Items

• 2020-03-11

  My Life During The Pandemic

  It's important to me because it's going to be about my life and the way I carried myself during this pandemic. Because it made it very difficult for me to really go out, and made it extremely hard for me to go from being in person at school to being virtual classes. Which also made it hard for me to get used to it, I suffered a lot during the pandemic. I went through so much stress and had many many breakdowns thinking I couldn't do it the first semester during this scary situation, everyone was basically dying from this virus. I say that the lockdown did really affect me mentally and physically.
• 
  2021-04-14

  Can You Ever Tell If A Decision Is Right?

  My daughter has left our neighborhood less than five times in the past 13 months. I am not exaggerating. Now that the positivity rate in our area is 1.5%, we cautiously allowed my daughter to accompany me on a one mile run. You would have thought I’d taken her to Disney World. She was happier and more relaxed than she’s been in months. But she’s not a runner. She’s a competitive gymnast who hasn’t set foot in a gym in 13 months. She’s trained virtually with a gym in Northern CA and has worked out every single day. But we know it’s not the same. We also know that it’s time to create the team for the next season. It was time to contact her gym. We can keep promising she’s coming back but at what point is it just empty words? After a lot of prayer and internal debate, we texted her coach and said it’s time for her to come back. As you can see, she was initially scared at the idea, but that was quickly replaced by excitement when she found out she is really going back. But I have a pit in my stomach. Is it safe? Her coach isn’t vaccinated. Will my daughter be one of the children who contract it and have dire consequences? Or will her brother if she brings it home? How long can you keep a kid in a bubble? She already missed an entire season. Her mental health is so important, we know going back is going to be so amazing for that. But I am still so worried about the physical. One thing that this year has shown me is that I am an adult. I mean, obviously, I’ve been an adult for 22 years. But this year - protecting not only the safety of my children but my over 65 mom and in-laws. Advocating for the health of my students over politics. It’s like the pandemic has forced me to see that I can’t look to anyone to make adult decisions, it’s me. I’m the decision maker and these decisions can be life and death. I’m the adult. COVID has stripped that security we all had (probably foolishly). I don’t think I’ll ever feel safe again the way I did before this all began. So fingers crossed that my daughter’s journey back into competitive gymnastics is one that we can make safely.
• 
  2021-03-24

  Dreaming About This Day... But Now What?

  Shot 2! After so many sleepless nights and moments of paralyzing fear, my husband, my 65 year old mom, and I are all officially double dosed! The day I have been praying for for months is here and I am in disbelief. But I’m also sitting here like “now what?” Are we really safe? Can I REALLY go safely and run in my canyon aside the maskless? I do trust the vaccine, but it is a huge psychological jump to suddenly trust. There’s also the issue of the two things I love most in this world - my kids. They’re not eligible for vaccines yet and I fear for them. I know, the likelihood of them having a serious complication is low, but as a person who had both the measles and scarlet fever as a kid (no, I’m not kidding), I am a walking example of the “one in a million” chance. What if they’re like me instead of their dad? I feel like I’m in a strange limbo. Definitely more hopeful than I was even a couple of months ago, but also sort of paralyzed in a sense of “what do we do now?”
• 
  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.
• 
  2021-03-16

  Surge in Hate Crimes Against Asian Americans

  As the U.S. continues its battle against COVID-19, it is also battling a rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans. A recent report found that hate crimes against Asian Americans in major U.S. cities surged by nearly 150 percent in 2020 —even as the number of overall hate crimes fell. Stephanie Sy looks at how the violence has marred one community, and how they are coming together in its wake.
• 
  2021-03-18

  Illistration by Pauline C. Cuevas

  During the pandemic, hate crimes against the AAPI community have significantly increased. Our people had been unjustly blamed by previous leadership for the virus, and little hateful comments here and there have now grown into full blown terrorist actions. THIS is why words matter. THIS is why leadership matters. I urge you to speak up, stand up and be an ally to the Asian community-- especially for our elders. We are hurting, angry and scared, but the future can be a brighter one if we stick together. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to make this piece for @calendow. I've noticed my own fear and uncertainty during these times. I worry for my kids and my family, but being able to use my art to shine a light during these dark times gives me courage. We can do this together. #ProtectOurElders #StopAAPIHate #AAPI #AsianAmerican #PeoplePower #Solidarity #RiseUp #womenshistorymonth #filipinaartist #sandiegoartist
• 
  2020-06-24

  Imagine being this fearful and demeaning to the community you're sworn to protect

  "At the end of the day, if we live in the city, that means we have to shop where criminals that we arrest also shop,"MPD Police Union Director Sgt. Anna Hedberg responded in an interview with WCCO when asked if officers should live in the neighborhood they police. "And I don't know about you, but I don't want to go to Cub Foods with my two beautiful little girls and run into somebody that I've arrested for sex assault, shooting somebody, using heroin."⁣ ⁣ Imagine being this fearful and demeaning to the community you're sworn to protect.
• 
  2020-07-16

  I Came to the Protest to Defend Human Rights

  "I came to the protest to defend human rights. This movement isn’t about race versus race, it’s about dissolving the negativity that our world is creating. The Black community is struggling, literally fighting for their lives, and everyone needs to stand with them to help bring a better world so Black people don’t walk the streets in fear of being a victim of the system." - Oz at the Roll4Justice rally on July 4, 2020
• 
  2021-03-17

  Opening Early Meme

  As more and more vaccines are being given, it seems that soon we may be able to slowly begin returning back to normal. However, with mask mandates and restrictions falling off early across the United States, I remain fearful that we may experience another wave/peak. This meme demonstrates that anxiety.
• 
  2021-03-14

  Brenda Cohen Oral History

  In this oral history, I interview my mom, Brenda Lee Cohen on her pandemic experience with a particular focus on her work with the Calgary police service as a crime and intelligence analyst supervisor. In this interview, Brenda talks about her initial experience with the COVID-19 pandemic, she recalls the first day of the pandemic as she and her husband were stuck in America. This particular interview touched upon what her work environment was like during the pandemic and topics such as systemic racism, the police ‘culture’ and the revocation of a popular program for city employees known as the ‘golden handshake’ in the midst of the pandemic. Brenda also spoke briefly about her experience with misogyny within the workplace and how these ideas are so prevent within a space which mixes the civilian and police worlds. Finally, Brenda also spoke about what she is most thankful for in this pandemic, and ultimately reflects on her own inability to express her thoughts and emotions – and how one day when she is out of the police environment, things will be different. Interviewee Name: Brenda Cohen Interviewer Name: Padraic Cohen Date of Interview: 03/14/2021 Location: Cochrane, Alberta Canada. Transcribed by https://otter.ai Partially transcribed by Padraic Cohen
• 
  2020-03-11

  Meet Generation C, the Covid generation

  "Natalie Sanchez heard it in her children's voice when their birthday parties were canceled and saw it on their faces when they couldn't play with friends. It was more than just simple disappointment. It was fear that the world they once knew might have changed forever. "I think that it's something that's going to kind of scar them. I don't think that they'll forget," says the mom of three. Now, a year into a worldwide disaster it's no longer a question of if this pandemic will shape an entire generation, But how."
• 2021-03-10

  Doing my Part

  In March of 2020 I am sure basically everyone's life took a spin and changed in some sort. With much fear around the Covid-19 virus going around and with little to no information and data behind it, many people throughout the world were very fearful of the virus. With basically everything shut down I lost the job that I had since I was 16. Being in college, I needed to make some sort of income. With everyone using delivery services such as FedEx, UPS, and Amazon to get their supplies, I decided that I could do my part in giving a hand to our fellow Americans during the pandemic. In my hometown, Amazon opened up a new distribution center shortly before the pandemic started. With the surge of everyone using amazon to get supplies the demand for jobs at amazon was high. Being a 21-year-old healthy man I decided to do my part and pick up a part-time job while still in school. This was a great experience for me because I was able to see how the operations behind such an impactful business work and do my part to help my fellow Americans get through the pandemic.
• 2021-03-10

  My daughter is afraid to start high school

  My daughter has been going to a local public school district for 4 years. Some time during her eighth grader year (last year), while she was regimented to online schooling, she became brave and decided to share with the world her newly discovered sexuality as a lesbian. Now during her freshman year, she has been afraid to go to school in- person for fear of retribution from classmates and other schoolmates.
• 
  2021-02-28

  Building Trust in the Vaccine

  When I was pregnant and going to birthing classes, I learned the terrifying rates of mortality for Black women giving birth. The numbers were horrifying, so there is no wonder to me why a high percentage of Black Americans do not plan on getting the COVID-19 vaccine. The American healthcare system has failed them. But a group of Black doctors are standing up to tell their communities that not taking the vaccine is to risk their life, and they deserve better. This video, shared to NowThisNews on twitter, describes what the doctors' message is and why it is so important. Black lives do matter, which is why these doctors are urging everyone to get the vaccine. The video states that more Black Americans have died from COVID than any other ethnic group. Hopefully, the vaccine will stop these deaths.
• 
  2021-02

  Vaccine Fears in the Black Community

  This tweet is about the very real and valid fear that many black people have regarding the vaccine. The United States has a dark history of using black bodies for medical experimentation so it makes sense that this community would be wary of receiving vaccines for fear of them just being another medical experiment. This creates tension when paired with a mass push to vaccinate the whole nation and black peoples with very reasonable concerns against getting vaccinated. The goal now for black leaders is working to convince black people to still get vaccinated and trust this collective medical push.
• 2021-02-24

  The Coronavirus Affects Everyone

  I know that the Coronavirus has impacted everyone’s lives in their own way. However, I never thought that Coronavirus would impact my family and me in the way that it has. My dad was a very healthy, active person with a strong immune system who hardly ever got sick. Then, one night out of the blue, he got a high fever and body aches. My mom and I assumed it was just the flu and that it would pass. Although after a week of him being sick, he began having severe breathing problems and the ambulance came to take him to the hospital where he was later admitted that night. Due to high precautions, the hospital wasn’t allowing any visitors, and we couldn’t even send cards or flowers. After a few days, we heard from the doctor that he tested positive for Covid-19. It was an absolute shock. My mind was in shambles and I couldn’t grasp the reality of what was happening. They started him on an experimental treatment immediately. Unfortunately, my dad was always too weak to talk on the phone or text, so we barely had any contact with him and only got information once every afternoon when the doctors called with an update. We patiently waited torturous weeks to hopefully hear of some recovery, but the treatment exhibited no improvement and his oxygen levels continued to decline. Then, on April 6th, we got a call from the hospital saying that his inflammation levels in his lungs were rapidly rising and the medications weren’t helping. They were going to put him on a ventilator, but the doctors didn’t seem hopeful that he would be able to come off it. They gave us his hospital room phone number so we could talk to him and give him any hope we had to offer. From the very few words we got out of him during the call, he told me that he was in pain and no matter how hard he tried to get his body to fight back, the virus was just too strong. That was easily the hardest day of my life. I felt like I was going to lose my dad forever without having the chance to say goodbye. Having to comprehend the fact that I may never get to see or hug my dad was absolutely heart-wrenching. Suddenly, after weeks of prayers and different medications, his body was finally responding to the treatment. The feeling I felt when I heard those words was something I couldn’t and cannot explain. Within about a week, his fever went down, and his lungs were starting to heal. It was a miracle. We couldn’t believe how quickly he was progressing. The doctors did one final Covid-19 test, and he finally came back negative. Soon after that, he was discharged and finished recovering at home. Currently, he seems to be doing much better, but he still has a long road of recovery ahead.
• 2020-01-01

  Surviving 2020 & COVID-19 Pandemic: Life As A College Student

  As the ball dropped on New Year’s Day I embraced and kissed my boyfriend in excitement of what would await us in 2020, if only I knew. As we said our goodbyes to our friends we drove home on a side road to avoid the frantic traffic of drunk drivers and people rushing to get home. All I remember is driving in front of my boyfriend’s car and then waking up to him sobbing over me. My car lights were on, sunroof open, glass shattered everywhere, my blood stained on my wheel and purple bruises on ribs. Long story short I was smashed into by a drunk driver, my car flipped, rolled, and was finally crushed into a tree with me inside while my significant other watched it unravel before his eyes. This was my beginning to 2020 and I wished and hoped that it would only be better from there on but I was horribly wrong. On March 11th of 2020 I received an email from my university stating that it would be closed and urged all students to return home for the remainder of the semester. As many college students saw this as an extended spring break at the time we were all happy since it basically meant more partying. After week one passed of receiving the email I quickly realized that being isolated would be my downfall and it sure was. By the end of the Spring semester I had failed a couple classes and was desperately trying to crawl out of a depressive episode. Since I am, or rather struggling to be a nursing student still, failing my Anatomy and Physiology I class sent me into a spiral of what ifs and how my GPA would recover from these failed courses. The realization of retaking these courses in order to save my future and using my only two chances of “erasing” my unsatisfactory grades crushed me. I was shattered by this reality but continued to push myself through Summer term to ace these courses, I studied day and night sacrificing friendships and days out for an A. As Summer came to an end Fall came and I barely passed the classes online because I struggled to adapt and truly retain the material meanwhile peers in my class were either completely giving up or cheating their way through the online, remote exams. To add the cherry on top, I was battling my university’s Housing Board in order to cancel my dorm agreement because many COVID cases had been recorded in my building and my roommates still went out to clubs while not wearing masks. As the months passed and semesters came and went, I felt my sanity slipping and today I still sit in fear of my future. I struggle leaving my apartment due to the fear of exposure to COVID and accidentally passing it onto my only parent who suffers from lupus. This pandemic has truly crushed me and unfortunately it seems that I will be spending the remainder of my college life and 20s in this chaotic, barren, and lonely society where we only see each other screen to screen.
• 2020-02-24

  My Coronavirus Experience

  In the beginning of the pandemic, I immediately realized how a large portion of the public was not focused on the virus itself, but the racial controversy of the virus' origin. This was unnerving to the core, because it is a fact that COVID-19 came from China. While it was unacceptable to accept this as fact, MERS literally stands for Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome. It is clear that there was a pro-CCP agenda being pushed in the background when propagating the "COVID Safety" spiel. As time went on, more and more inconsistencies began popping up. Beauty and barber shops closed, but Nancy Pelosi is more than welcome to get her hair done. Masks become required to enter any building or participate in society at all, but when the new President was sworn in, the spectators were sitting shoulder-to-shoulder and masks were few and far between. What my story says about the pandemic is that while we may have had a real potential global crisis, I believe things were skewed, twisted, and flipped so that it is most convenient for those who hold the power, and not done in the best interest of the American people. An example of this in real life was how the Los Angeles Lakers, Ritz Carlton, and Bank of America (per store) were able to get PPP loans, drain the pool of PPP money, and leave small business owners fighting for crumbs. I have linked a Washington Post article below that expands on the PPP loan problem and how our government failed small business. The pandemic I fear will have long-lasting, Orwellian effects on our society in the sense that those in power will continue to use fear mongering to control the public through COVID. Even though a vast majority of the population has already had it and are building antibodies, Western European-style, 1940s era vaccination cards are beginning to circulate. I fear these cards will be the new "gold star" or "Scarlet Letter'', except those without it would be barred from society, rather than those with it. In my opinion, COVID today is what AIDS was in the eighties. Lots of unanswered questions, lots of fear, and government intervention so that free thinking is minimized. These three, and you have a perfect recipe for controlling the masses. Both diseases were politicized to death, and public opinion of the disease swung back and forth with politicization. If AIDS was blown up to the proportion that COVID was, I couldn't imagine the backlash the political and science communities would get from a certain demographic of people who are very vocal and have a statistically higher likelihood of contracting HIV. I hypothesize that pandemic would turn into pandemonium. With that, my experience during quarantine was as expected. Mental health suffered due to lack of human interaction and ability to go outside, and physical health suffered due to inability to go outside and lack of motivation which was connected to mental health. The main positive thing from the pandemic I can identify is the performance of my stock portfolio. Even though I lost my job due to COVID, I was still able to afford rent, food, and supplies to stay hunkered down in my new $900/month prison for my three month sentence. Another big positive from the quarantine was my savings. The pandemic helped me realize how much unnecessary or emotional spending I do. It helped me point out lots of bad habits I have so I can work on fixing them. Things like spending money when I'm sad, and identifying vices that hold me back in my day-to-day. While the pandemic brought a lot of negatives to me and the world around me, I believe there are some positive things to take away from it. Opening your mind to more than what the government feeds you, appreciating every moment you have, embracing new hobbies, and learning how to maneuver through change. These are all things the pandemic has taught me, but if I had the option, I wouldn't do it again. In terms of being a part of history, simply by living you are a part of history. I was at Sloan-Kettering in NYC with my family getting a life-extending cancer treatment for my father when 9/11 happened. He was one of three patients that day because while in surgery, the first plane hit the towers. The rest of the patients to be seen that day were canceled. I suppose the point I am trying to make is that history is subjective. 9/11 wasn’t 9/11 to me. 9/11 was the day I was blessed with enough time to make some foundational memories of my father before he passed. It can be argued that since I have been invested in GameStop since November, I was a part of history there too. I went to the Game 7 Cardinals vs. Red Sox World Series Game in Fenway Park. The game that broke the Bambino Curse. Again, it could be argued that I was a part of history there too, except my three year old self was asleep for the last two innings. History is subjective, and every day, everyday people like you and I make history. Historians and memoirists will use these events in the future to write articles, make movies and tv shows, write books, and extrapolate many other kinds of art from it. However, most often historical stories are told through a lens of subjectivity, and because of that, eventually all history becomes skewed to the point where it is indistinguishable from fable.
• 
  2020-03-13

  The Silver Lining

  On March 13th, the day after my birthday, I had treated myself to finally getting my septum pierced after wanting that piercing for months beforehand. Little did I know then that I would be almost the only one that has seen it in person since then. Two days after that, we had received an email from our university’s administration informing us that we would be allowed to leave school and continue classes online at home if we felt unsafe at school as concerns of the virus got bigger and louder with each passing day. The writing was on the wall; Duquesne University was going to be closing down. That email would come on the car ride back home an hour after me and my sister had already left campus. Once the semester was over and summer began, even with our own specific set of challenges, I actually feel my family was surprisingly equipped to handle the new world we were thrust into. Both of my parents are severely disabled; my mother has not been physically able to work for years and my father recently had to give up his floor cleaning services once his health gave out. As a family, we’ve found that we are much stronger together, and we “make it work” as they say. My mom did have a little fun in responding to our physically healthy friends and family talking about being trapped in their house for months on end with “Welcome to the club, you get used to it.” She was always (mostly) joking, of course, but I do think there is some truth to this joke. I grew up with a mom who rapidly succumbed to multiple debilitating chronic disorders, and that kind of circumstance opens your eyes to different experiences than many of your peers who did not experience the same. Listening to the words of more people than I can count who thought being disabled was all about staying home and collecting a check have now maybe had their opinions changed based on this new perspective, I hope so at least. This all being said, I also have to acknowledge the privilege I have in having a socially stable homelife. I personally know more than a few friends from school who had genuine, serious concerns for their mental or physical wellbeing when we were told everyone had to return home. I try to remember every day not to take what I have for granted. If the plague year has taught me anything, it is that I have a lot to be grateful for.
• 
  2020-12-23

  COVID-19 The Good, The Bad, and The Deadly….

  COVID-19 The Good, The Bad, and The Deadly…. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck I was in the spring semester of my second year of nursing school. Being naïve and not having experienced a pandemic before, I expected COVID-19 to breeze in and out like the flu every year. What I didn’t expect was a deadly virus that would leave behind it a path of death, despair, and devastation. One of the biggest areas in my life that was impacted by COVID was my education. As classes moved to virtual platforms there was a major learning curve for both students and professors. CDC guidelines and social distancing made it difficult to find areas on campus to study and next to impossible to study in groups. My friends and I worried about our lack of clinical experiences and how that was going to impact our future. Since I had virtually no clinical hours during my specialty rotations, not only was I unsure of my skills, I was also unsure of where I wanted to take my nursing career. Returning to work over winter break was also very challenging. I am a patient care assistant and medication technician at an assisted living facility. All throughout the summer I worked with the threat of COVID looming above my head like a dark cloud. It was the first time in my life that I felt people really depended on me. I understood that my actions impacted the health of others. Fortunately, my residents all remained safe. However, I was not prepared for my return a few months later. The residents were no longer allowed to have visitors and they started testing positive for COVID. At one point we started to run low on personal protective equipment, but we were still trying to take all the precautions that we could to keep us and our residents safe. It was heart breaking to be the one holding a residents hand as they passed away due to coronavirus. My job became a lot more difficult having to communicate with families and watching their final moments with their loved ones. The residents that were lucky enough to not contract the virus were lonely and couldn’t understand why they had to quarantine. They felt abandoned and afraid. It was a very trying time for all my coworkers since we were all working overtime due to our staffing shortages. Working overtime was both physically and mentally draining. Even on my days off I was called in because staff members were getting sick and were unable to come in. It was mentally exhausting because every day I would come in to work and be nervous to walk in to report and see who had passed in the hours I was gone. COVID-19 also brought about some remarkable changes. I have spent a lot more time with my family as we have discovered our new passion-hiking. My co-workers and I have a new appreciation for one another and take the time to have meals together and support one another to make sure we are doing okay mentally. I have been part of innovative changes like my COVID-19 remote patient monitoring job and positive experiences at the COVID vaccine clinic. I have seen the medical and scientific communities collaborate on treatment guidelines and the development of a vaccine. It has also been an incredible period for change and innovation.
• 
  2021-02-09

  INTO THE UNKNOWN

  My oldest friend—let's call her Dr. Z— is an infectious disease specialist. She has been working on an AIDS vaccine for decades now, so when COVID came along, it was traumatic for her in a different way. COVID has commonalities with AIDS and she was grim about vaccine prospects. Thankfully, a year later we are all getting vaccinated as a Herculean national effort unfolds. A few days ago New York State announced that pregnant women could now join the ranks of the vaccine-worthy, so my pregnant cousin asked me if I would ask my friend if it was safe. Dr. Z has two daughters, also both doctors in busy New York City hospitals. This was the exchange we had. And now, I ask you...what would you do?
• 2020-03-13

  What I thought about the Virius in the beginning.

  At the beginning of quarantine I was scared. I was scared because we were told that we had to do school from home. Also we had to where masks whenever we went out and we couldn't see anybody because my family is high risk. I was very scared because how people were talking about it, it seemed very bad and I was scared for my family to get it. In the end I was very scared that my family was going to get it but I am so grateful that no one in my family go it.
• 
  2020-03-24

  Worldwide pandemic street art

  USA Today, like many other media outlets, uses their platform to share images of street art that conveys community messages about COVID-19. Photographs range from March 2020 to January 2021 and include graffiti tagging, murals, paste-ups, and stencils. Many styles of art are represented and can be telling of how artists represent emotions of fear, solidarity, hope, thanks, and humor during the pandemic. Several of the contributions are put on boards covering windows of businesses that shut down during the pandemic, others are on hospital buildings, streets, and businesses.
• 
  2021-01-29

  A different kind of anti-mask rally

  This post is pretty important to me, in a lot of ways, mainly because of the fear it’s evoked in me, or anger, both probably. This is an advertisement for the ‘Walk for Freedom’ event, to take place outside the legislature building of Edmonton, in Alberta. This is supposedly an anti-mask, anti-lockdown movement however it would be incorrect to assume that this movement only had once face. In reality, the Albertan anti-mask movement has large components of white-supremacists, fascists, Nazis who have been seen at several previous anti-mask rallies throughout the province. During these events, local businesses which enforce social distancing, those with masks and reportedly visible minorities are subjected to verbal and physical abuse. Organizations such as the Proud Boys, The Sons of Odin are all present at these events and eagerly recruit pandemic skeptics into their groups by binding the cause of ‘freedom’ to that of bigotry and hatred. I know my description of this event seems bad enough, and may have your head scratching with how I’m essentially saying this rally is going to be full of neo-Nazi’s and white supremacists, but I just want to point out the most glaring issue present within this advertisement. Those people marching, that photo is from the ‘Unite the Right’ march in Charlottesville in 2017, they actively chose that image – and the historic fascist imagery of a torch march to be the face of their movement. Essentially, this isn’t very tongue and cheek anymore; there is going to be a fascist march on my province’s capitol. Already, counter-protestors are organizing to show up and face these people in the streets. It’s even more concerning when police and governmental figures are not saying a word about this march, we have no idea if they’re prepared for what’s supposed to come. I could go on for pages, but, I’m just scared. Alberta desperately wants to be like its southern neighbor, we elected a man who markets himself as a fiscal conservative in the shadow of Donald Trump, who has a history of advocating for restrictive policies directed towards the LGTBQ+ community and we had people take to the streets as the American capitol was stormed. They were waving American flags and thin blue line American flags, it’s just insanity, I don’t understand these people. I’m adding this to the archive because I just want to try and illustrate the tone of politics in Alberta, in regards to our pandemic skeptics. From my perspective, the anti-mask movements down in the states appear to be relatively simple, entitled and ignorant people marching for their ‘rights,’ mistaking inconvenience for oppression, I’m aware there is also a stark politicization of masks down in the States. However, here there’s a more sinister tone to it – it’s become embroiled in conspiracies of a ‘great reset’, anti-Semitism and infiltrated by organized Fascist movements to gain larger bases. I feel as if I’m rambling, but there’s just so much to say – I hope it doesn’t turn into anything as similar as America’s January 6th or Charlottesville, I hope people don’t show up.
• 2021-01-26

  For The Sake Of My Time

  At first it was nothing, Then something for all. I wrote and I drew, I played ball. The wind blew outside, strong and loud, But I was inside, away from the crowd, today was no day, for something out loud. And when my notebook fell to the floor, I cried. When my mask shifted on my face, “They could die” But at the end of the day, I picked up my pages for the sake of my time. Author's (Explanatory) Note: I stitched this together through scraps in my notebook that I had written over the year. Some of them on simple topics, others on grave events. This is important to me because it's some of my writing that didn't come planned and pre-packed, but an experience and struggle put together through snippets of my life and genuine, if simple, emotions that are coursing through every single one of us, only to be amplified in times like these.
• 2020-10-15

  COVID Scare

  Going through the pandemic, I always knew how serious the situation was especially considering how large the number of cases were in Arizona. However, despite all of the people that were getting sick, I never had anyone that I knew who contracted the virus through most of the Pandemic. That was until late 2020. Now due to the precautions I knew I had to take, the only two places that I ever really visited apart from staying at my own home were my parents' houses. My mom and step-dad were extremely cautious when it came to the Pandemic and so too were my dad and step-mom however, I knew because my dad was an essential worker he would be exposed a bit more. One October day, my heart sank when I got a call from my Father telling me that he tested positive for the virus. This sparked a number of fears throughout my head like: "Is my father going to be okay, especially considering he has pre-existing conditions that would make it worse?", " When was the last that I was exposed to my father in timing when he tested positive for the virus?", "Who else could have gotten sick from my father... my step-mom or worse my 6-year-old sister?". The first thing I did, despite remembering that luckily it had been about two weeks from seeing my father, was get tested. I ended up testing negative, but I was extremely worried for my father and my step-mother who I later learned also contracted it. This was the first time I ever dealt with knowing that someone I knew that was close to me got the Virus. I truly feared for my family member's lives. I remember constantly calling my father to see how he was doing and hearing the struggle with the virus in his voice. Luckily, both my parents would make it through the sickness okay. My sister also was able to be taken care of by my step-aunt which was also a relief. As time passed and as my family tested negative for COVID-19, I would be able to visit them again. But, now I truly understood the severity of the pandemic and that the virus held no bias in who it targeted.
• 
  2020-06

  A College Student Surviving the Pandemic

  I chose my Target employee card from when I worked there over the past summer in my hometown, Venice, FL. I chose this object because it represents to me the pandemic when everyone was at their worst, during all the main lockdowns. I keep it in my wallet because I still somehow have an employee discount. But every time I pull it out, I am reminded of that scary summer of when no one knew what was going on or what was going to happen.
• 
  2020-12-10

  Baby born to Sacramento mother in ICU, on ventilator with COVID-19

  A pregnant mother, and nurse, living in Sacramento, California contracts COVID-19 in her seventh month of pregnancy and delivers her third child. This news article captures some of the emotional struggles she went through from being diagnosed while pregnant and delivering her child. Through this woman’s story, we gain some insight into a mother’s experience of both being sick with COVID-19 and delivering a child during the pandemic.
• 
  2020-03-20

  Year of the Switch

  Almost as if Nintendo had made a contingency plan for the pandemic, Animal Crossing: New Horizons came out on the Switch around the same time "quarantine" had started. For a lot of people (including myself) it was their only way of having some semblance of normalcy, of a normal life. I personally began to understand the true value of being able to go fishing with my dad without fear of getting sick, and the value of being able to talk to other people and hang out on a sunny patch of grass without the stifling masks and social distancing. For a while, the game gave us what we needed, and it's honestly been impressive to see how far people have come with it. I know that it was an invaluable tool for me to hang out with loved ones, including my fiancee, in every way except physical. Maybe the same goes for others. This specific game system has been the respite of many people, not necessarily with Animal Crossing, but with other titles as well. I don't think i've ever seen that many games come out for a system within less than a year, and i've been gaming since I was six. I'm asthmatic, so i'm pretty limited in what I can do, so having this teeny little game system has been almost a saving grace for my mental health. Almost. Lol. There's probably something ironic about the fact that you start the game on a desolate island and you make the most of it while still being totally isolated from other islands, and being an figurative island yourself, far away from the reach of others. But you make the most of it.
• 2021-01-21

  MW: Should I Get Tested

  The CVS next to my house offers COVID tests. The test is the nose swab one and I really don't want that. I have gotten a nose swab before and remember it being very unpleasant. However, I have been exposed to a situation where I may potentially have been exposed. I don't have any symptoms but the thought of the nose swab is stressful. I wish they had less invasive tests near me.
• 2021-01-22

  Covid Symptoms

  Covid presents with tons of symptoms and although I haven't seen any of them first hand I have heard a story of my friend who had Covid when it first started and even though she is now negative, she still can't taste certain foods. It is different for everyone and some people are even A-symptomatic meaning they are carriers. My family members have had some Covid scares including my grandparents which was very scary considering its very dangerous for them to get it. One person happened to stop by their house who had Covid and didn't know it and nearly gave it to them.
• 2021-01-22

  Cases of Cvid

  We as a family have only known one person that has had covid and luckily we were never near them when they had it. It was a cousin that lucky couldn't make it to our home for Thanksgiving dinner. After they were in the hospital we got updates about their health almost every day and visited them (with masks) after they tested negative and feel much better. I personally would never want to get it because I heard it could cause damage permanently and you could be in the hospital for weeks. So I guess we were very lucky to not have someone with covid at our dinner table for Thanksgiving this year.
• 2021-01-22

  My Experience with COVID Symptoms

  When COVID-19 had just started I had heard a lot of people had gotten sick, but no one that I had known. Fast forward a couple of months into the pandemic I get the news that my friend had gotten COVID when I had just seen her a couple of days ago. She has five siblings, one of them was a toddler, her older sister who had a one-year-old was staying with them, and she was pregnant for the second time. Thank god everyone ended up all right including the baby who had not even been born yet. Out of the 9 people that were living in their house at the time only two of them got it bad. The second oldest siblings along with her mom had body aches, a fever, a headache, lost their sense of taste, had a couch, stuffed nose, and couldn't get out of bed for a week. The rest of them only had a cough and a stuffed nose. Lucky they weren't infectious yet when we saw them so my family did not contract the virus from them. Another time this happened, my dad had a business meeting with his co-worker. Three days late his co-worker had tested positive for coronavirus. Once again our minds filled with worry. My grandma was staying with us at the time and because of her age, she was high risk so we sent her along with my uncle to a hotel nearby our house. We waited till we reached the five-day mark and my parents went and got tested. Luckily they tested negative and my grandma and uncle came back home and we celebrated the New Year all together with some negative COVID tests.
• 2020-12-25

  Personal COVID Story in 2020

  It was during Christmas time, and my aunt wasn't feeling too good. She went to get tested and she tested positive. I had seen her on Christmas day, and she felt sick a few days later. It didn't really affect me, but I got scared thinking that I might have it because I was near her during Christmas. I ended up not getting COVID, thank the Lord.
• 2020-04-03

  Friends with COVID

  During the COVID-19 Pandemic, my friends got COVID-19. I was very scared that I got COVID. So the hour after I was told that my friend had COVID. I went straight to the COVID testing center. While we were there, I was thinking about what would happen If I got COVID and how relieved I would be if I got the virus. 24 hours later, I got an email from the testing center. I was so nervous. I pressed the email and it said "Negative". I was so so so so so so so relived that I did not have COVID. Although I did not have COVID, I did stay home for a week just to be safe. I was also not aloud to see my friend for 4 weeks.
• 2021-01-20

  My Story About My Great Uncle Having COVID-19

  Back in the summer of 2020, my great uncle got COVID-19 and he had to quarantine himself from the outside world for 2 whole weeks. The reason I heard about this was because my mom had told me and it made me feel kind of scared because I was afraid he was going to die. After 2 weeks, he got better and he no longer had COVID-19 which made me feel less nervous. He is my only relative that has had COVID-19 before.
• 2020-10-21

  Spend time doing what matters to you most.

  During the COVID-19 pandemic I have had to surmount multiple extremely challenging situations that were only made even more difficult by the pandemic, including the death of my last grandparent. As someone with pre-existing conditions, I usually have to be very careful about not just protecting myself when I leave my house in Chandler, Arizona, but making sure I don't spread any disease to my family. When I got the news that my Grandmother probably didn't have much time left due to her cancer, it was extremely distressing for several reasons. The main reason was the fact that I was losing my grandmother, but one factor that was just as, if not more distressing, was the question of how to be able to best safely spend time with her. After a long discussion with my family, I made it clear that just being on video chat or on the phone with my grandmother was not enough; I wanted to find a way to travel to her house in Kansas, and physically be there for her. It was not an easy decision to make, especially when one takes into account that my method of transportation was to fly, which made me very nervous as someone with pre-existing conditions. Fortunately, I was able to take a safe flight to Kansas, but I was shocked to find family visiting my grandmother from out of state that not only refused to wear masks around her, even though she had virtually no immune system left. Despite such stressful conditions, I was able to spend a week with my grandmother just before she passed away, even though COVID-19 made it very hard. The fact that I was able to do such a thing is striking to me, especially when compared to the vast amount of people around the world who aren't able to spend time with loved ones infected with COVID-19 before they pass away. Looking back, I am very lucky I did not get sick, and I was even more lucky that flights were beginning to become regularly available again after they had been shut down earlier in the year. Most of all, I feel very grateful that I was able to spend time with my grandmother, especially when so many people are dying alone all over the world, leaving families distraught, and without closure.
• 2021-01-20

  Rules I have to follow

  Here at oaks christian, they have made restrictions to the normal life I use to have at school. One rule that I have gotten used to is wearing a mask for the whole school day. We have to walk in on direction in the halls, which sometimes makes me late to my next class, or I get lectured by one of the traffic controllers. What makes me sad is thinking that for the rest of my life even when covid goes away, I will still see other people around me wearing a mask and being afraid.
• 2021-01-20

  The Rules of Covid

  This time of fear called the Coronavirus came with many rules and restrictions, many being annoying and unpleasant. During this epidemic we have had to wear masks to prevent us from spreading the disease through the air. Another restriction that have to follow is staying six feet apart from other people as to prevent getting the disease through close contact. At the time of writing this I would say that the whole world is sick and tired of having to seclude ourselves from other people. It has gotten to the point where many people are lonely and depressed.
• 2021-01-12

  COVID-19 Initial Thoughts

  In March of 2020 I got my first real glimpse of what practically the entire next year of life was going to be like. China released a virus that would eventually spread across countries. From that first report everything went south. People began to freak out like it was the Black Plague. This fear spread nationwide in the United States influencing unknowing people that this was a virus to be feared. A virus with over 99% survival rate caused a panic that hasn't been seen in centuries. People almost might as well have freaked out about the common cold at the rate it was/is at. All over the media were false news, lies, and deception influencing such thoughts, giving people different beliefs and thoughts on practically everything regarding it. This year was indeed crazy, but not because of a virus and sicknesses. Because of freaked out crazy people thinking this is the end of the world and influencing others that it is as well.
• 2021-01-11

  My Early Ideas on the Origin of COVID

  This virus, known in early March simply as "the coronavirus", was shrouded in mystery. We were told that it originated in China, which inspired many jokes. A parody of the song "Break my Stride" was the most memorable. In the earliest days of the pandemic, not much was known about COVID besides it's symptoms and things that we were being told could prevent it. That and that it was impossible to find paper products, cleaning products, and eggs. We knew that the symptoms were similar to the flu and that we were supposed to stay six feet away from other people and not high five. We were also told to sanitize everything frequently (hence the shortage of cleaning products) and wear masks. Not much of that has changed since then. We still do all the same things to prevent it, but somehow, it feels that my knowledge has filled out. There is less fear now (the teacher's unions are certainly using that fear to their advantage). Though I know that there is much that I did not understand in March and April, I feel that my opinions and knowledge of COVID have not changed much.
• 2020-01-11

  Origin of COVID-19

  I came back from Christmas break and I heard rumors of a virus in China. At first I did not believe it, but after I asked my dad, and he said that it was an actual thing. I was not afraid of it and I still am not, but there are many people who are terrified of it. After about a month, people started saying it was in California. This was confirmed when we went to online school. I did not enjoy it. It was the first year that I needed to work on my computer to do assignments, and having to do everything on my computer was a challenge, but I was able to figure it out and learned a lot more about computer usage.
• 2021-01-11

  The Beginning

  It was around January 2020 , when I heard of what COVID-19 was. When I first found out that it was in China, in the markets, I have to admit that I was a little relieved that it wasn't near us in Ventura County California. I also remember wanting to learn more about it. I had two main question. How and when? I wanted to know how did this virus come to be. And when did it happen, how long has it been happening. I didn't find complete answers for either. I just found rumors about how it came to be because no one knew. The two most popular reasons were, that it was created in a lab to reduce the population in China/ and experiment went wrong. The other was that the bats in the water markets were dirty and gave the food a virus that the people then ate, which injected them with the virus. I didn't really know which to believe so I started looking into the other question. What I saw for that one was November 2019 but know really knew because China doesn't release information to the public. Over all, none of my question we answered, which made me fear what was going to happen in the future.
• 2020-12-25

  Christmas in a pandemic.

  This year many families were forced into changing traditions due to California lockdowns. My family did not agree with these lockdown orders and instead went on to host a normal Christmas like any other year. We had more decorations than ever, and we gave out presents to everyone. We went to church on Christmas eve, where it started raining while we were outside, and we visited our cousins and grandparents for a Christmas day dinner. Though we were putting ourselves at risk, everyone there agreed to be there and no one got the virus. My prayer goes out to those who had to scrap traditions for Covid, or just through overall fear.
• 2020-04-15

  Covid-Induced Election Anxiety

  The election is today, and this is probably the most important one of my lifetime. I don’t like either candidate, but I really hope Biden wins. I want to keep my rights, I quite like marriage and healthcare. If Trump wins I will most likely lose these things. I only see Trump as a bigot who isn’t doing anything good for this country right now. If he wins this election, I will most likely move out of the country when I am 18. I don’t care if I end up in China, I just want out of here. This election is causing me to fear for my own future, and that of my partner and all of my friends. We are not completely safe in this country, and we likely never will be. 2020 has been a garbage year for me and this election is quite literally the cherry on top of all things awful. I shall update this later with my thoughts and feelings after the election. If there is truly a God, he will let Biden win. I also have my driver’s test next Monday and that’s making me feel even worse right now!
• 2020-11-25

  The Quiet Thanksgiving

  Never would I have thought that my Thanksgiving would be like this. My Thanksgiving usually is with my whole family. But this year it wasn’t. My grandparents are scared of covid and did not come over. My other family, like my uncle, were scared to put my grandparents in danger. It was weird not looking forward to seeing my grandparents. My parents and sister decided to just eat at home together. Usually when we go to the market. It is crowded but now, no one was there due to covid. It felt like a ghost town. We enjoyed our meal and it felt like a regular Thanksgiving meal but I still had that lonely feel of my other family. It wasn’t an awful Thanksgiving, it just wasn’t the same.
• 2020-12-11

  my life while there is COVID-19

  the object of this is to show people how i managed to stay safe during the pandemic
• 2020-02-28

  Covid on the Media

  I was scrolling through Tiktok just like a normal day. Everyone was talking about this virus from China, so I felt the need to do some research. This is where I found out what it was, and how to protect myself.
• 2020-02-28

  Covid on the Media

  It was a typical day for me. I had finished my homework and went to check my phone. I went scrolling through Tiktok but noticed something was off. There was a new virus in China all over Tiktok, so I felt the need to look it up. I did some research and realized how quickly it was spreading and to how to stay safe.
• 
  2020-02

  When COVID19 came

  When I heard that the disease COVID19 had entered California I never thought that it would be as bad as this. Wherever we go we have to wear a mask, and we can rarely see other people because we are frightened that we might catch this horrible disease. The first time I heard of it was when my friends called me and they said that their school was being shut down. This disease was spreading like wildfire. My school had not shut down yet but my parents started getting very worried. They started having me bring disinfectant wipes to wipe down my desk each time I entered a new classroom. Then came the day that we had to go on lockdown. I told myself that it was going to get better and I would be able to see my friends again, but soon after zoom started, the school year was over, and here I am nearing Christmas in 2020. At home still in quarantine. I hope it gets better soon.