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2020-10-05
The Year 2020
I hope people can relate to my message and see that it takes all of us to succeed. -
2020-09-24
Do You Have ‘Zoom Fatigue’ or Is It Existentially Crushing to Pretend Life Is Normal as the World Burns?
We each experience the pandemic in different ways but this article hits home for so many. While I personally am okay most days because my life is rather project based, which provides me something different from time to time, I still have days where it all seems so useless. My husband struggles daily. The stress and monotony has resulted in him napping, like a toddler, mid afternoon everyday. We're lucky that his job is such that he hours are flexible right now and his company does not use software to monitor his time working. If he didn't have this flexibility to nap or take a mid afternoon break to get outside I believe his mental health would be worse than it is just by existing right now. -
2020
In this Together
Its a bit of my experience of a day in the life living in the times of covid-19 -
2020-03-26
The day it all went south
From the beginning of quarantine till now the simple, everyday things I used to do has now become a difficult. Such examples would be going to the bodega or going to my therapy appointments or even going to work. There’s now so many extra steps and protocols as if my job wasn’t already stressful enough. While I personally haven’t been affected by corona virus in terms of health, I can still say that it has turned everything upside down. I still can hang out with friends but I’ve missed so many events that I was looking forward to. Anime event to birthday event, all of those experiences missed. The biggest thing about COVID for me was that it showed me just how selfish and ignorant others are by not only people refusing to wear masks but some even denying it’s existence. -
2020-06-12
Fur Friend to the Rescue
2020 has not been the best year... for anyone probably. Wildfires, pandemic, riots, protests, poor economy, all things that bring stress to people. People handle and deal with stress in different ways; some turn to their pets. Your pet doesn't know anything about what's going on with the world, they just know you are their human and they love you. They are always willing and excited to give you a cuddle and be near you. Every day you come home, they are super excited to see you, and sometimes, that can make a terrible day so much better. This is a photo of Maya the Papaya, aka Jellybean! She is my moms dog and is the super cuddly-est dog and is always so. super. excited. to be near you! -
09/19/2020
Patrick Mceleney Oral History, 2020/09/19
This is an interview with Northeastern student Patrick Mceleney about his experience during the Covid-19 pandemic. He talks about the experience of leaving school suddenly, flying home to Japan (where his parents are stationed), and working as an EMT under the threat of a global pandemic. -
2020-09-18
A Terrible Blessing
At a time where I’ve never been more in need of a break, I received more than I had bargained for. It is early 2020, I’m in my senior year of high school and worked almost everyday after school; I almost reached my breaking point. Everything stressed me out: drama, school, work, and lack of sleep. I hoped and wished and prayed for a break, and my prayers were unexpectedly answered. At first, it seemed like Coronavirus was just another cold, but then the world collapsed and everyone shut down. I was about to get an early spring break: two weeks to flatten the curve. Yet, this break turned into a nationwide hellscape. Everyone was forced to stay home, schools closed, entertainment centers closed, hockey was postponed, and even graduation was up in the air. I’ll admit, getting to stay home everyday was a blessing for the first few weeks. Then, it started to make me go nuts. I didn’t get to see my friends or go to work or school; my life was paused. A break is only good when you enjoy it with your friends, and my friends weren’t allowed out of the house and quite frankly, neither was I. My anxiety truly peaked and I was scared things would never even begin to go back to normal. Although it was different than it should’ve been, graduation still happened. I finally was reunited with my friends and teachers and it felt amazing to accept my diploma. As for college, it has been a little stressful amidst the pandemic. Not having in person classes is extremely different and it's much harder for me to learn, but i’m managing and things are getting better by the day. This brings us to the golden thing that remains: masks. I hate having to wear a mask in public, it’s a severe pain. However, I will follow the rules until everything returns to normalcy. At the end of the day, this pandemic has taught me a valuable lesson: always appreciate what you have and live in the moment, you never know when it could come crashing down. And today and forever, I stand by this. I will cherish what the lockdown has given me and taught me, yet I had to walk through hell to get to heaven. -
2020-09-18
Life in Quarantine; Summer 2020
I decided to write about what my experience was like living in quarantine this past summer. I want the reader to understand that though there were definitely challenges, as one could expect, there were also positives to take away from the experience. -
2020-09-15
Constant interruptions
Developmental milestones always throw off the routine. I deleted the “Wonder Years App,” so I couldn’t look up what is happening at about 30 months that makes it unlikely a child will nap, and very likely that they will cry and cling to you over the seemingly smallest of issues. It has been weeks of no naps or naps only in the car. This means that I don’t get my normal break in the day, when the 2yo naps for 2 hours and I can let the 6yo have her media time. This was our routine; this was when I got to knock out work in peace without interruptions. That precious window has been gone for weeks. Until today, finally for the first time in what feels like for freaking ever, Julian napped in a bed at home. Did I have to lie next to him to make it happen? Yes, was I anxious that it was too good to be true and he’d wake back up any second? Also yes. The 6yo, unaware that anything was different walked in the room and started chatting. I waved her away, and she ran off, presumably delighted that her media time was a go. The dog, ever aware that food was on the stove and that her dinner should occur in about 1.5 hours pushed open the door and trotted in. She’s stuck now. No one goes in or out until this nap concludes naturally. Maybe I shouldn’t be this worked up about a nap, but the extra layer of pressure has felt much more present ever since the school year started. There are more meetings to attend, and they all seem to last more than an hour. Emails can stress me out easily if they’re filled with questions. And the 6yo needs about 2-3 hours of support in the morning with distance learning and homework. Which is fine, that’s my job, I’m supposed to help her, but it also means that an important chunk of my workday is interrupted. And it’s hard to recover or snapback from constant interruptions. I feel like it's not possible to get it all done, and then I think...not getting it doesn't feel like a choice I can make. It all feels like it's my responsibility. -
2020-03-13
Mom!!! Is the coronavirus over yet?
This drawing from the Seattle Times was released on March 13, 2020. Now five months later, this cartoon is relatable to mothers all across the country not just in Washington when it was thought to be the epicenter of the Covid pandemic. Our new norm includes masks, social distancing, and enforced closeness with our family. Most parents are still working remotely while most schools are still not back to normal. Putting the mom shame aside, I would say that after months and months of this I have found that too much togetherness is too much of a good thing. -
2020-05-05
Coping Strategies for LEOs and First Responders
First Responders, by nature of the job, daily charged with helping people through their worst moments and traumatic events. Some might say that first responders should be able to handle it, after all, they signed up for the job. But first responders, just like the rest of us, are human. No one can ever really be prepared to handle stress like that on a day after day after day after day basis. In order to help out first responders, the CDC created this website with information on how to deal with the usual stress of the job plus the new issues and problems that 2020 has decided to throw at us. I thought it important to include here, not just for posterity, but the more places this information is posted, the more available and easily accessible it is for someone who may need it, but not know where to look. -
2020-09-08
Growth is optional
This essay was produced as a part of the American Studies program at California High School in San Ramon, California. The essay is in response to the prompt "Is America currently living up to its core values?" This essay argues how Americans in their current state aren't living up to the values of Equality and Time/control. It also includes a reference to the March of equality. -
2020-09-03
The Mental Load Of Motherhood Has Never Been Heavier
I know I’m not the only mom hurting right now. Many moms across the world in this period of uncertainty are hurting. We’re hammered with issues. Not being able to leave our homes the way we want to. Not being able to see our friends. The fear of sending our kids to school. Deciding if we should take a vacation to bring some normalcy back into our children’s lives. To improve our mental health. Financial stress. Stress about when this pandemic will end. Taking care of our children 24/7 without a break for the last five months. Caring for kids and working at the same time. Supervising our kids’ virtual lessons. Increasing anxiety and depression. The list goes on. This pandemic has brought so many moms to their knees. I see you hurting, exhausted, anxious moms. I see you running on empty. I see the toll that it has taken on our children and on our families. I want to offer some advice that I know I would appreciate getting. Next time you see a mother and want to offer support in a way that won’t kick her while she’s already down, rather than tell her to find a silver lining in this chaos that we are living in, simply respond with “I am here for you. We will get through this together. I know it’s hard.” -
2020-06-10
Pets and their effect during the pandemic
During the pandemic, to help deal with the new stresses my family decided to adopt a cat from a family friend. This animal actually helped to relieve some of the newfound issues that quarantine has brought on (fear, loneliness, etc.) . I feel this photograph is important because it shows a valuable tool that can help people to better make it through quarantine. It also helps to showcase the struggle I am going through in quarantine and what has helped to keep me going. -
2020-08-24
Everybody has a plan until they don't
I am finally returning to college, but certainly not under the circumstances I anticipated. I am already adjusting from a different major, but could have never imagined the added stress that this pandemic has brought. My family works in healthcare, so I considered myself generally aware of virology and therefore healthy practices to keep myself safe. However, I had no idea the measures that needed to be taken to ensure minimal spread. This is especially true of a college campus, which I haven't found myself on in several years. There is absolutely no reason to politicize this, we are all in this together. -
2020-08-25
Wendy's During Corona Season
A job in food service is almost never fun. However, a global pandemic tends to somehow make it worse. I work at Wendy's along with my friend Trinity (pictured in photo #2). Working at the same restaurant before and during the COVID-19 pandemic allows us to really experience the impacts of it all, and we see the changes every day. Wearing masks, gloves, and sometimes face shields, at all times is just one example of the "new normal" in food service. The lax environment of work before the pandemic seems almost comedic compared to what is now required. However, the internal changes during COVID-19 are a drop in the bucket compared to the change in how customers treat us. What used to be a few rude customers in a majority of nice customers has completely changed. It may be the fear of the virus, or the newfound unfamiliarity with the outside world, but food/customer service has never been so taxing on workers. -
2020-03-24
Mrs Middleton's Facebook Live Video
When first in shut down I made this video for my classroom facebook page. -
2020-03-30
The impact of Covid
Let me share with you the story of my COVID-19 outbreak in the United States. The outbreak in the United States came after our school's spring break. At that time, we were instructed to attend classes online, and we were unprepared to the rest of the semester. And it has also been accompanied by the cancellation of many campus activities. The quality of the course is compromised. Both professors and students are severely tested because the new teaching modality has never been used. The professors ponder how to teach and design exams online, and the student tries to adjust to the new studying environment. What'sWhat's more, as students, we lost all kinds of group discussion activities, presentation and face-to-face experience in class. Online courses are always less convenient than face-to-face ones. But as students, we have to overcome it. Another thing that is affected by the epidemic is the mindset. I can imagine the COVID-19 will break out in the United States because it's a very contagious virus. It isn't the flu, but it is a virus. In the early stage of the outbreak, many people had very wrong misconceptions about the coronavirus. This misconception is more deadly than the COVID itself. When I walk down the street, most people don't wear masks because they think they don't need to wear masks. One passer-by even told me that masks were useless for the virus. I am so shocked by their mindset. It is the first time I can actually feel that the COVID is less lethal because people who don't believe masks can save a life are really trying to challenge COVID with their lives. -
2020-08-23
Having No Mouth
My story of the Quarantine is that initially I was kind of excited about the prospect of having an excuse to stay indoors. This is due to the fact that I am a homebody and would rather chill with my friends rather than go to parties. However, one thing that I did not think of was that not only would I be staying home most of the time, but a majority of the rest of my family would as well. When I was younger, having everyone home was not a problem, but now we are all grown up, and we all need our space. Due to Quarantine, getting that space that I wanted was rather hard. It felt like I was having a hard time being able to be alone without someone hearing what I was saying. Not only that, but it was also hard because the conflicts in my family came to become more and more prevalent/ This is due to the fact that things like the college process and transitioning from high school to college seemed to have been made a lot harder. Instead of this Summer being relaxing and giving me room to breathe, it was made into one of the hardest times of my life. The short story titled "I Have Mouth, and I Must Scream" by Harlan Ellison captures how I felt during the pandemic. In the story, the characters are trapped underground and are totally helpless to the situation that they find themselves in. In many ways, I felt almost the same way to these characters. I felt like I was trapped in a place that I felt as though I had no control over anything because it was not my domain. Like the narrator of the story, I too felt as though I had no mouth by the end of it all. This is due to the fact that I am not the best at standing up for myself or handling conflicts. Not only that, but I feel like whenever I would try to argue my point, I always felt like nothing would happen. Even if anything did happen that went my way, it always felt like it was not enough to feel like a victory. By the end, it would just reinforce my unwillingness to speak up for myself or to just let things go and allow them to continue. I hope that I will be able to improve things once my time at Suffolk starts and when this Quarantine ends. -
2020-08-15
Good news in a difficult time.
I remember the beginning of pandemic in Boston like it was yesterday. Coming back from work I was worried about everyone’s’ and my own future. I had just started a new job at the restaurant that quickly become empty as people preferred to stay home and not take a risk of getting infected after having brunch. Speaking about myself, I was mentally and financially at the lowest point in last 10 years of my life. I saw myself as a foreigner with no future who has to work 17 hours a day, having two – three jobs just to survive. I was afraid to get Covid, to lose my job, to not be able to pay rent. And then lockdown happened. During the first three weeks I’ve lost my job and wasn’t able to collect unemployment. The level of stress was nearly unmanageable. Every day I was on the phone trying to reach out any representative who could help me. Every day was restless and sleepless, until few events that seemed to be magical happened. Firstly, unemployment benefits were made available to me. The amount was $600 more than I thought it would be and I was eligible for a stimulus check too. For many people in USA it wasn’t much money but for me, it was twice what I had been making by working. It also was proof of my belief in paying taxes. I have paid taxes ever since I’ve been employed and always thought that even though I might not have gotten anything from doing so right away, there would come a time when doing so would help me. So, it did and did so because of unexpected circumstances and at a time when I was struggling more than I ever had. The news got even better for me despite what was go on around me. I received a letter I had been waiting for my entire life that told me I had been accepted to Suffolk University. I have always wanted to go to university so receiving this great news at such a hard time meant a great deal to me. I also received a scholarship to Suffolk meaning I could actually attend. I went through a number of life changing events in a very short period of time and all during a complete lockdown when I couldn’t really leave home for weeks at a time. I didn’t feel comfortable to show off my happiness whilst the numbers of cases and deaths were rapidly increasing. Ethically it was wrong from my point of view. But now, when everything seems to be getting better and there’s a hope to win the battle with Covid-19 I’m happy to be where I am and glad to share my happy-ending story with you. -
2020-08-20
The Inner Turmoil
The pandemic has led me to often sit alone in my room for hours at a time. This type of free time and idleness has fixated my brain on the vast negativity circling around the coronavirus. From the array of mental health issues from the picture, I have been battling anxiety, stress, and panic, mostly coming from the idea of losing nearly six months of my life. I will never be 18 again, will never have these six months back of being an adolescent in my last year of high school, and will never get a chance of making my final mistakes while it is still ‘acceptable’. I have to enter adulthood without truly finishing off my adolescence. -
2020-08-17
Anonymous Oral History, 2020/08/17
This story shares my experience during COVID and how my life was different after COVID. -
2019-08-10
COVID-19 & The Media's Impact
I believe that COVID-19 has been extremely impacted by the media - specifically, social media. There have been numerous occasions where I have witnessed people argue, degrade others, and judge others about something that none of us genuinely know much on. The pandemic has been worrisome to me, but society's reaction has worried me more than anything. The media has been informative as far as preventive measures to lower the risk of spreading the virus, but it has also caused unnecessary stress to a lot of people. -
2020-08-10
How COVID-19 Affected Me in 2020
2020 started off just like any other year. I was gearing up for my last on campus semester and continuing my job search for when I graduated. This was the year that I told myself that everything was going to fall into place. This was going to be the year that I found an apartment by myself, bought myself a new car, find my career, and get financially stable. Then i started hearing about the Coronavirus across seas, and I did not think much of it. I did not think that it would result in me being unemployed at age 22 and as a recent (almost) college graduate. However, I think the pandemic is almost what I needed, and what a lot of people needed. All throughout college I was working one if not two jobs while going to school full-time. It was stressful and overwhelming most of the time. I had bills to pay and ambitions to fill. In March of 2020, I secured a job within the hospitality industry, thinking this was something I would be truly happy doing. About a week later, I was furloughed from that job and my serving job due to COVID-19. I took this time to focus on my studies and finish up the semester. That first week was rainy so it almost felt right. Then another week passes, and another, and another. Until finally, I started receiving unemployment. I was filled with panic through the media and refused to leave my house in fear that I was going to die if I breathed the same air as another infected person. After that, I drove to my dads house in California in a rental car. I needed to get out of my small apartment and be with family. While I was there, my stepmom gifted me with her old car as she had bought a new one. I was shocked and overwhelmed with happiness. Fast forward a couple months and my lease was ending. I was searching for studio apartments to live in but was worried I was not going to get accepted due to being unemployed. I considered moving back home to Minnesota where my mom resides and where I went to high school. This was something that I did not want to do as I had established my own life, completely independent, out in Arizona. To add another factor was that my boyfriend lives in Arizona and I did not want to move away from him but our relationship was too new to move in together. One night, as I was laying in bed crying due to the overwhelming amount of stress that took over my mind about finding somewhere to live that I could afford and that was safe, I got a text from my stepdad. He asked if I would be interested in them purchasing a condo and I would pay them rent. This was something I was not expecting and was so grateful for, as this meant I did not have to go through the application process myself. I end up finding a place and move in end of July. Three weeks prior to moving in, my boyfriend gets infected with COVID-19. Now, I felt fine. I stayed inside for two weeks waiting for symptoms to show up. 11 days after exposure to the virus, I lost my sense of smell and taste. That was the only symptom I had, but after waiting a week and a half to get my test results, they came back negative. Although I was relieved, I did not, and still do not, believe that those test results were accurate. I slept in the same bed as my boyfriend the night before he came down with COVID-19 symptoms. There was no other explanation for why I lost my sense of smell or taste. During this time period, I put my fate in the hands of God to protect me. I prayed that I would be okay, and although my panic had subsided, I knew that I could trust God. 2020 has been a very rocky road, but I have accomplished so much throughout this year and I am grateful that I was able to experience this. I still hope and pray for the people who are losing their lives and losing loved ones, but it is just a matter of time before this subsides. -
2020-08-07
The Tale of the English Major and the Plague
I have uploaded a written story about how my university adapted to the Covid Pandemic. I wanted to tell the impact it had on my academic career, my personal life, and how my professors adapted to the change. -
2020-03-04
Making Coffee During a Pandemic
I work at one of the local Starbucks in my city. It was around late February when I saw a notice at my store that told us due to the recent occurence of the disease that was being spread around China named COVID-19, we would not be allowing customers to use their own personal cups to prevent the spread of germs. At first, I was surprised that Starbucks made this decision since this has never happened before, but I figured they did it to be safe and also be respectful to the current situation that was occuring in another country but gaining news coverage in the United States. I wasn't quite aware about what COVID was, but rumors spread that a quarantine would occur and I remember being a little worried, but I told myself it was unlikely to happen. Later that week, it was announced by Starbucks via email that all employees would be given the option to take a paid leave of abscence if they were concerned about the spread of COVID. Almost every Starbucks in our city closed due to a lack of employees who were willing to work. My store was one of the only ones and I was one out of eight people who decided to stay and work. During this time, we began to wear masks while we worked, we had new, shorter store hours, and we had new cleaning tasks. Honestly, this time was very stressful at work. We all basically worked open to close which was from six in the morning until twelve in the afternoon. This may not seem like a lot, but we were severly understaffed and worked nonstop besides our few breaks. Customers were also either very upset with the situation or very understanding. We dealt with a lot of confrontations about our lobby doors being locked to having to wear masks. This went on for a total of forty-five days, in which, I continued to go to school online full-time. After that time period, more stores opened back up and the rest of our store's partners returned, but things didn't and still have not gone back to normal. Every day it seems that there is a new standard being added to our daily routines, such as the addition of a guard in between two baristas working on the espresso bars. Our lobby is still not open to customers, which causes a lot of unhappiness among our customers. Every day, however, we try to help our local neighbors and customers by giving them a sense of normalcy and a cup of coffee. -
April 11, 2020
Amazon Delivery Delays 04/11/2020
I have been ordering more from Amazon and instead of two day shipping there have been delays up to two weeks. -
2020-03
How I Got Through COVID-19
The way my basement helped me through the Coronavirus pandemic is that it served as an escape for me. My family and I made sort of a makeshift gym in my basement and here I was able to just zone out and escape all of the stress and worries COVID brought through working out. -
2020-08-04
Spencer Briscoe
When ever I get stressed out or depressed I play music on one my instruments to relax. (that or I would play video games) -
2020-08-01
The Importance of Understanding
My experience with Covid-19 and quarantine has consisted of me being anxious and confused most days. It has been a stressful, heavy burden on my mind due to the many ongoing, worldly events. This is especially true because I am an American citizen. To me, this post speaks very heavily about the message that needs to be heard by all Americans. Many people are not taking Covid-19 seriously enough and are only thinking about how Covid could affect their health and not others’ wellbeing. This screenshotted post is important to me because I believe the reason America is having such a hard time fighting this virus is because people are only thinking about themselves and how the virus affects them versus how it could affect others with different immune responses to Covid. -
April 26, 2020
Plague Journal, Day 44: Shouldering CoronaStress
I'm keeping a Covid-19 journal. Here's the latest entry, in which The Girlfriend, my sisters, brother, and mother discuss the challenges and exhaustion of doing normal things -- moving supplies from an art studio, shopping at Target, leaving a parking garage -- in an abnormal time. -
07/11/2020
J. Michael Bailey Oral History, 2020/07/11
This is an interview of J. Michael Bailey about his life during the COVID-19 pandemic. J. Michael is a high school teacher and speaks about the difficulties of distance learning. He offers his thoughts on the effects of the performing arts community, for which he is a longtime member of. J. Michael also candidly talks about be isolated with his wife and children, as well as the mental and physical stresses of unknown illnesses during this time period. -
2020-04-18
Plague Journal, Day 36: The Girlfriend and I fight
I'm keeping a Covid-19 journal. Here's the latest entry, detailing the first CoronaWorld fight with The Girlfriend and the long-awaited arrival of The Kid. -
03/21/2020
Susan Gould Oral History, 2020/03/21
Susan Gould describes her preparations for COVID-19 and what everyday life is like in a state mandated lockdown. She also explains how her employer, Menorah Park, a nursing home located in the epicenter of Ohio’s Covid-19 outbreak responded to the pandemic. -
2020-06-24
Day 3 of Homeschooling
Parents were overwhelmed with their new duties as teachers to their children. They had to do that, no matter how many kids they had and of what ages, take care of the family, get food, and hold down their jobs. It was incredibly stressful. -
2020-06-12
Racism and coronavirus add stress to already vulnerable communities
This is the third episode of the Boston Children's Museum's podcast, Big & Little, a podcast for adults about kids and families. "In this episode, Carole [Charnow} talks with Manny Lopes, the CEO of the East Boston Neighborhood Health Center and a leader in community health care, about the ways in which Boston's vulnerable communities are coping during this challenging time and how today's uncertainty offers room for positive change to come." -
2020-04-20
Dis-ease: Poetry in the Period of the Pandemic
Not a "story" in the traditional sense, these are a collection of poems that nonetheless implicitly serve as narrative/tell the story of how an aspiring writer uses the time to harness all the stress, turn it from distress into eustress to de-stress, and thereby find a strategy for survival through creative expression. In each poem, as annotation, the direct connection to COVID is described. -
2020-07-03
2020 is the wooooorrrrssst!
This pretty much sums up the year 2020. It is the worst. Pandemic, job losses, quarantine, death, murder hornets, isolation, dust clouds from Siberia, protests, police brutality, disruptions of all we know. -
2020-06-12T15:19
A Small COVID19 Letter
As a new-coming highschool student, I was really expecting to have a good fresh year and new beginnings. While we all got new beginnings, it was definitely not good ones. Instead of enjoying my first year of highschool in a normal daily setting, I was strapped to eyeing my laptop from my bed at all times, checking notifications for new work to be completed and having video conferences with my teachers. As it was all so rushed and sudden, for me it was quite an overwhelming experience. At some points I really began to stress from all the overdue and uncompleted work. It seems many people in the world think that we are all suddenly care-free with nothing to do because of this virus, but for cases like mine, that isn't true at all. The message I've put in the letter is to not take things too carelessly, because that's what I think many people in the world are doing right now. It's an important message because you never know what might happen if you don't take a little caution to things. -
2020-05-20
Essential Worker Exhaustion
A sign taped up in an unknown store window expressing the staff's frustration and asking for kindness following incidents in which customers were rude to already overworked staff. -
2020-06-01
2020
When my school was shut down on March 13, I knew that COVID-19 had impacted and spread toward the city. I immediately went into a state of panic and stress, hoping that my family and friends would be able to pull through. After talking about what to do with my parents, I did my best to stay calm and follow the safety guidelines. The state announced that people would quarantine themselves at home for the next couple months. My parents started to worry about food and other resources but we did our best to reassure that we had enough necessities. After reading the guidelines, we always wore masks and brought gloves and hand sanitizer to not only protect ourselves- but from others. During these three months of quarantine, I have been keeping up with the news about COVID-19 and continue to keep my family and others safe. -
2020-05-22
Many
The shelves are no longer empty. Everyone is less nervous or stress about the pandemic and no longer hoarding all the supplies. -
2020-05-24
I'm Fine...really
This was a hard one to share, but something I wanted to contribute. This is a photo of the aftermath from a breakdown after being frustrated from working full time, having a ton of school work to do, and not being able to leave the house other than to grocery shop. I don't tend to catch dramatics, but I felt that this caught a real moment. -
2020-05-31
"Everyone Is Cooking Right Now. Except Me."
There are plenty of people who are exploring their culinary prowess for the first time, or maybe it's a life long obsession; either way, people are showing their skills. I'm a baker, I love serving food to others and making food that will be apart of other peoples memories. Flavors are like paints to me, with the right combination you can create a masterpiece. While I'm all for seeing people cooking and baking up a storm while in quarantine, I'm more like Josh Duboff right now. I can cook and I can bake, but am I? Not unless I'm being paid to do so. While people may feel this is the perfect time to work on self-improvement, me included, that work will not look the same for every person. Some people may be working hard just getting out of bed or going to bed in the first place. Food can be a stress release for many, but for others, its a stressor. For Duboff, it's not worth the stress to cook. For me, it's my job, not my hobby. The most I've cooked (unpaid) while in quarantine is irish-oatmeal and the occasional egg sandwich because it's easy, and I can do it while sitting. Yes, the classically trained CIA graduate is not cooking or baking while in quarantine. If it doesn't come from a box or a bag, it's not happening. This is other people's time to shine in the food world; someone else can take my seat while I go get more coffee. -
2020-05-28
My Life During COVID-19
This is a short slideshow presentation of how COVID-19 affected my usual life and what I did during this pandemic. -
2020-05-25
Emotional Toll
I work at a prominent community college in California. When we first started hearing about the virus we took precautions right away in the office. First those employees over 65 were sent home to work remotely, because they were identified early on as being a risk group. Then we decided as a college to take all of the on ground classes and convert them to online for the remainder of the spring semester. Shortly after that, most all of the faculty and students were sent home to shelter in place. Those remaining were the lab classes in the industrial arts area and some CTE programs. Staff remained on campus and weeks went by as we continued to operate the college. Slowly staff were asked to work remotely from home, taking their work home with them. Division Offices remained open, as did the IT and Facility areas. The community continued to walk in the door with concerns and questions. Some of us felt we were at risk of infection, because no one really knew much about the virus at this point. I personally felt the effects of stress building. We were asked if we would like to begin working from home in mid-March by our supervisor, but there still wasn’t a directive from the District, so I was concerned. I took work home and my plants, not knowing if and when I would return, because of my age; almost 62. I worked remotely for seven days and then over the next weekend I became incapacitated, due to stress not only regarding the virus, family dynamics, elder care and stress of trying to do my work from a makeshift home office. I was out of the office for nine weeks, while my doctors prescribed slow acting medicines. I came out of my depressed state and now there are still so many things we don’t know about the virus. Besides the toll on me physically and emotionally I also saw a huge chunk of my retirement disappear, as the stock market tumbled. $40K lost out of one account alone. At my age I’ll likely never recover. I expect there will be fallout in other areas as well. While we were all wondering where we could go to buy toilet paper and disinfectant wipes, airlines were parking their planes, car rentals were parking their fleets and the housing market became a whole new game. Where will this all end up is anyone’s guess. What it has done is, the virus has been the great equalizer. Were all in this together. It knows no boundaries except that seniors appear to be the hardest hit group and are accounting for the largest percentage of deaths. On a personal note, I have not been able to meet my new grandson who was born on Mother’s Day because of Covid risk concerns my daughter has and I have to respect that and meet him over the Internet. My own Mom is 81 and will no longer accept a hug from me. It’s just sad. Dianne Nau -
2020-05-16
Living through Covid-19: 05/16/2020
This is a journal entry that specifically focuses on the transition to online learning and the practice of social distancing. -
04/21/2020
Living through Covid-19: 04/21/2020
This is a journal entry that specifically focuses on the transition to online learning and the practice of social distancing. *anonymous *This was intentionally a journal/diary entry therefore it was done through a word doc. -
04/19/2020
Living through Covid-19: 04/19/2020
This is a journal entry that specifically focuses on the transition to online learning and the practice of social distancing. *anonymous *This was intentionally a journal/diary entry therefore it was done through a word doc. -
04/07/2020
Living through Covid-19: 04/07/2020
This is a journal entry that specifically focuses on the transition to online learning and the practice of social distancing. *anonymous *This was intentionally a journal/diary entry therefore it was done through a word doc.