Items
Tag is exactly
socialization
-
2023-05-15
What we need to learn from Covid
This is based off of what I have seen and heard throughout the pandemic. I have decided to post this because we need more awareness of the issues in education. -
2020-05-29
Verazzano Bridge
Taking daily walks during the pandemic didn’t make me feel “healthy” or “well-adjusted”. I watched the way my neighbors and I would pull our masks up when we passed each other on the street. Saddening, on one hand; a show of communal care, on the other. I think it’s human to want to pull a silver lining out of a tragedy and I guess the silver lining here is that I had time to s l o w down and look at my community, not just the people, but the signs on storefronts, dishes of cat food next to porches, and yes, the outline of the Verazzano peeking out through the clouds hovering over Belt Parkway. I used to walk on this walkway when I was a child too, and though the pandemic has changed everything, the fishermen are still here, their rods propped against the rail. People are still riding tandem bikes. Still laughing, talking, breathing in the salty air. -
2020
How the Internet Saved My Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Prior to the first major COVID-19 breakout in the US, I was already doing online school. I had some health problems that led me to take my senior year of high school online; this was already a little hard, as my school had many senior year traditions that I, unfortunately, missed out on, so my general motivation was already pretty low. The main thing that really helped was being able to hang out with friends in person and talk to people using social media. I remember very vividly when COVID-19 first hit. It was sometime in March; I remember it so vividly due to a joke that my friends and I made. Senior skip day happened right when the news about the virus started to spread everywhere - my friends and I started joking about whether or not they skipped the last day of high school they would ever attend. This joke eventually came to fruition; first, it was a two-week "vacation." Then it was a month. Eventually, the rest of the year was called off, and my friends joined me in the ventures of online schooling. The beginning of quarantine was relatively easy from a mental health standpoint. We were too busy being excited over the "vacation" we were given, and all the time we had to play video games with each other. This excitement soon began to fade, however, mainly when the weather began to get warm again (I live in Massachusetts) and the seasons started to change. The feeling of being trapped inside during the only time of year truly worth being outside for is pretty suffocating. It is no surprise that my mental health started to suffer, mainly in the form of motivation issues and increased anxiety, and depression that was normally seasonal began to manifest itself in the only season it usually didn't. If not for the internet connecting my friends and me, I would have had a much harder time throughout quarantine in general. Despite my mental health being worse than usual, it was not nearly as bad as it could have been given the circumstances. The horrible statistics and lack of hope for a vaccine that clouded my thoughts when not distracted disappeared while I was in my own world talking to friends through a computer screen - escapism was my main source of comfort, and I have the internet and my friends to thank for that. Eventually, the feeling of hopelessness went away. Vaccines started to be distributed, and life returned to (slightly) normal. We got used to wearing masks in public, and avoiding crowded areas, but this was a small price to pay considering how bad it was before. -
11/12/2020
Kristine Benusa Oral History, 2020/11/12
-
2020-10-06
Bernd Geels Oral History, 2020/10/06
C19OH -
2020-08-27
Covid Schooling
During the Covid-19 pandemic, many lives were lost and changed forever. I was one of the lucky ones where myself and no one I knew was affected. One thing problem that surfaced to me during the pandemic is the online schooling. My fall semester of 2020 at Duquesne University was all online and it was a struggle being in my house just outside of Pittsburgh. Professors and faculty did their best to learn the technology and to teach the students through online interactions. I truly give them all the credit in the world for that, but it is extremely tough to learn. There is no clear-cut communication between students and their professors. Usually, you are able to form some sort of relationship with the professor, but there was not an easy way to do it. It was also hard to form a relationship with your classmates. You only knew the people that you knew before the pandemic. With no relationships in the class, it felt a lot harder. There was no one really to help you or just discuss the class with. People rely on people and in the online world, it is hard to have that connection. Our world cannot stay online. People need to be in offices and in schools working with one another. The online world is a way to hide from doing work where we need to be face to face. People need people. Our world depends on each other and the online world is a great thing, but it cannot be implemented for schooling. It was very hard for me to learn online because I was distracted by all the things at my house. What would you rather do, listen to an hour lecture or watch a tv show? It was hard to stay focused on schooling because it did not feel like school. I blame myself for not being able to pay attention during the classes, but if I struggled with it, I know many other kids did too. While taking 5 courses online, I have to be honest in saying I do not know if I really learned anything. I am thankful that I was not online too long. -
2021-04-21
Things I have Lost Because of Covid
I started graduate school in August 2020, right in the middle of the pandemic. Since that point, I have only met one of my classmates in person, when I purchased some girl scout cookies from her daughter. I do all of my coursework from my computer, something I am not personally bothered by but it certainly changes the dynamics of school. My opportunities for socialization and networking have been limited, which may define my future job prospects. These are all things I never really thought about until I had a discussion with my mother recently, after I exclaimed to her that very little about my life has changed because of Covid. In fact, while my daily schedule may be broadly similar to pre-pandemic and I enjoy the isolation, the ways in which it will affect my future career seem manifold as I think about them. -
2021-02-25
Longing to go Outside
Like people, my dog seems to miss going out to public spaces (like an out door mall, hiking, the patio of a restaurant, even the Pima Air and Space Museum) and getting attention from all the humans that pass by. He too is missing out on the social experiences that he used to enjoy before the pandemic. -
2021-01-21
Covid Symptoms
I do not know anyone that has COVID or that has gotten COVID. I know some symptoms of COVID which are chills, cough, difficulty breathing, muscle aches, and sore throat. There are many more symptoms but these were the mains ones that I know of. If I were to know someone that would have COVID, then I know that I would have to social distance from them for 2-14 days. I would have to talk with them through online devices which would not be as much fun than to socialize with them in life. -
2021-01-20
Connecting Through Technology and Hobbies
Quarantine might be one of the most bittersweet experiences of my life. I lost many opportunities, friends, and even parts of myself, as losing my ability to socialize really took a toll on me. However, benefits also sprouted from this, as I manage to discover new things about myself, such as hobbies and interests, and was able to grow as a person. Even thought it was sad to drift from many of my friends, I found how who I my real friends were, and who were the ones that I would stay with for a long time. If I was given a choice to go back in time and be able to live my life without COVID, I might not take it, for this pandemic showed me who I really am, whether it's for the better or worst. -
2020-04
A Different Kind of Adventure (But an Adventure all the Same)
I wanted to use this collection of photos to highlight the change of attitude and environment for friendships pre-Covid and during Covid: In the first three photos my college friends and I are out and about a major city and public transportation, giving no second thoughts on sanitary factors. For us, an adventure meant exploring the city limits and beyond. In the next photos, taken after most of us returned from our respective universities and finished a serious quarantine. We finally reunited, though barely leaving our home limits, after being locked inside for weeks, it felt like an adventure; Despite the need for much caution and unfamiliar form of socializing. We cherished each other’s company in this new way of hanging out. Finally, the last photos were taken later in the summer. Out of quarantine but still amid a pandemic, we found adventure were found in something as ordinary as grocery shopping or trying something different like eating fast food in the trunk of a car. -
10/19/2020
Maria Carney Oral History, 2020/10/19
I interview my maternal (and only living) grandmother over the phone about her experience of Covid while primarily self-isolating in her mobile home. There is not so much direct question and answer but over the course of a somewhat rambling conversation pretty much all the topics get covered. Although she remains pretty spry for her age, there are some places where she loses the thread or misunderstands the conversation. -
2020-08-06
Forceful COVID-19
COVID-19 impacted my everyday life for the past 7 months. It has deprived me of socialization, a steady income, and the ability to feel “free”. It forced me back to New Jersey for a few months with my parents in order to save money. Adopting a cat was almost forced onto me, since its’ owner was unable to take care of her since COVID-19 had also effected the owner in negative ways. COVID-19 also made me realize what’s important to myself, who I choose to associate myself with, and how important being self motivated is. -
2020-08-10
Children in a pandemic
Children and the pandemic. My four year old daughter does not understand what a pandemic is. She repeats that she cannot go outside or to school or to the park because of "the coronavirus". Her and her siblings, along with children all over the world, have been greatly impacted by this pandemic with no understanding of the ramifications of it's spread. Children have been sent home, isolated, many removed from space places like schools or after care programs. They have lost friendships and socialization. They have lost structure. Some have lost family members. Parents out of work have cost their family food or housing. Adults struggling to cope with their own depression and anxiety has increased children's as well. For me personally all seven of my children have been affected. My son was forced to move home from college and fell into a deep depression. My oldest daughter never walked across a graduation stage or finished her senior year. My fifteen year old with autism lost support services from school. My thirteen year old lost sports and his friendships. My ten year old with epilepsy had medical testing pushed back and then had hospitalizations with only one parent allowed, even had to be taken by paramedics alone to the hospital once. My seven year old with ADHD lost all class structure and intervention programs to help him and his anxiety and panic attacks have grown more severe. And my four year old, pictured above, lost her classroom and her joy from attending preschool daily. The new round of "return to school" virtually is brought with more anxiety and worry that the kids are not alright. The picture above showcases the innocence of a child wanting to explore the world, trapped inside and the slight sadness that this may be for the long haul. -
2020-08-10
Being a single parent in a time of covid
Being a Single Parent in a Time of COVID-19 My daily family life has changed since the global rise of the coronavirus disease pandemic since parenting is coupled with more responsibilities. Being a single parent to two children has arguably increased exposure to caregiving stress, especially with two teenagers, 16 and 17 years. My younger child has dyslexia learning disorder and has an IEP since kinder garden comprehend without additional help from a special ed teacher the struggle in school became much harder. I focused more of my attention on my younger son being that he was a freshmen level while the older child is attending to his senior year of school. I have been helping them adopt and utilize online schooling programs effectively while attending to my full-time job. Markedly, finding a balance between caregiving, offering them help in school work, and attending to my career has proved challenging during this COVID-19 period. The most robust experience I have so far is to offer them guidance to enable them to comprehend the content accessed from online sources. I dedicate more time to my younger son since he has a learning disorder, limiting his ability to follow directions given on the online platforms. Besides teaching, teenagers' lives have been affected since they are in the development stage characterized by socializing, finding new friends, and distancing from parents. In the earlier stages of the spread of COVID 19, the teenagers perceived the quarantine measures by the government as weapons to suppress their freedom and had to sneak out sometimes. I have experienced a parenting burden in training them to exercise self-care during these tough times, and they still seem distressed since they can no longer meet their friends. Moreover, online learning and their daily upkeep have incurred additional expenses, which may hamper my ability to meet the schools' future mandates. Markedly, it may become difficult for me to purchase learning resources in the future since there has been a reduction in my earnings and hours.