impact Christmas.
• 
  2020-01-06

  Christmas during 2020 (covid season)

  During the pandemic of 2020 (covid-19), my Christmas was very different from the past few years that I had Christmas with my family. One of the reasons because my Christmas was different at this time was because we couldn’t enjoy going different places to enjoy with family except from home. Another reason about this topic, it was that my aunt family hang out together in my house, but it was awkward because we had masks on.
• 2021-01-06

  The "different" Christmas

  My Christmas was the same for my family wakeup open presents family time. But we usually went to see my grandma on Christmas Eve, We would go inside and meet my cousins and Aunts and Uncles and especially grandparents. But this year we came when my cousins were leaving, this was planned we didn't want to much interaction. This just wasn't the same, no big family over occupying the living room, no complaining not much laughs either. Thinking about this I don't like sitting on the ground or complaining, I like laughs though. Now that I look back, I actually really liked that, and I realized that's what makes Christmas, well Christmas.
• 2021-01-06

  A Christmas Durring the COVID-19 Pandemic

  The COVID-19 pandemic has changed everything for all of us. Christmas Vacation was especially different for me and my family this year. I'll start by describing our normal Christmas Vacation. The first week after we are out of school, my family and I normally head up to Mammoth Lakes CA to snownoard and ski. We go up there for about one week to geet us in the Christmas mood. We always stay at our Aunt's place in the village. It's really fun to go exploring and finding a bunch of new things. Once we come back from Mammoth we pick up our christmas tree from a lot in Thousand Oaks CA called Christmas Ranch Tree Farm. When we get home we decorate the tree while watching National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. The next day is Christmas Eve. On that day we decorate and bake cookies. That night we read the story of Jesus' birth and T'was the Night Before Christmas. Our Grandma also comes over almost every Christmas Eve. On Christmas day we wakeup at seven, open our stockings and presents while my mom records it all on a device. After the opening of the presents we eat cinamon rolls. The rest of the day we hang out with out friends/neighbors looking at our new stuff. After that we head over to a big parter over at our Aun't house with all our extended family. That is our normal Christmas. This year however we didn't go to Mammoth. So we had nothing to do for the first week. I ended up doing a ton of mountain biking. On Christmas Eve we baked and decorated cookies like normal bu tour Grandma didn't come over so it felt odly emty. On Christmas day everything was normal the first part of the day (other than our Grandma not being there). However, we had no party later in the day so the whole Christmas was just our household which make it feel vary lonely. This Christmas was very different than the last few years.
• 2021-01-06

  Covid Christmas

  Usually, my family gathers and we have a big celebration at my aunt's house. In 2020, we had an awkward Zoom call! It was definitely not Christmas without my family, but I am still so grateful for my parents who I got to spend the holiday with. We opened gifts and cooked lots of yummy food together. Cooking is a big deal in my family. It's something I've grown up doing and have grown to love, so it was nice to be able to share that with my parents this Christmas. I'm hopeful that I can celebrate Christmas 2021 with my entire family!
• 2021-01-06T10:00:00

  Christmas with covid

  for Christmas the year, it was definitely different. Since I have divorced parents, I was spending this year with my mom. On Christmas Day, we would usually wake up at 8 or 8:30. but this year we ended up waking up at 9:30. it went by very fast. we went in the living room and opened our presents. then we had bacon and eggs while we watched the grinch. the day went by very fast and before we knew it, it was already 6:00. we had our Christmas dinner, which was, steak, mashed potatoes, green beans and cranberries. just a standard traditional Christmas dinner. then, I FaceTimed my friends to show them what I got. I would usually go over to my cousins house but this year we stayed home and didn't see anyone. I ended up taking a shower and then going tom bed at around 11:15.
• 
  2020-10-14

  北米初　コロナに2回感染　2回目の方が症状深刻(2020年10月14日) – First case in North America's new coronavirus infection twice, the second time cause more serious symptoms (October 14, 2020)

  This news talks about the effects getting the new coronavirus for the second time and it shows how we still need to be careful and don’t think that getting it once you will be fine. We still need to follow CDC guidelines. 北米で初めて新型コロナウイルスに2度感染した患者が確認されました。2回目の感染の症状は1回目より深刻だったということです。 　医学雑誌「ランセット」によりますと、アメリカのネバダ州に住む25歳の男性が今年4月と6月の2回にわたって新型コロナウイルスに感染し、発症しました。2回目の感染の方が症状が深刻だったということです。ウイルスの遺伝子を調べた結果、2度の感染はそれぞれ別の由来を持つ新型コロナウイルスによるものだったことが分かりました。ランセット誌は「一度感染しても十分な免疫獲得を保証することにならない可能性がある」と指摘しています。 For the first time in North America, a patient infected with the new coronavirus for the second time was confirmed. The symptoms of the second infection were more serious than the first. According to the medical journal "The Lancet", a 25-year-old man living in Nevada, USA, was infected with the new coronavirus twice in April and June this year. The second infection was more severe. As a result of examining the genes of the virus, it was found that the two infections that were caused by the new coronavirus had two different origins. "Once infected, it may not guarantee sufficient immunity," Lancet magazine points out.