Items

• 
  2021-09-20

  Lauren Leonard Oral History, 2021/09/20

  A classmate and I interviewed each other about our first-hand experiences with COVID-19 in the past year and a half.
• 
  2021-09-22

  Thomas Ligh and Sierra Butler Oral History, 2021/09/22

  Interview between two first year college students who have felt the effects of COVID-19 in their every day lives, with a focus on how it has affected their learning experiences in school.
• 
  2020

  The Importance of Family During Covid-19

  Throughout the pandemic, my parents tried to navigate the line between being flexible yet cautious. They did their best to keep my siblings and I safe while also trying to understand and accommodate our needs as young adults to connect with our peers. It was important that they balanced the health and well-being of not only our immediate family but our extended family as well. For as long as I can remember, my family has spent every holiday, birthday, and any other major or minor event with my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. My family, as well as my dad’s side of the family, are all local to Pittsburgh, so I have been lucky enough to grow up with them. My dad is one of five and all together there is fourteen of us grandchildren. In January of 2020, right before covid had started, our grandmother passed away from pancreatic cancer. This was a very hard time for my family as we were all incredibly close to her. However, as I look back, I am almost grateful that she is at peace and did not have to experience the crazy covid world in which we are currently living in. My uncle also had pancreatic cancer and had been living with it since his diagnosis in 2012. Our family did everything we could to get him the best treatment and keep him as healthy as possible. Covid made it extremely difficult to be with my family and it was something that I was not used to as I spend much of my time with them. However, our uncle was always our number one thought through it all as he was very at risk due to his underlying health conditions. Months and months went by without seeing my family and we had to continue to cancel get togethers due to my family members health concerns. Not seeing my family frequently was a struggle as I felt disconnected from them and events happening in their lives. My uncle began to fall very ill in September of 2020 and I felt that I was unaware of the extent of his illness. The disconnect and miscommunication from quarantine and covid made it very difficult to get through his time of sickness. Unfortunately, my uncle had passed away shortly after falling ill. It was difficult to think of all of the time we as a family could’ve spent together over the course of the pandemic and all of the memories we could have been making with our uncle before he passed. The pandemic had negatively affected many aspects of life in general but losing a loved one in addition is indescribable. As horrible as the pandemic has been, it has taught me many important lessons in life. I have always loved and appreciated my family but the events that occurred during the pandemic had only brought me closer to them and made us stronger in the end.
• 
  2021-09-21

  Marc Carolla and Niccola Lutri Oral History, 2021/09/21

  Marc and Níccola talk about their personal experiences win COVID-19 and quarantine discussing family, mental health, and personal anecdotes.
• 
  2021-09-21

  Haig and Tia Oral History, 2021/09/21

  I think it's really important to document everyday life during the pandemic because soon everyone will forget what it was like.
• 
  2020-04-01

  Lockdown Troubles

  When the pandemic hit, our whole way of life completely changed. One day I was at college constantly around all of my friends and all different types of people. The next day, I was back in my house and trapped there. At first it felt nice to be home for a change after spending a lot of time away from my hometown. Then a couple of weeks passed, and the isolation started to kick in. It was only my mother and I for that 3-month complete lockdown but looking back at it now, I would not have wanted it to be with anyone else. With that being said, we drove each other absolutely crazy. I know that she was happy at first since I am far away at school, but I know as we got deeper and deeper into isolation, that we were getting very annoyed at each other. It was a rough situation we were in during that time. She was very busy with her job working remotely and I was getting adjusted to zoom school which was not a good time. We were both stressed from the work we had to do and the fear of not knowing when we would be able to leave our house and be with other people. We then reached a boiling point and had a screaming match at each other. At this point, I truly do not remember what we were actually yelling at each other about. But we both recognized that we were both just going crazy from being in our house all of the time. We had our anxieties about the virus which did not help our mental states. Our regular life stopped for a long time, and it took a toll on us with the huge change. But we stayed strong and thankfully made it through and we are slowly getting back to regular.
• 
  2021-09-20T19:35:00+00:00

  Faris Danan and Hridaya Patel Oral History, 09/20/2021

  This object shares both of our experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic
• 
  2021-09-20

  Benjamin Zakharov and Leia Hockstein Oral History, 2021/09/20

  Our interview tell our experiences with the pandemic both personally and in relation to our surroundings from the perspective of a high school senior.
• 
  2020-03-28

  Staying Connected: Battling Isolation During a Global Pandemic

  This music note is the logo for Tik-Tok, the reigning social media outlet that allows account holders to both create and view content in the form of 15-120 second videos. As of 2020, there are an estimated 65.9 million monthly active Tik-Tok users in the United States alone (Statista). Although the app was created in 2016, it skyrocketed in popularity during the pandemic and saw a 75% increase in weekly average users from January to September of 2020 (Forbes). I, among millions of others, joined those figures when I created my Tik-Tok account in late March of 2020. When school closed indefinitely earlier that month and my job followed a few weeks after, my meticulously structured daily routine was thrown into a state of disarray. As mounting uncertainty grew over whether it was safe to leave our homes at all, the four walls of my bedroom transformed into a prison. I was perpetually shackled to my bed, spending every day in a continuous cycle of sleep that lacked a beginning or an end. That was until I discovered Tik-Tok. Suddenly, I had a reason to wake up in the morning, anticipating the stream of new videos that would appear on my carefully crafted “for you page”. I spent hours glued to my phone screen, fascinated by the small glimpses into the lives of people who were just as bored as I was. I appreciate Tik-Tok for the fleeting but much needed moments of laughter and distraction it supplied me with throughout the pandemic, but the app holds value to me because it showed me that I was not alone. In the early weeks of quarantine, I spent countless nights in pure distress over what I believed was “wasted time”, and it felt as if I was on the fast track to loosing years of my life. However, Tik-Tok showed me that these feelings did not belong to me alone. Countless other people felt the same way I did, and this knowledge put into perspective the importance of staying connected. My cycle of isolation left me alone with my feelings in a vacuum, but once I opened myself up to the outside world through Tik-Tok, I found solace in the online community of people who shared the same sentiments I did but chose joy and laughter instead of sorrow and despair. Tik-Tok provided me with the support I needed by allowing me to witness the happiness of others, eventually prompting me to create my own.
• 2021-09-10

  A new gratitude for our little farm...

  My husband and I bought a little secluded farm in Vanleer, Tennessee in 2013. We had this idyllic notion that we could grow our own food, live off the grid, and have a sense of privacy we never had living in the city. But, were were awful at it, nothing ever grew, our house was the ultimate "fixer-upper" and we were far from everything. In the last two years or so, we started to long for living in the city again, being near conveniences, and not commuting over one miles a day. Then, the pandemic came and my job sent us all home to work remotely. I am museum curator and what I do is very hands on, so that took some clever adjustment and reinvention. We also have the world's slowest internet, but I made it work by duct taping the jetpack to the only window where it worked. As the months went by, I read so many accounts of how the isolation and seclusion of shelter in place orders led to depression. Some of my friends who lived in apartments in the city described feeling claustrophobic and trapped. I realized, that despite other uncertainties caused by the pandemic, that I was happier than usual and felt completely peaceful in our little secluded twelve acre homestead. I could roam around my own land, take my dogs for walks, work on the never ending house projects, or just sit on the porch and appreciate the sunset. When things started to return to normal and we began going back into the office, I broke my foot while trail running and that added another seven months of completely remote work to my job. Physically, my recovery was grueling, but mentally I was doing well thanks to the time already spent quarantining during the pandemic. I have a new love and appreciation for this little farm that won't grow anything now. Both my husband and I have no desire to move back to the city and we have even made peace with the fact that we will never finish all the fixer-upper chores. The gratitude I feel for this beautiful place is immeasurable. I am one of the lucky people who could quarantine and not feel like I was suffering. During the pandemic, we built a small A-frame cabin down near the front of our land and offered it up as a refuge for people who needed to leave the city for a day or two. Now, it's my little yoga cabin and a place where I can sit and be thankful for my little home in the forest.
• 2020

  Quarentine and Self-Reflection: A Time To Work On Oneself

  When the pandemic started, I was told that we were staying home for two weeks. My first thought was “Sweet. An extended spring break.” I thought I would have to come back to school after those few days and continue on with my life as it always has been. I was wrong. Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months and before I knew it, I had lost an entire year of my life. I had no human contact outside of my family that entire time. I was kept in my room all day, everyday. After a while of online school and nothing else going on, I think that's when something had snapped inside of me. I experienced self reflection. With all of that time and no one but me, I just looked at myself, looked back into everything I have done and pondered on what I wanted to do with myself. I was already aware of how insignificant I was and how little I have done in life but I did not really understand just how little until I had that time to myself. I already had a list of things I wanted to change about myself and things I wanted to do so I think that is when I began working to be better. I spent a lot of time alone practicing how to act more patient and be friendlier. I practiced baking, I took care of babies a lot, I appreciated the little things I always have since I was young like a video game I play called Minecraft, I began documenting and recording everything I did, I studied foreign language, etc. Soon I started to make changes to myself. When I got mad, I would think of my nephew or I would imagine I am watching the kids and remember that I have to be patient with them. I practiced self love so when I got major depression episodes or anxiety attacks, I was able to comfort myself easier and walk myself through my struggles. I also cut back on the food I ate and the types of food I ate. I lost about 10 pounds in one week and I was super proud of myself especially since I was working out like every day. I was in really good shape and proud of myself for that. I had better stamina and my clothes fit better and I was getting a lot of foreign language practice in and I finished learning how to read and write korean as well as some simple vocabulary and sentence structure. I improved on writing since I wrote a lot more and helped develop my techniques and practiced some drawing. I spent a lot of that time sitting alone in my room and adjusting to that silence. I've improved as a listener and began to crave silence all the time. My life has not been peaceful in the least bit but I have been able to find peace within myself which has really helped in the long run so far. Having improved on myself and re-exploring hobbies and interests of mine, I was reintroduced to the loud and crowded public abruptly to which I responded with an anxiety attack but then I got more comfortable. I was super shy at first but now I feel generally happier all the time and I believe that has helped people around me relax and enjoy my presence more. I am glad I seem less threatening or mean because that is all I have been called my entire life. I am still weird and awkward and I am not anyone’s first option but I am glad I am not the last option now. My goal now is to enlist as soon as I can and go into community college. Once highschool ends for me then I will begin my life and I am super stoked about that. I have a few ideas of what I can do after highschool so I am just waiting it out now. At least this much good came out of quarantine.
• 
  2020-04-18

  Keeping Parents and Grandparents Safe While Social Distancing

  A blog post from Banner Health on how to keep elderly family members safe
• 
  2020-03-13

  Madison Orpheum Theater Covid sign

  In March 2020 Wisconsin had a state-mandated two-week lockdown. So, I went out with a camera (with a zoom lens that wasn't needed) and took pictures of the closed signs on businesses and of how desolate Madison was.
• 
  2020-04-01

  Self Isolation vs. Social Distancing: What’s the Difference?

  A blog post from Banner Health discussing the differences between self-isolation and social distancing.
• 
  2020-03-31

  Social Distancing for Teens: Helping Your Kids to Stay Connected

  A blog post from Banner Health offering suggestions for teens to stay connected during social distancing.
• 
  2020-03-20

  Managing Anxiety in Uncertain Times: Tips for Individuals and Families

  A blog postfrom the Banner Health Blog about managing anxiety during Covid-19
• 2021-08-04

  Working From Home

  Every morning I would wake up at home smelling the coffee my mom just made and it felt strange having her there when I woke up, normally she would already be at work. We were all told we weren't allowed to go anywhere unless it was an emergency and it was scary at first. You kept hearing on facebook and the news about schools being shut down and everyone getting sent home because they came into contact with someone who had Covid. Then came summer and no body could do anything then, they couldn't go to the beach and feel the hot sun. We were like caged animals because we couldn't go anywhere. I remember begging my mom to let me just go to walmart with her because I wanted so badly just to get out of the house. Then the boarders started to shut down and the news started only reporting on how high the death toll was. Then were educing this fear into people, which eventually made some people go crazy. For example my grandmother never left the house, ever, she ordered all of her groceries online and would immediately sanitize everything. During all of this we weren't allowed to see her or my grandfather because of how scared they were. With me finishing my freshman year from home and my whole sophomore year from home i rarely got socialization. There was a point where the only escape I got from everything was going to work. Just being around my work family never fails to brighten up my day. They always have a new wax melt scent and you can always smell it when you first walk in, well that and BBQ. But overall covid affected everyone differently for me it wasn't as bad. But for all the people who lost friends and family they are the ones we all need to bring attention to.
• 2021-08-04

  Covid Loop

  March of 2020 started like every other March in my life. I was at school worried about my grades, and getting ready for football in the fall. The last day before spring break would be the last time I would enter a classroom for about 5 months. After the shock of realizing the school is closed for the rest of the school year came the simple-minded exciment of a teen with too much time on their hands. The exciment quickly turnt to boredom. The days dragged on, they blurred together so much it was hard to keep track of the day of the week. The fear of catching and spreading a unknown sickness kept me at home. Once the sickness entered my home I was bound to my room like a prisoner in a cell. In my room I'd wake up, grab a granola bar, play video games, grab something for lunch, play video games, and flop back into bed once I was exhausted enough to sleep. Time had no meaning, I went to bed when I was tired, and played video games while I was awake. All the vidoe games kept me engaged and gave the days some meaning. After months stuck in this loop, I was finally able to go out and see other people. School started again shorly after, which is a whole other story.
• 
  2021-07-24

  Janine Brown. Oral History, July 24, 2021

  In this two-part interview, Ashley Tibollo interviews Janine Brown on how her life was impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. In the first part of the interview, Brown discusses how her last year of college was impacted and about her transition to remote teaching. She discusses her fears of the Delta variant, what sources she uses to get her information and what her feelings are regarding government action. She also discusses family life and how she was affected by the quarantine. She ends this part with her hopes for the future. In the second part of this interview, Brown discusses her decision to move in with her boyfriend right before quarantine and what it was life navigating a new relationship amidst a pandemic. She also discusses her pets and how their moods changed as her life changed. She discusses the difficulties of house hunting and the ways that the pandemic has affected the market.
• 
  2020-04-09

  Grieving Rituals Lost to COVID-19

  Rituals are an important way to celebrate special occasions and victories as well as to deal with the stresses of life. This article discusses the grieving process people have gone through because of the loss of rituals (graduations, funerals, weddings) during the pandemic and the importance of creating new rituals.
• 
  2020-07-09

  The Unkempt Lockdown Beard

  Over the past year, I found myself for the first time extremely isolated from most of the outside world. As opposed to my entire life previously, where I was always around other people and tried to make my appearance presentable, I no longer had to worry about what I looked like. As a result, I stopped shaving and let my beard grow for weeks and months on end. I will never forget the strange feelings associated with the different stages of my beard. Running my fingers across my face and feeling the sharp pricks from the stubble of a short beard, or the fuzzy and puffy feelings from touching my medium-sized beard, or straitening out the matted hair of my longish beard. As I had never tried to grow a beard before, these feelings were new to me and something I will not forget. The picture I uploaded was shortly after I had shaved my cheeks and left the rest of the hair on my face and neck, which felt stubbly and sharp on the sides but more silky and smooth in other areas. This is something I would have never done if I had to be around people. The isolation I experienced during the lockdown allowed me to grow this strange beard and experience the feelings that came with it. This is representative of the experiences of so many people who all of a sudden found themselves in a new situation of solitude as a result of the Covid lockdowns. For once in a lifetime, your appearance didn't have an effect on your professional life and you could just let things like beard growth go completely uncared for. As I will probably never experience this kind of isolation again, I will probably never experience the feelings of running my fingers across and through an unkempt beard as I did during the Covid-19 pandemic.
• 
  2021-07-02T12:30:00

  The Life of a University Campus During the Pandemic

  How quiet can a campus of normally 21,000 students get? I will let you in, you can hear a pin drop. When the pandemic began, the school shut down the school Union. On top of that, I was placed on furlough from my job from March until August last year because my job is located in that Union! When I was able to come back to campus, masks and hand sanitizer were required (still are) and the other thing that was noticed was...the silence. Normally, the Union has about 1,000-2,000 students and staff in it at a time, but due to the pandemic, it was completely dead inside. Not only that, the hours that we were open cut in half until some of our workers were let go based on the amount of time that they had spent in their position. In the midst of the pandemic, it would become extremely eerie because there would be times we would not see a single customer for over an hour when normally, it would be steady (and during peak hours extremely busy). Due to the pandemic, our manager left the business and that left me and another co-worker (now the manager) in charge of a store that normally has 8 eight employees. Normally during this time of year, even though it is summer, the Union is completely full due to Freshman Orientation, camps, and campus tours. Currently, as my photo suggests, the Union is a ghost yard....there are no students during the lunch hours, no restaurants open other than the convenience store, and no staff walking around. Ever since last March, this is not only how the Union has been, but also the campus itself. I chose to take a picture of the Student Union Courtyard because this is normally where events are held during open hours in the Union. This is not to show that there are no individuals in the building, what I specifically want to bring attention to is because of no people in the building, it is completely silent 95% of the time. In addition, this is where the Freshman Orientation stations would be where they go to get information about classes and other events on campus. It is very weird to have no one in the building when two years ago they had roughly 2,000 people in the building during the lunch hour period when I worked for Follett's convenience store. It would be extremely loud, at all times and the shifts would go by quickly. Now...there is nothing but silence about 95% of the time on a public campus of 21,000 students!
• 
  2020-07

  Silence and Isolation

  This is important because it speaks to the daily struggle of living through the pandemic. I was not touched by the disease itself, but my life was changed by it. My submission describes my sensory experiences of isolation during the pandemic as I moved to a new city for work. It expresses how the pandemic brought more than health issues but social issues to society as well.
• 
  2021-07-01

  A New Normal

  The COVID-19 pandemic came upon our lives in what seemed a very sudden fashion, forcing us into quarantine and changing our habits. Almost suddenly, the noisy, bustling streets became empty. The sounds of cars with people commuting to work disappeared. The friendly faces I’d see at work would be traded for a face on a screen. Remaining at home gave me both a sense of security and a feeling of isolation and loneliness. During brief outings to get necessities at the grocery store, it became odd to see each other with our faces covered. There was a feeling of unease as we made our way through the aisles, doing our best to remain six feet apart. Many times, I often felt disconnected, and initially a little wary of others. Were they infected or asymptomatic? Was I? I missed seeing my friends. I missed the shared meals we would have in a busy, noisy restaurant. I missed the smell of coffee brewing at my local coffee shop while I typed away on my laptop. So many experiences that we took for granted, disappeared in an instant. Over time, this way of living became our new normal. The scent of hand sanitizer and antibacterial cleaner became a regular part of my life. Hearing the regular news reports on the rising death toll was devastating. The feeling of the mask on my face as I made brief forays out into society gave me the comfort in knowing I was protecting others in case I was an asymptomatic carrier. I still shudder at those who express the sentiment that the masks were a form of oppression. I viewed it as a small sacrifice for the benefit of the many. As we appear to be a downslope to overcoming the virus, I recently remarked to a friend about how it now feels strange to think about “getting back to normal”. Our normal has undoubtably changed. And many of us have changed with it.
• 
  2020-05-25

  First Hug in Months

  My family and I have always been really close, meeting for family days as often as we can. Family gatherings will begin and end with hugs. When the pandemic started, we ensured that we isolated from everyone, even each other, as we all live in separate households and my father and sister have autoimmune diseases, and I have asthma and two heart conditions. Basically, Covid-19 was dangerous for all of us and we were afraid not only to contract it, but even more so to possibly give it to each other. While we would talk over Google Duo and Zoom, it honestly was not the same as getting to interact in person. There is huge importance and one could even say power in human contact, in human touch. It can be something that inflicts pain or reassurance. In this case, I lost the reassurance of hugs and seeing my family in person. The first time I hugged my older sister after lockdown started was about three months after lockdown began. We had both been isolated for weeks without symptoms and without having gone anywhere, and we had both tested negative for it. It had been the longest time I have gone without hugging her. I cried.
• 
  2021-06-03

  A Pet Emergency During the Pandemic

  The story describes the difficulties of dealing with emergencies during the pandemic time and how social isolation negatively affects one's ability to weather these emergencies.
• 
  2021-05-01

  "Hope Love Heal"

  Art can create change. The 2020 pandemic year and all its struggles informed my mail art project. My hope was that this small art project would help others in a big way through creativity and connection to the community. My art piece titled "Hope Love Heal" is a direct response to the collective struggle. I am honored to be a part of the "We Rise" Campaign to help shed light on mental illness, mental awareness and mental well being. I hope my mail art project will touch others and let others know that they are not alone. And to remember...with a little "hope" and "love" we can "heal".
• 
  2021-05-27

  The Life Through Quarantine

  There was nothing to do because places would be closed. So it was boring throughout quarantine. It was boring because events were being postponed. The main way I spent my quarantine was playing video games due to not being able to go outside. Then we’ll have to wait till places opened up.
• 
  2021-05-23

  BLUR - Life During COVID

  This story details the way life felt during COVID, just a blur, a mix of days where they all felt the same, except for maybe one or two. It explains how COVID changed school for me, what my habits became, and the sort of things I had to deal with. This is important to me because it's the only time I've ever explained what the last year has made me feel, and it's very raw. It's not some grand essay, just exactly how I've felt, and the issues COVID has caused me.
• 
  2020-03-13

  My Experience with Online School and Quarantine

  Hi! My name is Wendy! Right after a normal weekend in March, I never expected that we would switch to online learning. I was shocked to see the email in the picture on March 13th, saying that we would no longer go back to normal school. This screenshot is very important to me since it made me realize that Covid-19 was a bigger issue than I thought. There was talk of a new illness (Covid-19), but I honestly didn’t feel like it would turn into a whole pandemic. I was kind of thankful since I had a dentist appointment on Monday that would’ve made me be absent from class, but all the cons of Covid-19 outweighed the benefits. The first few weeks were awful- it was hard to adapt to the constant isolation, and being with my family all day was tiring. Also, school wasn’t as engaging or fun anymore. We weren’t able to connect with our teachers or talk to our friends in class. Furthermore, seeing the news and how thousands of people were dying was very frightening. But it's been more than a year of online school, and I found out that what helped me cope was the small things like texting my friends on Discord, hanging out (with masks and 6 feet apart obviously), and exploring things that I couldn’t do before quarantine like drawing or playing the piano. Of course, there were days where I was fed up with being inside or when I felt depressed, but making the most out of this situation gave me the drive to keep social distancing. So remember to keep wearing masks, keeping 6 feet apart, and get vaccinated! This lack of social interaction and not being able to go to school or public places normally is unfortunate but we must stay away from each other to stay together. When it gets hard, find ways to connect with others through safe means like social media and use all that free time to improve and discover things about yourself.
• 
  2020-03-13

  My Experience with Online School and Quarantine

  Hi! My name is Wendy! Right after a normal weekend in March, I never expected that we would switch to online learning. I was shocked to see the email in the picture on March 13th, saying that we would no longer go back to normal school. This screenshot is very important to me since it made me realize that Covid-19 was a bigger issue than I thought. There was talk of a new illness (Covid-19), but I honestly didn’t feel like it would turn into a whole pandemic. I was kind of thankful since I had a dentist appointment on Monday that would’ve made me be absent from class, but all the cons of Covid-19 outweighed the benefits. The first few weeks were awful- it was hard to adapt to the constant isolation, and being with my family all day was tiring. Also, school wasn’t as engaging or fun anymore. We weren’t able to connect with our teachers or talk to our friends in class. Furthermore, seeing the news and how thousands of people were dying was very frightening. But it's been more than a year of online school, and I found out that what helped me cope was the small things like texting my friends on Discord, hanging out (with masks and 6 feet apart obviously), and exploring things that I couldn’t do before quarantine like drawing or playing the piano. Of course, there were days where I was fed up with being inside or when I felt depressed, but making the most out of this situation gave me the drive to keep social distancing. So remember to keep wearing masks, keeping 6 feet apart, and get vaccinated! This lack of social interaction and not being able to go to school or public places normally is unfortunate but we must stay away from each other to stay together. When it gets hard, find ways to connect with others through safe means like social media and use all that free time to improve and discover things about yourself.
• 
  2021-05-08

  The Difference that 473 Miles Makes

  My story is about the differences between two states; Illinois and Tennessee and their handling of the pandemic.
• 
  2020-09

  Covit-19 and the outdoors

  What do you do when you cannot do what you normally do? In Arizona the guidelines of the Governor have been pretty light except for a couple of weeks on April 2020, otherwise he was very proud to say that Arizona would follow the CDC guidelines “the Arizona way”. Meaning? We recommend the mask but is up the business to decide the extent of the enforcement; six feet distance, the same; stay home if you feel you have symptoms, of course. I have to say that the business, for the most part, have taken a more responsible posture than the authorities. Even today April 2021, when the Governor remove any obligation to wear mask, I continue to see most of the business, and population at large, that continue to wear the mask in public. So, with these light restrictions what do you do when you cannot do what you normally do? The answer for many Arizonians, and visitors, has been outdoor activities! Hiking, biking or simply going to the park. My story is of last September 2021. I too decided to resume my mountain biking activity in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve and I sent my bike to a shop for routine maintenance and replace of my old tires. What I find out is that the shop could not find any tire of my kind through their suppliers in fact, they told me, it is getting difficult even to buy a new bike, the bike market just exploded . . . I was not alone. They suggest for me to go to Amazon and look for tires and I was lucky to find my tires from a pool of only 7 in all US!!! Silver line: thank to Covint-19 the US population is finally exercising, I’ll take it
• 
  2021-04-22

  Uncertainty, Spirituality, and the Inevitability of Change #REL101

  I foolishly thought that it would be easy to write this post. I didn’t anticipate struggling so much with finding the right words to explain the impact the last year of pandemic life has had on me, but I’ve deleted about a hundred paragraphs of rambling, existential stream of consciousness nonsense about cherishing the small moments and growing in the face of adversity because it is surprisingly hard to be concise about your feelings on an event you’re still living through. I’m starting to think that maybe doing so is impossible, so instead of falling into cliche and flowery prose, I want to just be blunt. I haven’t seen my family in two years. My grandmother has dementia and in that time it has worsened exponentially. On a weekly basis, I have a call with my mom that starts with a debrief on whatever the newest updates in her condition are and ends with a plea to visit as soon as I feel comfortable traveling. Every day, I go into my retail job and tell them no, I don’t have symptoms or live with anyone with symptoms while waiting for the beep of a thermometer meant to ensure I don’t have a fever. I breathe through two layers of fabric, disinfect my work area between transactions, and field rants about restrictive mask mandates for six hours a day, then come home and begin the process of undressing, banishing my clothes to the washer, and trying to relax before I have to do it all again. Everything in that paragraph is, to put it nicely, so bleak it hurts. It’s easy to get caught in the feelings of overwhelm that came along with this pandemic and it would be a farce to say that there aren’t days where everything feels like way too much for one person to handle. Surprisingly, though, the thing that has blissfully not survived the most turbulent year of my life is the apathetic, empty cynicism I used to feel. Instead, I feel weirdly hopeful that this is the beginning of massive change both in myself and on a global level. Maybe it’s naive to think that way and maybe it’s just a coping mechanism to help me through the pandemic, but there’s a part of me that thinks that may not even matter because the changes are coming regardless. In the last year, I’ve moved out of Nevada and into a pink house in California with the love of my life. Despite a fraught, stressful prior experience in college, I’ve finally come back to higher education in a way that feels both healthy and exciting. The field of religious studies has reawakened my passion for learning and my ability to grow in academia. I’ve abandoned my skeptical, agnostic views and traded them out for a brand of religiosity that combines self-improvement, magic, and trust in something bigger than myself. I know how that all sounds and if the last sentence has you rolling your eyes reading this, I get it. The last year has been weird, don’t get me wrong. If I told a 20-year-old version of myself that one day we’d be living through the plague of a lifetime, studying religion with hopes of examining cultism, and practicing a version of witchcraft grounded in our ex-Catholic roots, I doubt she would believe me. It admittedly sounds pretty wacky all laid out in plain English like that. Part of what I’ve learned throughout the pandemic, though, is that suspending cynicism, skepticism, and disbelief can sometimes lead you to unexpectedly lovely places. Whether I saw it coming or not, Covid has changed my life in countless ways, just as I’m sure it’s changed the lives of everyone reading these entries. Some changes have been for the worse, certainly, but the things that have changed for the better are what I’m choosing to focus on. I’ve read articles about a reemergence of spirituality amongst young people that make me think others have been having similar ideas and something about that feels good. We’ve spent a lot of time isolated, lonely, and missing a sense of belonging we took for granted before, but there’s reassurance for me in knowing that my experiences aren’t all that different from anyone else’s. That type of community, however it manifests, is (and I hope you’ll forgive this admitted slip into flowery prose) something that the pandemic has taught us we must cherish above everything else because it’s what makes our little human lives worth living. More than anything, whenever this pandemic reaches the time where we split our lives into not just before, but after, I hope we don’t forget that.
• 
  2020-06-29

  The Unpredictable Horrors of Pandemic

  The unpredictable horrors of pandemic “Corona Virus” the most lethal being on the earth that swept a mass population since its spread in December 2019. The Corona Virus had already started its attack and only a few cases had been reported in Wuhan, China until 2020, where it spread like a wildfire taking down millions of people. I belong to Nepal which is a neighboring country to China, so it surely was at higher risk which led to a countrywide lockdown in March 2020. It was then, people started to realize the seriousness of the situation. I would like to share my part of the pandemic experience in the first person “We” because I believe in this time I was with my family and we went through this experience- some bitter and some sweet but we were always together as a single unit. When the lockdown was imposed in Nepal, people were not aware of why it was being done. Why a mere viral disease was threatening nations? People took it as an excuse to vacation from work and school. We were told to stay inside the house, wear a mask and avoid gatherings by the national authorities. We could only go out for buying essentials (food, medicine) in the evening between 6-7 PM. Other times we were enjoying with our family because it is very rare to have this much free time in this busy life. We would cook new dishes, we also started gardening, growing vegetables in our backyard, and sometimes there was even “Movie Time” with the family. So, for the first few weeks, this lockdown was a perfect family time. Then the economy slowly started to tremble. People were left jobless, savings started to dry out. We were getting conscious and calculative on the grocery shopping. We own a garment factory (textiles and embroidery) so with no shops open during the time, we were also struggling with the money. My sister was currently stuck in Bangladesh because she had gone there for her educational studies and was stuck since both the countries were on lockdown. She finally arrived back home in June 2020 in an evacuation flight. She was then on self-isolation for 14 days. In these days of self-isolation, she showed no signs of COVID. Finally, on her last day of isolation, she went for a test and the horrors began. The reports came POSITIVE. This came as a shock to all of us because she had followed all the health protocols both in Bangladesh, during the flight, and after arriving in Nepal. We all were in disbelief and were taken aback. Unfortunately, the same day when the reports came out, there a news report regarding the lab where the reports were tested had cross-contamination, leading to inaccurate results in the hospital that day (the same day as my sister was tested). All of the samples were tested positive. Health authorities had to investigate that matter. But since she had no symptoms whatsoever, we wanted to re-check. Before we could even go to the other hospital, the members from the localities hurdled outside our house. They had been informed that an infected person was there in the area. My mom and dad went out to calm the crowd, trying to convince us that the results were doubtful and we were going for a re-check. The crowd was more like an angry mob and was dismissing all our claims, maybe also because this was the first case in our locality. They didn’t want to hear what we had to say. They forcefully started sealing the gates and the areas of our house, ordering all our neighbors to stay away from the area. They were told not to cross the gate and come in contact with us. Since the coronavirus is truly a big deal, though we had some doubts, we accepted that all our family members should go into isolation. But this was easier said than done. For those 14 days, we had no one around us to help. We couldn’t go out to get groceries or even other essentials. Our neighbors were threatened by the local authorities to not help us. They couldn’t send us the groceries or anything else. We were cast away from the whole society around that time. Luckily, we had an aunt living nearby. She used to leave us grocery items in our backdoors before the sunrise…. before anyone could even see. And we would run outside abiding by proper protocols, get those items and be back inside, panting, hoping no one saw us. At that time we had no money, limited food supply, and many mouths to feed. It was like we were living in an apocalyptic world. Baseless rumors had started to spread around the society stating we were seen partying and having gatherings a few days back. People would ring us up just to blame us as if we were the rotten ones. The most heartbreaking incident was when we were called by the local authority asking us to not come out on the balcony because according to them, somehow, we were exposing the virus in our area. Those 2 weeks became hell for our family. Finally, on the 14th day, all the members of our family members took a PCR test, and luckily, we were all tested negative. So in simple terms, we had recovered BUT society still didn’t accept us. Whenever we used to go to the shop, we were stared at and could hear whispers behind our back. People used to stay away from us and we were regarded (sort of) untouchables even after we had medical reports to prove them otherwise. Then a month later, even my maternal grandmother was infected with the virus. We could not go visit her as the hospital didn’t permit and she was under strict surveillance. She soon developed pneumonia as a complication of the COVID attack. Almost half of her lungs had been severely damaged and on 29th November 2020 she passed away. This pandemic left a great impact on us. We suffered great loss both emotionally and financially. From sneaking in groceries like smugglers to bidding goodbye to someone who loved us the most, it will always be an inerasable memory for us. Even as I write my experience, my words are not enough to emphasize the pain this pandemic has caused. But all I can say is we fought this as a FAMILY. One for All and All for One.
• 
  2021-04-21

  Hands of love help COVID-19 patients in hospital

  HANDS OF LOVE: Nurses fill latex gloves with warm water in a technique called "little hands of love" to help COVID-19 patients in intensive care beat isolation and stimulate blood flow.
• 
  2021-04-01

  The ‘slow-motion’ genocide’ of the Chinook Indian Nation

  The pandemic has exacerbated the Chinook’s lack of the kind of social safety net recognized tribes possess. While the COVID-19 mortality rate of Indigenous people is almost 2.5 times that of white people, unrecognized tribes have not received any of the $8 billion in government aid passed by Congress last spring. Nor have they received priority for tests or vaccines. Instead, they have to rely on neighboring tribes like the Grand Ronde and the Shoalwater Bay Tribe to vaccinate their elder knowledge-keepers. Chinook tribal members sometimes refer to the lack of recognition as slow-motion genocide. “Explain how it’s not genocide,” Johnson said to me. “Someone explain to me how it’s not.”
• 
  03/30/2021

  Anonymous Oral History, 2021/03/30

  Living in military housing with their spouse and two children in California, the narrator chooses to remain anonymous. Throughout the interview, the narrator speaks at length about their COVID-19 pandemic experience. They go on about how they go tackle socialization, especially for their children, as they are not able to travel very far from home. They talk about what precautions they take whenever they leave the house, and how they would not let the pandemic restrictions completely dictate their new norm. Although their children are none the wiser considering their young ages, they continue to create a sense of normalcy that would simulate a pre-pandemic lifestyle. Delving deeper into safety measures, the narrator expresses their thoughts and hopes about how people in their community are taking precautions. This includes how they would hope that everyone is being honest and doing their part in assuring everyone’s mutual safety, such as informing them if they or their children are sick.
• 
  2021-03

  My experiences working and living in the Covid 19 Pandemic

  When the covid pandemic started, I don't think anyone really knew the extent this virus would take on everyone's life and how it will potentially change the world as we know it. I have worked in healthcare during this pandemic and have seen and heard of many people dying from this virus. I work in an acute rehabilitation hospital where people come after having a stroke or major surgery and they learn how to use their bodies and adapt to their new lifestyles. My hospital is not a place where people die, it is a place where people go to get stronger to go home to their families. there had been countless numbers of people who had contracted the virus when at the hospital and eventually had died from it even though they were on the tract to getting stronger, physically. Not only have I seen how this impacts the individuals who contract the virus, but it is important to note how this virus is effecting people mentally. I have heard of many people's friends dying of suicide from being in isolation during their quarantining. I have also learned that many children who are learning how to talk are having a hard time learning how to communicate with others because they are missing the important aspect of facial structures and non-verbal language which is impeding their ability to communicate and understand others.
• 
  2021-02-15

  One of my COVID-19 Case Investigations Experiences

  I work as a COVID-19 medical investigator for the Arizona county in which I live. I recently called on a monolingual Spanish speaker who turned out to be a retirement-age mother of adult children and infant grandchildren. The first time we spoke, she very politely agreed to complete our medical interview by phone, and I began working through the initial demographics section. As she answered my questions, she began asking questions of her own regarding her potential experience and that of her family, all of whom were ill by that time or presumed to be positive due to extended close contact. The pace and tone of her speech evolved as her volume increased, and her intense emotional distress required no common language to comprehend. The primary source of her concern was her adult daughter who lived at another location with her two children. Our case feared her daughter had to have immediate help to even dial a phone, much less to care for herself and her children. The case wanted to break isolation at her home to travel to her daughter' home to aid her child and grandchildren, but, with the interpreter's help, we worked through her fears, established an action plan that allowed the case and her husband to stay home, and connected her daughter with medcal professionals to evaluate her circumstances and need for urgent intervention. The case and I agreed those needs superseded the interview as she was both aware and isolated, and we agreed to speak the following day. On callback, her emotions had completely turned around in that day, her daughter had been evaluated over the phone, acquired the information and guidance she needed, and the case believed her child and grandchildren were now safe and well. Throughout the roughly 90-minute translated interview, she repeatedly expressed her gratitude for our having called and helped her family and information and guidance. Despite the number of times our patients/cases have expressed anger, outrage, suspicion, or worse at our medical investigation and contact tracing efforts, this series of calls made them worthwhile.
• 
  2020-06-24

  The New Reality of California's Preschools

  "Gone are family-style meals and snacks where children serve themselves. And no more sharing toys." If it sounds grim to you, it sort of is. Children are having to stay six feet away from one another just like any other person. The difference is that a lot of these children are still far too young to understand why. Safety guidelines have been provided from the California Department of Public Health, county departments of public health, and the California Department of Social Services. This is in a notable and admirable attempt to grab some semblance of normalcy back while remaining cautious. Some other changes include, but are not limited to, having toys be sanitized after use, physical touch (i.e. hugging) are kept to a minimum, and children cannot play outside (such as the playground structures). A big problem seems to be with the touch, though. A lot of these children, as young as 2 years old, start crying and need some physical comfort. Although some of these new guidelines are straightforward and simple, they're not easily implemented as it can easily hinder a child's development and understanding of the world.
• 
  2020-09-18

  Corona Clothing #1: "Staying in is the new Going Out"

  I took this picture in a Ross store in Round Rock TX last summer. It reads "Staying in is the new Going Out". This is the first instance I had ever seen of a clothing item referencing COVID-19. The shirt implies that with all the stay at home orders, lockdowns, and closures taking leisure time at home is the new way to have fun and enjoy yourself. Noticed that it is also lounge wear. I did not realize it at the time, but many items of Corona themed clothing are casual or lounge wear likely both as a funny gesture and to suit the natural desire to wear comfortable clothing when confined at home for extended periods.
• 
  2020-04-15

  That fleeting moment of Solidarity

  In those first few weeks of lockdown I just remember a feeling of solidarity with my neighbors. We were all separate, all isolated, but all working toward the same goal. Throughout our neighborhood people had written with chalk on the sidewalk, we took walks every day and saw painted rocks, teddy bears sitting in windows, art and signs of hope and comfort. For a homeschool art lesson I had my sons do chalk splatter painting on our driveway and then taught them about Jackson Pollock. I wrote lyrics to Bob Marley songs and drew pictures of rainbows on the sidewalk. We baked bread, cinnamon rolls, all things warm and cozy. Our family was together in a special way, we appreciated the time together. We went on hikes and fished in the backyard pond and although there were zoom appointments and conference calls, life was moving at a slower more relaxing pace. We were hopeful and confident that by doing the right thing we were saving lives.
• 
  03/14/2021

  Michael Levesque Oral History, 2021/03/14

  Michael Levesque was a paramedic working on an ambulance at the start of the pandemic. He had a pregnant wife at home and was in the process of switching his career into nursing. He recalls the memories of working on the ambulance and taking care of Covid patients, as well as how Covid impacted the EMS services overall. He also discusses how it felt to be starting his career as an Emergency Room nurse during a global pandemic. In both cases, his job put him directly on the front lines of medicine. He discusses the early problems of lack of knowledge and equipment to properly handle this pandemic. He also explains the mindset of an expecting father, working in a high risk environment, and then coming home to his pregnant wife. Michael’s unique life circumstances and career path gives his interview a perspective that few people experienced.
• 
  2021-03-17

  First hug in a long time

  A lot of people probably have this same kind of story, but I'll go ahead and tell my version of it. My wife's 93-year-old grandmother lives in an assisted care facility nearby and, of course, has been forced to be very isolated throughout most of the pandemic. However, because all of us have now been fully vaccinated, we were able to go and see her in person a couple of days ago. The most heartwarming moment was when my wife and kids were able to give her a hug for the first time in a long time. I'm sure as more people get vaccinated, they will have more of these kinds of stories to tell.
• 
  2021-03-14

  Brenda Cohen Oral History, 2021/03/14

  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
• 
  2020-05-10

  My sister during the pandemic

  Throughout living in this pandemic many people have had a multitude of different reactions regarding it. There is the people who really don't care too much about the pandemic and have not taken to many precautions in their life in regards to the pandemic. The next group of people are the ones who realize there is a pandemic follow the necessary precautions but don't obsess over it and make it consume their lives. And the final group of people are the ones who have let the pandemic take over their lives. My sister is in this last group. She has let it consume her and made her life revolve around this pandemic. She refuses to leave her apartment at all costs. In fact I think I have seen her in person maybe one or two times in the past year since the start of the pandemic. Along with that when I do see her even when it is known that I do not have COVID it has to be outside wearing a mask at least six feet apart and for not longer than fifteen minutes. Yes I understand the precautions of COVID but it is sad to me that this pandemic has caused family members to distance themselves from one another and has really put a lot of strain and stress on people. Hopefully the vaccine will be rolled out quickly and efficiently.
• 
  03/12/2021

  Anonymous Marine Oral History, 2021/03/12

  Interview with a Marine that details going through Basic Training during COVID-19.
• 
  2020-12-30

  Beyond Control

  Kelsie Grazier talks about her hearing loss, the uncertainty of pregnancy during Covid-19 and how both are heavily influencing her art. Her story resonates with me as I loose my own hearing and seek out representation in a world that ignores deafness. Kelsie Grazier's story resonates. Especially with the daily frustrations Covid-19 has brought upon us.
• 
  2021-03-10

  A Lot More Time at Home

  An interesting consequence from being locked inside day in and day out for almost a year. My collection of books has grown considerably, to the point of needing yet another bookshelf.