Items

• 
  2021-01-14

  D.C. Kept Swimming Open During the Pandemic. It May Have Saved Me.

  This is a story I wrote in Washington, D.C. in January 2021, during the pandemic, and in the immediate aftermath of the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. I had taken up swimming during the pandemic because the city happened to keep some pools open for lap swimming. This new activity brought me solace and comfort during a very difficult time for our city, our nation, and for me personally. This story captures all of this and distills it into a single poignant and emotional moment of solitude and togetherness at the end of the story.
• 
  2021-01-22

  Fish Out of Water

  Since March 2020, my life has taken a complete turn. For my past high school years, I’ve constantly been in the pool playing water polo or swimming. In an odd way, I have built a connection with the water. It’s become a part of my day, a part of my life, and I took it for granted. I thought I would get to feel the adrenaline and the nervous wreak on game days when our season came, but it never did. As someone who was always in the water and active throughout the week, it was a change of scenery when we had to stay home because of the severity of the pandemic in California. Not being able to play my sports represents my high school experience as a junior because everything feels out of place. Most of my days used to revolve around practices and games, and not being able to attend these felt strange. This might be a minor inconvenience, but this little change threw me off guard. I had to find other ways to adapt to the situation and learn how to organize my days so that they could resemble one similar to before everything happened. I’m sure there are also many others who feel very unmotivated during this time of unrest. I, too, fell into a hole where I lost motivation because there was nothing to look forward to and I feared that things would never go back to normal, but I eventually adapted to this new reality because I realized that I could not predict the future. In a way, the lockdown was an opportunity for me to improve myself and take on new hobbies I have always been interested in. I started to cook more and even tried baking!
• 2020-09-11

  Escaping the California Ashes

  On Friday,09-11-20, I left my home to head to my boyfriend’s house. The air quality was dangerous and I was excited to leave the unhealthy air. I had my bags packed and then his family and I went into the car. We drove 4+ hours past Tahoe to Reno Nevada. The air quality was better and the views were beautiful. The drive consisted of bright green trees, blue sky, fluffy clouds, and gorgeous rocks. The landscape was something that I hadn’t seen in a while. We eventually arrived into the hotel and had an agenda for the next two days. We went to Harbor Shore Beach in Tahoe and we were able to swim in the water. The water was cold but our bodies got used to it. It was so clear, we were able to see the floor, the fishes, and everything else in the water. The whole trip was so amazing it is something definitely worth writing about. I am so blessed to be able to escape the ashes and poor air quality. I was able to have a relaxing weekend while making memorable memories. While I was there I also watched two baseball games on a huge tv and was able to socialize with different parents and families. It was a great experience to be able to catch up with parents I hadn’t truly been able to talk to. The whole trip was super fun and I’m glad I made the memories I did this weekend. Corona has definitely held back many traveling opportunities for me and it was remarkable to be able to do something fun while social distancing. I have learned and this experience definitely emphasized that no matter what is in the way, you can always overcome it and find something fun to do. You must live with what you are given, and make the best of every situation.
• 
  2020-03-28

  Bass Coast: Beaches Closed

  For part of the pandemic I spent time living in the Bass Coast Shire in South Gippsland. My friends and I often like to go for walks on the beach or go swimming. When the first announcement was made on March 28, we were still allowed to do these things. However, by the time Easter came, the shire was worried about visitors and social distancing, so they closed the beaches to all people for every purpose. As much as I understood the necessity of these actions, to me the beach is a good way to get some exercise and take care of my mental health. So, naturally I was quite disappointed when the beaches were closed. HIST30060
• 
  2020-08-27

  Last day of swim class in Scottsdale

  Maya's last day of swim class at the Cactus Aquatic center. I can't imagine what it's like to wear a face mask and swim, especially once that mask gets wet. All the lifeguards and instructors wear masks. It's sometimes 117 degrees when we're sitting on the pool deck and sometimes I feel like I can't breathe in the heat. I wish I could get in the pool, but instead the parents are sidelined. Fortunately, if you're actually in the pool you don't have to wear a face mask. The last class basically involved all the kids jumping off the diving board for half an hour. Were they social distanced? No, but I think we're all leveraging some sort of invisible balance where we try to be careful, but try to keep some activities/normalcy going in our kids' lives. Our next class starts in two weeks and I hope it's cooler. Maya graduated from the guppies class to sea turtles.
• 
  2020-08-06

  Pandemic causing more drowning deaths on open water, say experts

  "A drowning prevention expert says the COVID-19 pandemic and Ottawa's record-hot July have both contributed to shifts in where people are getting into trouble on the water — and it might be time to change safety messaging. There has been a string of recent drownings in Ottawa, and officials say the vast majority of them are occurring in open water, not at backyard swimming pools or supervised beaches." "'That's why we're seeing a lot of river drownings. [It's] because of it being so hot, and accessibility to the pools is restricted,' said Wagg, noting municipal pools can only operate at about one-sixth capacity because of COVID-19 restrictions."
• 
  07/25/2020

  Anonymous Child Oral History, 2020/07/25

  Shanna Gagnon interviews an anonymous 8 year old girl about the COVID-19 pandemic. She explains her initial reaction to learning about COVID-19. Anonymous describes how the pandemic has impacted her daily life. She discusses how her family and friends are responding to COVID-19. She talks of the things that are important to and worrying people right now. Anonymous details the most difficult parts of the pandemic for her. She shares how COVID-19 is impacting local businesses and schools. She also discusses how she thinks life will be different moving forward and includes her thoughts on vacations and milestone celebrations, such as Halloween and birthdays.
• 
  05/13/2020

  Sam Hauke Oral History, 2020/05/13

  Sam Hauke, a high school senior, initially learned about covid 19 from online memes and jokes, then saw it come to the US and started to take it more seriously. Sam then talks about online school experience and how there is almost no live interaction with the teachers and that they just watch videos and this isn’t the best way to learn. Sam stays connected with friends via online games and zoom meetups. He also describes the challenge of having to seek another job as his usual summer jobs were pool related and the pools are all closed. Sam describes that a positive of the pandemic for him has been that it has brought his family closer and that other people have been spending more time in nature. Sam then talks about how he gets most of his information about covid from one of his friends and from advertisements and commercials on social media. Lastly, Sam describes how he feels he took for granted hanging out with friends and will spend lots of time with them when the pandemic is over.
• 
  2020-06-26

  Neighborhood Pool visit

  Our neighborhood pool just reopened. I had to make a reservation online for our family for an hour session. Our family had our own swim lane assigned by a lifeguard and they staggered our entry in and out of the pool so we didn’t get too close to others. 5 families max in the pool. 2 lifeguards and 1 COVID-19 monitor. The kids had fun but it’s hard to see life being lived so differently for them.
• 
  2020-06-25

  The Sound of Silence: COVID Summer 2020

  On June 24, 2020, the city of Wichita, Kansas, announced that it would not open any of the city's municipal water parks, splash pads, or swimming pools for the duration of the summer. Pools like west Wichita's Harvest Park, shown here, would normally be teeming with people on hot summer days, but COVID-19 defied public health officials' predictions of a summer remission, with case numbers surging across the South and Central Plains. Kansas suffered an influx of summer COVID infections due in part to a politically-driven, decentralized re-opening plan that devolved authority to county commissions and local officials, while relegating what had once been mandatory state executive orders to mere "suggestions." With Kansas and surrounding states grappling with widespread illnesses, the summer of 2020 was marked by empty pools and filling hospitals.
• 2020-05-31

  Quarantine Life

  This quarantine experience has been interesting to deal with. Ever since the stay at home order was issued, I haven't been doing much at home. While I still have school and a few other stuff, I can't do much. I was looking forward to swim season to start because, well I love swimming. I was able to go to practice for about a month until the school closed. We were only able to play a few games against ourselves and had one home game. I was pretty bummed that we didn't have an away game, but it's better than getting exposed to the virus. Am I disappointed that the swim season ended? Yes. If I was a senior I would be pretty bummed out about that, but since I'm not, then hopefully maybe next year. Going back to staying at home all I've been doing is doing schoolwork, chores, and some games. Fun right. I would try to go outside, but I'm not sure if I want to. But there was something that I needed to do and that was to study for my AP exams. Since this year's AP exams were going to be online and were an open note, I didn't know how I was supposed to study. About a month before the exam I was questioning how I would study, but with some help with my teachers, I was able to find a way until the day of the exam. I was scared because I felt like I wasn't ready and also scared that my score wouldn't be submitted and I'd have to take it again in June. But to my surprise, I feel like I did fine (not the best, but good enough for me). Honestly, nothing, as changed for me since even before the stay at home order, was issued I was already inside. However, I enjoyed the feeling that I was able to go somewhere and that I wasn't forced to stay home 24/7. I know that things won't go back to normal right away (even with the vaccine) and everyone's lives are going to be effective, but we will all be waiting that all of this will be over.
• 
  2020-05-31

  Staying In Shape

  Because of social distancing guidelines, many pools are closed. This forced many competitive swimmers like me to get creative in order to stay fit. In this photo, I am practicing in a pool with a cord suspending me because my backyard pool is less than half the length of the pool I usually practice in. As fortunate as I am to have a backyard pool, many other competitive swimmers who do not have access to a pool have to make the best of their resources in order to stay in shape. When pools begin opening up again and competitions start taking place, competitive swimmers have to be prepared to return and race other swimmers although they have been dealt different resources and advantages or disadvantages.
• 
  2020-05-09

  A Loss of Words for a Season That Barely Started

  This year was supposed to be my third year in swim season. Being in varsity swim since freshman year, I've always looked up to give everything I got in my races and maybe even try to break at least one record by my senior year. With COVID-19 cancelling our entire season of swim, I was shocked in many ways because I have never expected the sport I'm passionate about to be cancelled. Not only was this tragic, but also all the hard work that I put into to make CIF 2020 went down the drain. I don't even have a pool in my backyard and when the pool opens back up again, I will be as sluggish as ever. COVID-19 affected my physical abilities in general and as I attempt to exercise with different methods besides swimming such as the popular Chloe Ting's workout, I barely saw any result and gained 7 lbs in the process. Thank you COVID-19 for ruining my swim experience.
• 
  2020-05-31T08:58

  What covid 19 has made me feel and lost...

  So in the begging of the covid 19 we didn’t take it serious well I didn’t i felt this was going to blow over in a couple of weeks and we would be able to go back to school like if nothing happened. I never expected for the virus to explode the way it did. It has prevented me on finishing my first track season it has prevented me from going to see friends and family it has prevented me to go and learn and celebrate in school, and all this has me really conflicted i mean i know I’m not the only one but I’m frustrated that i can’t go out and live my best life, i can cant go and do hands on learning, i cant see my future as i did before i have been having some trouble learning everything is just crazy in the world right now.
• 
  2020-05-13

  Swimming on Zoom?

  I felt that there was nothing that made today stand out. I woke up really late. (Which seems to be the usual) I ate a cupcake and porridge. After that I did my schoolwork for the day. I am almost done with 7th grade! I then did my entire normal workout routine. I didn’t work out yesterday because it was my sister’s fifth birthday. I am so tired after taking only one day off. On the other hand, my mom and grandmother got me new running shoes since my other ones were giving me blisters. We ate Costco pizza for lunch. I had to eat fast since I had a scheduled Zoom meeting with my swimming coach to attend to. The meeting was about the Commencement Address by Admiral William H. McRaven. I also read his book a while ago. My coach, I, and other kids on my team my age talked about ten things you need to do if you want to change the world as discussed by Admiral McRaven. I also ate dinner, read a little, watched a little TV, and did more schoolwork. I am tired.
• 
  2020-03-25

  Apartment Pool Closure

  Tempe, Arizona. Apartment complex - Green Leaf Tempe Station.