Items

• 2020-04-08

  Impressive experience

  When the Covid-19 outbreak first started in New York, it was unfortunate that all of my family was positive. In March 2020, after someone in New York was diagnosed positive, my family did not want me to go out and during that time I was in high school and working part-time. My family including most relatives also started not to work and quarantined at home. One day, one of my aunts came to my house with a cold and a cough, but we didn't think much of it because she just got the flu shot so we figured it might be the aftermath of the shot. After two or three days, we started to have different symptoms. I remember I started with a sore throat, a headache, a fever, and then lost my sense of taste and smell. My relatives also showed different degrees of symptoms, and my grandma had the most severe symptoms. She first had a sore throat, a cold, and a low-grade fever, and then she kept having diarrhea and couldn't eat which caused her to lose almost 10 pounds in just one week. During that time, one of my aunts came to take care of my grandma. Throughout the duration of my grandma being ill my aunt was running on only a few hours of sleep per day since she had to keep an eye over my grandma. I remember that the hospitals in New York were full at that time, many patients died without receiving treatment, and refrigerated trucks were parked outside the hospital to store the dead bodies of patients. The TV news also showed that many people were protesting against the announcement of masks being mandatory when going out. None of them believed that Covid-19 would be serious enough to kill people, and this frustrated me, making me feel the urge to express my feelings towards how serious this virus is. I saw that my grandma's condition was getting worse and worse. We also thought about calling an ambulance to take her to the hospital, but we were afraid that we would not get treatment and we would not be able to visit the hospital. We felt very hopeless. We were on the last straw, thus we were all discussing that if grandma didn't show any signs of improvement the next day, our last resort is to have my grandma sent to the hospital. As a result, the following day, my grandma started to eat and did not continue to have a fever, and her condition began to improve. Overall, Covid-19 has brought my family a lot of distress and I am glad that Covid-19 has started to settle and everything is slowly getting back to normal again.
• 2020-03-13

  In the Blink of An Eye

  Maybe if quarantine lasts three weeks, we’ll have spring break before we go back to class, I wistfully think to myself. It’s already March 13th of 2020, but the air is still nippy and my mom still makes me wear that atrocious parka. She’s been hearing all these reports about the coronavirus, and I think it’s releasing her inner germaphobe. My school day finishes off like any other, except I have to stay behind for AP Biology review, like who has review two months before an exam? Following an hour full of practice problems, workbooks, and texting my friends under my desk, it’s finally time to go home. The talk of the school is if Xaverian plans on closing for quarantine, following the footsteps of nearly every other Catholic school in the city. But I don’t even take two steps out of my desk before my iPad pings with an email. One by one, we all find out that Xaverian will be closed for the foreseeable future, and that online learning will commence on Monday. I picture using this new interface, Zoom, for class. A feeling of exhilaration grows in my chest. I can already picture it: no uniforms, and no restrictions—just a newfound capacity for freedom. Our group parades towards the lockers, gossiping while packing up our books and putting on our coats. The moment doesn’t feel real; it feels like I’m floating, suspended in the joyful innocence of being a high school senior. With our navy and khaki skirts swishing around our legs, knees exposed to the frigid air, my three friends and I begin the trek home through Bay Ridge, blissfully ignorant to the fact that it would be the very last time we ever put those uniforms back on, or that it would be three months before we saw each other next. How naïve we were walking home that day, discussing how fun and convenient online learning would be. We chat about prom dress shopping, boys, and how funny it would be to take AP exams online—not realizing that prom would be canceled, and that we would take those exams online. It was my last day of normal, the last day before everything changed for good. Three months later, I graduated high school from my porch, wistfully smiling as I was handed a trophy for becoming the Salutatorian of Xaverian High School’s Class of 2020. The following week in June, I stand on those same steps in funeral clothes, wondering how everything changed in the blink of an eye. Not even seven days after graduation, my grandma passes away alone at Staten Island University Hospital, unable to be accompanied by her family because of COVID-19. It comes out of the blue; she feels fatigued and lethargic, but refuses to get medical attention until the very last moment because of possible exposure to the virus. By the time she arrives at the hospital, they admit her in stable condition, but she never makes it through the night. As of June 20th, 2020, 176,066 Americans are dead from the coronavirus. My grandma didn’t have it, but I can’t help counting her as the 176,067th life taken away by this disease. Because of COVID-19, she skipped her doctor’s appointments, and lived in complete isolation to avoid contracting the virus. Yet in the end, it is the virus that indirectly takes her away, preventing any of her loved ones from being present in her final moments. Nearly three years later since that last day of high school, on February 21st, 2023, I can reflect on how much my life has changed. COVID-19 went on to rob me of my first two years at Brooklyn College–I spent them cooped up in my bedroom on Zoom, not meeting my newfound friends until my junior year of college. COVID-19 influenced me in my choice to be a Health and Nutrition Science major, as I hope to learn more about preventing disease and use my knowledge to make me a better physician in the future. Millions have now died from COVID-19, and my version of “normal” has forever changed. Three years ago, the future seemed bleak and dire. I still wear a mask on the train, but now I see hope in the future because of our vaccine development and how normalized it’s become to talk about public health. I can only hope that as time goes on, humanity works together to regain a sense of normalcy.
• 
  2020-03-10

  Goodbye Grandma

  This text I wrote is in memory of my grandma, and the horrible and traumatic flashbacks of Covid 19. This experience took a huge toll on me and my family.
• 
  2021-09-16

  How I Adapted

  Starting a new chapter in your life can always be a little stressful simply because of the new change it brings. Coming from a farming county, I had just begun becoming comfortable moving into a big city during my freshman year of college. Second semester rolled around and out of nowhere COVID-19 immediately impacted my life. My once comfortable lifestyle I have adapted to in the big city changed back to my home where I started online classes. This was quite unusual because I had never taken any online classes and found myself struggling to learn from a screen rather than in-person classes. Weeks went by where I struggled to pay attention and succeed in the “classroom”. Although challenging, I adapted to something unfamiliar in my life and found my niche to succeed in a new environment once again. Adapting to something new can certainly be challenging for people. COVID taught people to adapt to something new in their lives. It brought people together in the community in ways that I had not thought possible. One example of this is when I found out my grandma of 88 years of age became ill with COVID. It was an unfortunate event for my family that took a toll on all of us when we first heard about the news. It became real. Real enough to worry, real enough to take action. Real enough to show the importance of family in times of pain and struggle. Our family had to adapt to my grandmother’s lifestyle for the next couple of months. This meant no big grandma hugs for 5 months until her body recovered from this foreign virus. This took some getting used to as I had not realized the real impact of COVID and perhaps did not see it as dangerous as I thought. Again, I adapted. I adapted to realize that the people around you can make situations like this less painstakingly hard. The comfort and prayers received from family and friends made it comforting to know people cared and were there for me and my family. COVID was something that impacted everyone in different ways. Just remember people listen and people are there.
• 
  2021-01-15

  My Grandma Made Front Page Again

  My grandma Pauline Bell made the front page of our local paper again. This time, she was one of the first in the area to receive the vaccine. We were all so happy for her and what this might mean for all of us who miss her.
• 2021-01-25

  Covid19

  The experiences of going through Covid-19 were not that fun I couldn't play any sports or see my friends that much also I couldn't see my Grandma and Grandpa when Covid-19 hit so that was not fun not being able to see them. Also, the school was only and I didn't really get the full feel of school because It was online school. I also think Covid-19 is just like the flu. I also don't know of anyone in my family who got Covid-19.
• 2020-11-09

  Symptoms of Covid-19

  Throughout 2020 there has been many different symptoms of Coronavirus. The main ones are fever, sore throat, coughing. I had a personal experience with one of my family members getting the virus. It was my great grandma. My great grandma was my biggest hero. She went through many obstacles in her life including; World War 2, she was a model for Norway, and she even beat a pandemic. On November 4 2020 my family and i found out my great grandma was diagnosed with Coronavirus. Now she had many health issues and we all knew the virus would not help that. On November 8th she tested negative. We were all very happy she made it through. The next day she was not doing well and she passed away. She was surrounded by family on zoom to talk to her and I will never forget how amazing she was.
• 
  2021-01-21

  Covid Christmas

  During Christmas we had a lot of family go to my one of my Grandmas house and we had Christmas Day there. A couple weeks later we found out that my Aunts brother was exposed to Covid. My parents got tested and they were negative, and so was my Aunt. The not so good thing is now, my other Aunt has been staying with my Grandma since then and makes us wear a mask when we visit our Grandma. That was my story.
• 2020-11-26

  Less family

  Usually for thanksgiving my aunt, uncle, cousins, and grandma come to our house. My grandma has lived by my house since I was born until about 4 years ago, when she moved back to Israel. She is an essential part of our thanksgiving, she helps out with the cooking a lot and is an important family member. This year, she was not able to come because COVID could not let her get a flight to our city. It was very sad because we would miss her and we had to do a lot more cooking, which was stressful. However, I know it is for good because we are keeping eachother safe.
• 
  2020-04-15

  My Grandmother and I’s Final Touch

  About a week before my grandmother passed, I went down to visit her for the day and help my grandfather with work around the house. When I arrived at their house, my aunt handed me a pair of nail clippers and asked if I could cut my grandmother’s nails for her. I kneeled at her bedside and began my work. I do not recall how it smelled in my grandmother’s room, as I was wearing my mask the entire time. I imagine it smelled like a hospital room though. I felt the cold metal of the nail clippers and the soft skin from my grandma’s hand, as the hum of her ventilator filled the room. I could hear her voice as well, she was hallucinating due to cerebral hypoxia, whispering to me about the train tracks in her closet. In those moments I could taste nothing but my own saliva. She died several days later on April 21, 2020, with my aunt, uncle, and grandfather in her company. I harbor great hatred for this virus, as it limited my time with my dying grandmother, and I harbor great disgust for everyone around me who refuses to take it seriously. You, however, don’t need to know about this. History does not care, it just happens.
• 2020-09-10

  keep our grandma safe

  While some of my relatives live in Australia, most of my family is in Israel, which is doing really bad covid-wise. We keep in touch via a What'sApp family groupchat. However, over the last few weeks, the groupchat had become a site of conflict. We in Australia, on one hand, take the virus very seriously and have favourable attitudes towards lockdown and face masks. My relatives in Israel, on the other hand, see it as a prelude to dictatorship. They also subscribe to all sorts of covid conspiracy theories that undermine their faith in public action. Although usually their opinions are tolerated, covid has really flashed out our ideological differences to an irreconcilable point. The other week, my cousin in Israel showed up to my grandmother’s house with her friends. This caused a backlash here in Australia among relatives who were concerned for my grandmother’s safety. After quite a public and vicious argument on the What’sApp groupchat my grandmother eventually stepped in to defuse the tensions. As absurd as it sounds, I hope my relatives stay away from my grandmother. Their alternative views, which were once endearing and funny, can now claim her life. Ultimately, I would be powerless to stop them from here.
• 2020-07-27

  Being Known

  As a Grandma in rural Wisconsin, I spend hours each week in my garden. After a particularly grueling day, these thoughts came... about weeds, Covid, politics and their relationships. I don’t know how to upload, so am just going to put my poem into the next box.
• 
  2020-05-27

  A Fun Way To Drop Off Groceries

  This young man dances with his grandma when he drops off her groceries. Social distancing has made it hard to spend time with our older loved ones and this is a great example of how we can still have fun with them even while socially distant.
• 
  2020-05-20

  Making My First Sourdough Starter

  I decided to start making a sourdough starter a couple months into quarantine like just about everyone else. I had a fairly large stockpile of flour in my cupboards because I bake fairly often, so I didn't have to worry about dwindling supply at the supermarket too much. My grandma taught me how to bake from a pretty young age, and my mom made bread with an electric bread maker for years, but I'd never attempted my own loaf without a bread maker, let alone a sourdough starter. A starter always seemed like something out of reach and far too difficult for an inexperienced bread maker, but with armed with encouragement and tips from some friends via Discord, I set out to make my own. These are photos of my process, from my beginning mixture of flour and water to my first sourdough loaf (and my starter's permanent 'home'). I'm fairly proud of it. It took me about 2 weeks to get the starter to really start; I'm guessing in part because I only had all-purpose flour and not the suggested rye flour. There was a lot of troubleshooting involved before it really started to mature. It's been an interesting process, and I'm really glad I tried it. Starters are far more resilient than I had previous believed, and the bread is fantastic. It's been a somewhat calming respite from everything, even though I feel fairly selfish giving myself that with everything that's happening.
• 
  2020-05-31

  New Hobby

  The pandemic gave me time to work on a hobby that I didn't really give time to try. Last year my grandma bought me a sketchbook so I can practice my art. Since that year I've only drawn one thing in it. I've always liked drawing but never really considered it a hobby since I didn't give it much of my time. Now that I have more time to try things out, I chose drawing. I now consider drawing as one of my hobbies and really enjoy doing it when the urge comes. I hope more people take advantage of this time to perfect a hobby they have or discover a new one such as cooking or croqueting because it's good to have something you like to do.
• 
  2020-04-24

  When Grandma Becomes the Teacher

  Having two parents working full time as a high school teacher and a university director, my kids now rely on their grandma, a retired teacher, for classroom instruction. She does most of the day to day communication with their teachers, keeps them on a daily schedule, plans activities, and fixes lunch. Without an intergenerational household, my kids' daily schooling would be near impossible.
• 
  2020-04-27

  Grandma's Cookies (from a safe distance)

  My grandmother still makes sure to give us the cookies she makes when we visit, but from a safe distance. We put them in the "no man's land" on a table between us, and take from the table one at a time. Of course it's not the same, but it's the best she can do.
• 
  2020-04-04

  Grandmother

  Short text
• 
  2020-03-19

  Penni Martorell

  Bailey Twing does her first-grade school work from home with her Grandma.