Items

• 
  2021-05-22

  POST-PANDEMIC IDENTITY

  See file uploaded "Post-Pandemic Vision"
• 
  2020-03-12

  Keeping the Family Close

  When the world went on the first lockdown on March 12, 2020, it caught everybody by surprise. I woke up that day in New York City and went to practice to prepare for our basketball game later that night. We found out around noon that the whole tournament, along with pretty much every sporting event in the world, was cancelled. We flew back to Pittsburgh a few hours later and from there I drove home to Northwest Ohio, which is the last place I expected to be at that time. It was such a surreal feeling to watch the whole world shut down and know that life as we knew it wouldn’t be the same for a long time. I was really looking forward to the spring semester and spending a lot of time with 3 of my best friends whose last semester it would be at Duquesne. I came to the sad realization that I wouldn’t get to have that time with them and I’ve only gotten to see them once since everything went down. With everybody being on edge because the virus was such a new thing and we didn’t know much about it, I also didn’t get to see my hometown friends for a while. It was just my parents, brother and I at home. It seemed uneventful and monotonous at times but looking back on it, I really enjoyed that time I had with my family because I am at school during the summer semester and usually don’t get to come home much during the school year. The picture attached is from one of the best memories of the quarantine when my dad, brother, and I went on a trip to our family cabin in Michigan. We haven’t had time like that to ourselves since I left for college and it really brought us closer together. I also got to spend a lot of time alone, which is something I don’t usually do and had to learn how to do. This is another reason I am thankful for the lockdown because I learned a lot not only about other people, but about myself as well. I revisited some old passions of mine, like making art and music. It was nice to be able to really relax and come back to the things that I was into as a little kid. This alone time allowed me to do a lot of self-reflection as well and helped me realize what I am doing right and wrong in all aspects of my life. I had always thought about playing professional basketball, but over this time I realized that it is a goal that I want to put all my effort into achieving. I had to reassess my habits, which pushed me to work really hard to get into the best shape of my life over the quarantine. I knew I needed to take advantage of the time because I was just coming off of a serious knee injury that I wasn’t fully recovered from. I ended up accomplishing a lot of the goals I had set over the lockdown and I stayed disciplined with my diet and workouts and this helped me learn a lot about myself. Some of the things that still stick with me might sound cliche, but they are true: be thankful for every day, be better than you were the day before, and stay patient through frustrating times. Overall, I am thankful for the time I was able to spend both alone and with family through this pandemic and those memories and lessons will stick with me forever.
• 2020-10-08

  Left alone with religion

  Everyone has gone through wildly different circumstances in the past 6 months, but due to the single same virus. I never thought a virus would be able to shut down the world as we know it within weeks; and in my young life I have taken a valuable lesson from all this: anything can happen at anytime, and to cherish the time you have. With this I don't mean anything in particular, I relate this to people, enjoying going places freely without fear, enjoying being with your family etc... Anything! Different things can happen in an instant, and learning to adapt to them is simply part of life. The time I had alone allowed me to ponder several issues in my life, such as religion; which is why I chose the Religion 101 class this semester. I could not have asked for a non-biased view and will carry lots of the knowledge I learnt into my life. Although I am personally agnostic as of now, I learned through watching others in the pandemic how religion can serve as something very important in providing faith and hope for many, whereas I thought before taking the course religion was a fraud and causes negative outcomes such as war. I have become more understanding on how it can positively benefit entire communities and change individuals lives, and while I continue to be agnostic I completely respect peoples faith's; as it is their personal relationship with their god. At the beginning of the pandemic, I had no idea I would come out on the other side with this perspective, and maybe one day this curiosity will lead me towards a more religious lifestyle, as I feel it gives life a purpose. Without a purpose, a need to do good and inflict positivity in the world, what is life truly for? These are just some of my thoughts at this time thank you Professor Shoemaker!
• 
  2020-08-10

  The Glass Half Full of Covid.

  Forced time off of work led to forced introspection. And the outcome was newfound passion, direction and family.
• 
  2020-05-31

  Self-Isolation and Self-Reflection

  It was all so sudden: we had just had our team banquet for basketball and we were getting ready to enter off-season, a time of having fun at practice and enjoying the time away from it with friends before summer comes along and the fun can truly begin. Then about a week after we got the email saying that in-class learning was to be postponed until after Spring Break. At first we were happy, like any student, not having to go to school and not having to practice. However that period stretched from the beginning of April to May, and then to the end of the school year, and now we don't even know if we're going to be able to return for the next school year like usual. It took away the practices that we usually have everyday, it took away the time I had to just grind it out with my teammates, with my brothers, it took away to get better and grow both individually and as a team. It's one of those things that you don't appreciate until it's taken away from you. It also has taken away the hope of coming back together for summer-league, as summer sports programs have been cancelled due to the pandemic. We may not even have a regular season. Then the hardship of not being able to go out and spend time with friends is something that I, along with many other people have to endure. It's painful to have to deal with, and many people are advocating for the end of quarantine. I'm not gonna say it's right or not, but I feel like it's only right to end it when it's deemed safe to do so, and we shouldn't try to rush it because it'll only hurt us more. Then the recent events of police brutality with the death of George Floyd has sparked uprisings by the black community and many others that support the movement. There are many sides to take in the controversy, and there are also many ways to go about dealing with it. Despite the conflicting opinions, I hope that we can resolve this without causing more harm than help.