Items

• 
  2021-12

  Plastic Dividers

  The plastic dividers were and are an integral part of COVID. My high school's cafeteria had them and it made it hard to hear my friends when we were conversing. Like this TikTok post I saw awhile ago, it reminded me of how it separated me from the customers at my job around a year ago. The dividers were made to keep people safer from COVID-19 even when at a close distance from each other. However, one time when I was at work, the sliding doors to the entrance were open, and it was so windy outside one day that the wind blew the plastic divider onto my back when I was turned around bagging an item for a customer. I have a personal grudge against those things now.
• 
  2020-03-12

  Little Did We Know

  This is a Tik Tok video from my sister’s account of her documenting the day we were sent home from school. In the video, she’s telling her viewers that school has been cancelled for three weeks, due to the rise in COVID-19 cases across the globe. This video says a lot about the pandemic, because personally I felt that the closing of schools and businesses for the sake of quarantine was a really defining moment of the pandemic. There haven’t been many moments/ pandemics in history that have provoked the closing of institutions, so the fact that this happened says a lot about the magnitude of the situation. This personal account also says a lot about the pandemic, because similarly to my sister in the video, at the beginning of COVID-19 many people were scared and unaware of how long this pandemic would ensue. I feel this video captures her reaction very well.
• 2020-03-06

  Senior to Sophomore

  It was the Friday before Spring Break. Senior year, everyone is joyful with big plans to get out of the harsh Arizona sun. Rumors of a flu-like virus spreading in China were heard but never hit mainstream media which meant, not our problem. I was helping out at our school's Volleyball tournament that day, listening to the new Lil Uzi album that was hyped for so many years, life simply could not get any better. I had secured a good scholarship for college and was nearing the end of my last semester of highschool without a doubt in my mind, but it all changed so quickly. No one knew that would be the last time I saw my graduating class, that I would never have a traditional graduation, that our final plans for the last day of school were all worthless. I still remember the day as if it never ended, the day when everything in my life went upside down and the world was sent into a mass state of panic and depression. Seeing friends was near impossible as everyone was scared of what may happen outside. So many people that I graduated with and interacted with every single day, gone, never to be seen or heard from again. Though Arizona did at first avoid most lockdowns and mask mandates, luckily many people still took the necessary precautions. The first lockdown was possibly the most eventful and enjoyable as everyone was in the same idle and confused state with nothing to do and no aim as for where to go. The rise of a new app called TikTok took the world by storm and provided entertainment for everyone. It was a new place for everyone to connect and share ideas and surely enough, society was instantly hooked. It was the beginning of the new online semester of schooling alongside the second wave of lockdown here that truly began the depressive wave on all students. Many students, as well as I, still to this today are struggling to stay focused in online schooling and this meant very poorly educated and depressed students for over a year. No amount of aid from teachers or staff could cure this lack of socialization and the sole ability to make friends and connections that is required in schools. All of a sudden, fast forward from the middle of my senior year of high school to Sophomore year at university, life has done a full 360 and social interaction is a foreign language. Masks are required so no one knows who is who and friend groups are only for those that pertained throughout the pandemic.
• 
  2020-08-10

  Working hard on Covid

  A comic strip about Covid-19
• 
  2022-04-26

  The world seen inside out

  During the pandemic, I felt isolated from everyone. I didn't know how much of that impact that could have brought me. There are things that helped me from that loneliness which is a contributing factor to many people I know. That factor, being Tiktok. The whole world has a sense of unity when posting on social media, but like the picture I added, it is like being inspected under a lense. Many people have received fame and glory from the app. They have a sense of belonging and that gives them power to wield us into thinking the same way they do. I don’t think they are even aware of the power they hold over a crowd. This is similar to Tumblr and the way it led a whole group of people to dislike each other. TikTok has brought interesting ways of bringing people together. It taught a plethora of people about different religions and culture. This is by introducing us with different foods, clothing and traditions. In the beginning people were mad, of course deeming it as ‘cultural appropriation’. Now that changed, and people are shifting to calling it ‘cultural appreciation’. I think if you are not insulting a whole religion or don’t intend to and you like something it’s fine to use, wear or eat. I’m Mexican and Catholic and if someone were to ask me questions of both I would be happy to answer them questions and I wouldn’t care if they ate the food I ate, if anything it’s a good thing. I realized how much people take a lot of things to heart, and I do it too. I’m still learning how to not let the little things get to me. However with religion/culture I don’t think anyone is out to get each other. If anything it makes me happy to see people being curious and exploring new ways of living.
• 
  2022-04-07

  Corrupt Vaccines

  This is an Instagram post by dswlaura1. This post shows a TikTok video, with hashtags as a description. The tags refer to things like the Ottawa Freedom Convoy, which has been a massive ongoing protest against vaccine mandates in Canada. Other tags include references to "The Great Reset", which is a conspiracy theory that the pandemic was created in order to make people more subservient to elites in power, while losing both their money and freedoms in the process. "Agenda 2030" is another conspiracy theory where it was established that 2030 will be the official "end" to the virus, along with other things.
• 
  2020-02-01

  Ioana Juravlea's Experience

  I remember when I had just finished school on an early February day and I went to Whole Foods before going to work to buy some lunch. I was watching Tik TOks on how bad the disease was spreading in China and how they were building makeshift hospitals to handle it. As I waited to checkout I thought to myself and was hit with a rush of fear. I called my then boyfriend and asked him if we were being ignorant by trying to ignore what was happening. Shortly after that I watched another video with a deeper explanation and the person states, " These are the good times, everything is about to change for the worst." Although I was scared, I could not ever imagine how bad it would actually get.
• 
  2022-02-06

  Tik Tok usage

  This website shows how much Tik Toks Ratings went up during the pandemic while people were confined to their homes. Tik Tok started many trends over the last couple years and became a national platform around the world to post things like art, music, memes, craft, beauty, inspiration, cooking, education, and entertainment. This was known around the world as a creative outlet for millions of people during a sad period in time.
• 
  2020-04

  How Stuffed Peppers Kept Me From Killing My Roommates

  In March of 2020, I had just turned 22. I was prepping to graduate from Loyola University Chicago and searching for a job in journalism — a notoriously tough field to start out in, pandemic or not. The virus started spreading, and the jobs started disappearing. Chicago, my once-vibrant home where people scattered like ants as the CTA trains screeched into the station, was deserted. It was eerie. The internet was swarming with newly viral recipes: banana bread, sourdough starters, homemade pizzas. I wasn't interested in those, they didn't strike my fancy. In a time of severe isolation for most, I was stuck with roommates. Don't get me wrong, we had our issues. The dishes were almost never done, and we disagreed on whose responsibility they were. But in my boredom, I took up cooking, and for once I didn't mind cooking for them as well. I was one of many COVID-induced chefs who began as amateurs and blossomed into connoisseurs that rivaled the best of takeout menus. The only problem was, I'm a vegetarian, and my roommates are born-and-bred Midwesterners, set in their ways of eating and enjoying meat at nearly every meal. But by April, I had sprung head-first into a phase of cooking stuffed peppers several times a week, and they had followed me down the rabbit hole. There were no disagreements about whether to put meat in the filling or not — we didn't need it, there was enough flavor and protein regardless. And the dishes were always done, somehow without a single argument or passive-aggressive slam of a door. The peppers were fun and colorful, Instagram-worthy in a time that lacked almost anything visually intriguing. They became a source of collaboration instead of the division that had seeped in through our 100-year-old Chicago apartment's walls, a result of being trapped with no one but each other for weeks on end. It's superstitious, maybe, but I think these peppers may have saved us from severing our relationship forever. We mended our fracturing friendships and became a family once again, eating dinner together and making sure the kitchen was clean.
• 
  2020-03-06

  It was supposed to be a week

  I was at my grandmas house with my siblings because my parents had work that day and needed someone to watch us. I was watching tik tok when our phones buzzed. I was in a cushy white lazy boy chair with a white throw blanket wrapped around me. The email detailed that we would get an extra week of spring break. We were so happy we got an extra couple days of break thinking we’d go back after a week or two. While this email isn’t the exact email they sent us that told us they were extending spring break, it shows how we were supposed to have a normal spring break. There was only supposed to be one week of spring break, but now I know the exact spot where I was sitting when the world nearly fell apart.
• 
  04/18/2021

  Morgan Ward Oral History, 2021/04/18

  C19OH
• 
  2020-02-05

  Supalonely- A Lonely Hit

  Supalonley by BENEE is a song that rose to prominence on social media platform Tik Tok. In 2020 when millions of people were in lockdown with little to do, sites like Tok Tok saw their userbases skyrocket. This had a colossal effect on the music industry, as songs that became trends on Tik Tok could easily transfer that success to the charts. This was the experience of Supalonley. The song's snarky self-depreciation appealed to the young generation on Tik Tok who used it as a catharsis for the youth they were losing, and this popularity propelled it to mainstream success. The music video, set mostly in a suburban house, was also a familiar setting for people in lockdown. HIST30060
• 
  2021-07-06

  Covid Testing the Potatoes

  Humor with temperature testing during Covid-19 pandemic.
• 
  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.
• 
  2020-06-20

  Quarantine Bingo

  I created this art journal page in June of 2020. It's a bingo card and each square represents an aspect of the pandemic, from popular shows at the time to trends to ways our lives changed.
• 
  2021-05-25

  Being 16/17 in a Pandemic

  This is my life during the pandemic in the United States which on personal experiences and reactions that I and those closest to me went through.
• 
  2020-08-08

  Positivity Throughout a Pandemic

  I submitted a story of my life during the pandemic and the positives that I have decided to focus on when looking back on this past year.
• 
  2021-04

  Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey takes over Twitter

  Everyone is obsessing over this one specific golden snub-nosed monkey on Twitter. Why? Don't ask some things are just better left to be enjoyed than questioned. I definitely have felt a million times better after discovering this specific species of monkey (it is very wonderful and charismatic in a strange way).
• 
  2024-01-26

  Tiktok about Internet Outage/Site Outages

  This tiktok is from an individual showing several site outages/internet connectivity issues across multiple major sites. The caption indicates that he was trying to complete his work when faced with this issue. He is utilizing a site that indicates which sites are down which is shown in the video.
• 
  2021-03-11

  Tiktok Skit about Internet outage

  This short video from Tiktok is about an individual dealing with internet issues and being frustrated about connectivity issues. It seems in part to be satirical as he unplugs and plugs the modem back in.
• 
  2021-01-05

  masks at the gym

  Working out is something very important to me and with the pandemic going on I see many people wearing masks incorrectly so I made this funny tiktok to show how dumb people look when they dont wear their mask correctly in the gym.
• 
  2021-02-22

  #JOTPYLesson from Tina

  #JOTPYLesson I learned that quarantine is a great time to pick up a hobby. I didn’t start drinking coffee everyday until quarantine. Now every morning I have a cup of coffee to look forward to. I try to think of a new recipe every morning. I can’t believe this all started because of the dalgona whipped coffee trend on TikTok! And shoutout to my friends for gifting me a lovely Keurig!!☕️🍵 @zafinasinha @avi.puppala @shaantala @tahs.in @jake.dallman
• 2020-03-05

  Quarantine Brand Reviews: Dunkin' Donuts

  I did not discover Dunkin' Donuts until the summer of 2021. I was never fond of their donuts, so I never paid much attention to them. It was only until the rise of TikTok that I found out Dunkin' sold coffee as well. Although, I did hear about Dunkin' Donuts changing their name to just Dunkin'. It is safe to say that I have visited Dunkin' more during the pandemic than I ever have in my lifetime. Even pre-pandemic, I have never dined-in at Dunkin'. Dunkin's drive-thru service provides a very speedy exchange. The issue with Dunkin's is that they lack consistency. Depending on the location's training, the quality of the drink can certainly be a gamble at times. It is safe to say that speed is the priority of Dunkin' Donuts. I have never been in a line at Dunkin' Donuts. A drink can be in your hands after ordering in less than a minute. As for quality, I would say that it is very decent at its affordable price point. Dunkin is an establishment that I frequent often during the pandemic. It is less wait than Starbucks, and cheaper. The short lead times allow for an easy and quick coffee run. My friends and I love going for a sweet coffee treat. In fact, the highlight of our first pandemic summer was getting Dunkin' donuts iced coffees together and catching up. The service was quick, so we did not have to interact much with the employees.
• 2021-02-12

  Pandemic Brand Reviews: Starbucks

  During the pandemic, I have noticed that my local Starbucks drive-thru lines are still long, maybe even longer than before. Even during odd hours, like 5-6pm, when people are usually eating dinner. This has been happening even before companies stopped doing work from home. I wonder if some of the people in the lines are bored teenagers like me who just want something to do, and maybe a little social interaction. It could also have to do with TikTok, where people share their favorite Starbucks orders. It seems like every week there is a new Starbucks trend that people have to try. It is interesting to see how the pandemic has affected consumer behavior.
• 
  2021-01-29

  Bridgerton: The Musical

  While the pandemic has prevented live performances from taking place, it has not stopped musicals from being written. Based on the Netflix hit show “Bridgerton,” two young musicians, Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, have written a musical together, which they shared on TikTok. It quickly went viral, starting with a couple songs before expanding into an entire score, and it quickly gained followers and supporters who loved the songs and even posted videos of themselves singing along. The future is unknown for this musical, but it is inspiring to see how young composers and performers are still finding artistic outlets despite being unable to perform in a theater at the moment.
• 
  2020-12-15

  No, COVID-19 vaccines don’t contain Satan’s microchips (and other scary conspiracy theories aren’t true either)

  The article addresses four of the main COVID-19 vaccine conspiracies as well as expert opinions about them.
• 2021-01-22

  Symptoms

  Thankfully no one too close to me or myself have had covid. Some of my dad's friends have gotten covid, probably because they're way older than my friends. My dad's really close friend had to go to the ER because his lungs weren't working correctly and his other friend died of covid, I guess that's a symptom. On tiktok a challenge going around if you had covid was to eat a bunch of random things. This was because losing your taste was one of the symptoms of covid. Some people who had covid didn't even have any symptoms, but they still carried the deadly virus.
• 
  2021-01-21

  The Clock App

  In a time where life went from full speed to a sudden pause, I felt like I was just standing in the middle of chaos and confusion. Prior to Covid, TikTok was seen as just an app for adolescence. However, to me it was bigger than that it was a communicate freely your comments, concerns, escape from reality. In a world full of darkness, this brought laughter to many faces. It is an outlet that felt like you were hanging out with your best friends. TikTok was the light in my life, being able to connect with so many people when that was stripped from us.
• 2021-01-21

  Symptoms of Covid-19

  Personally, I do not know anybody who has gotten COVID-19 super well. The closest person who was in my life the most before he got diagnosed is my amazing history teacher, Mr. Newman. Thankfully, the risk is very low that we got the virus from him. We sit behind plexi-glass, sanitize our hands, clean our desks, and stay six feet away. Mr. Newman and his family are hanging in there. He is currently teaching from zoom and we have a super cool camera that goes 360 degrees around the classroom. It is called an owl camera. It zooms in on whoever is talking and makes virtual learners and teachers feel like they are actually in the classroom. Mr. Newman is well enough to be on zoom, however I can imagine that he probably does not feel great. I've seen some posts on a huge social media app called TikTok about symptoms of COVID-19. People of all ages, mostly teenagers, post comedy, dancing, informative, and pointless videos for everyone to see. People have talked about loosing taste and smell, coughing, and even more severe symptoms. Many who have permanent taste-loss from COVID-19 have tried a Jamaican remedy that helps people regain taste. You burn an orange until it is charred on a gas-lit fire stove. Then you peel it and eat the insides. If I get COVID-19 in the future and loose taste, I defiantly want to try making it. My great aunt passed away from COVID-19. She was not really a part of my life. I don't remember her at all. Her husband also tested positive and was hospitalized, however he recovered with some lung damage. My immediate family and I have been very careful which I believe is the reason why we have gotten minimal COVID-19 exposure and no familial positive tests. I am very thankful that we are all healthy.
• 
  2020-06-16T12:12:08

  The Quarantine Life

  Tiktok has made a pretty big impact on my life throughout quarantine and my junior year. I got to watch videos and see new trends everyday. Whenever I was feeling down or bored I would resort to tiktok as an escape. I think seeing videos on cooking, music, etc. really helped changed my perspective of life and influenced me into cooking and listening to new music. Although, junior year so far has been difficult and stressful, Tiktok is still my escape from all the piled up school work and to feel like I am connected with the world.
• 
  2020-11-10

  Made the worst discovery of my life

  Woman works with covid patients and wakes up one morning to discover she can no longer smell. In the video she goes around the house trying to smell different items. Her face becomes more distraught as she realizes she is not smelling anything. This is a popular Tic Tok video type right now. Many people's first sign that something is amiss is the loss of smell and taste.
• 
  2020-12-01

  Funny, First dose of vaccine side effects

  @vivi.karkasi enters her home after getting her first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. She notices some funny side effects.
• 
  2020-12-24

  Brother Says He Lost His Taste To Covid-19

  Funny video by Makenzie McClure on Tic Tok. She says her brother claims to be unable to taste anything due to Covid-19. So she makes him what looks like a pumpkin pie, but she uses beans instead of pumpkin. Yikes! If this isn't sibling love I don't know what is!
• 
  2020-01-01

  Ratatouille: the TikTok Musical

  TikTok, an extremely popular social media app that allows users to upload short videos, never fails to showcase creativity. From dances to trends to recipes and more, it seems there is no limit to what its users can create. One of the most seemingly ridiculous examples of this is the “Ratatousical,” now formally known as “Ratatouille: the TikTok Musical.” User Emily Jacobsen began what became a viral movement by posting a short song she made up about the main character of the Disney/Pixar film Ratatouille, and it quickly picked up momentum. Soon more people began writing songs for the characters of the movie, choreographing dances, and designing sets for what became a very detailed crowd-sourced musical. Many joked that it needed to go to Broadway once Broadway reopened, and shared their dream cast for the show, posting song covers and orchestrations for the show. Due to the massive popularity it gained on TikTok, many official Broadway-related and Disney pages and websites began referencing the original song, playing along with the idea of this musical. Much to everyone’s surprise, on December 9, 2020, it was announced that an official virtual production of the show would be presented by Seaview Productions on January 1, 2021, featuring the original songs shared on TikTok with full orchestrations and Broadway actors performing them. The concert benefited The Actors Fund, a charity supporting workers in the performing arts and entertainment, and starred Titus Burgess (of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt fame) as Remy. Through the sale of virtual tickets and donations, over $2 million was raised for the Actors Fund because of this show, which was met with overwhelming positivity. All of the original creators of the songs featured were compensated and praised, and the collaborative effort brought joy and excitement to performing arts workers and fans alike. What seemed like a silly trend on TikTok quickly brought together hundreds of thousands of people, allowing them to share in what brings them happiness even when still separated due to the pandemic. The money raised through this project will go on to support those who have been out of work from the closure of theatres and the entertainment industry, which has led countless numbers of individuals to be out of work since early in the pandemic. This effort to collaborate and create allowed individuals to return to the feeling of community and support often felt in the performing arts and provided a creative outlet for many. While nothing feels quite the same as seeing a musical live and in person, it is inspiring to know that the performing arts community is alive and well, even in the midst of a pandemic. If you haven’t checked it out, I’d highly recommend it. Here’s to Remy, the rat of all our dreams.
• 2020-09-14

  Remote Learning

  I had stared virtual learning with a good mindset... I would get to be home all day, have no homework, and do whatever I wanted to. I very quickly realized that was not the case, I was occupied with siblings and pets all day, had at least double the work, and spent most of my day on a device. Honestly online school has been horrible. I resorted to social media as my only distraction, I would scroll through TikTok for hours; I related to a lot of creators which brought me some hope that I wasn't the only one with the feeling of drifting away from society, but the second I put my phone down it all came fooding back. Eventually this new lifestyle was normalized and I was numb. If I had to name this chapter of my childhood, it would be loop. Every single day was the exact same pointless routine, I was wasting my life almost. I have learned a lot learning remotely, and am in a way grateful, but also disappointed, yet still very confused about my final take on things. I changed a lot, but I think for the better. Lost and made friendships. Cried and laughed both a great amount of times. Felt nothing. Felt everything.
• 
  2021-01-17

  Some of my Favorite Things

  These are 5 of my favorite things to do and use during this pandemic to facilitate some self-care and stimulate my brain while being stuck at home.
• 
  2021-01-12

  First Assumptions

  So, the first thing I heard to be the cause of the virus was because of someone eating a bat. A BAT!!! I thought that the person that did it went cookoo for coco pops or something because of all things they could've eating it was a bat! I guess he wanted to be like Ozzy Osborne or something. "Surprisingly", it was just a false rumor but at the time it was all over TikTok (probably the most popular social media out there now) and people where making memes and jokes about it too that were hilarious! A lot of people believed it but i'm not so sure what made them think that. All in all, it was just a very odd assumption that really got people talking.
• 2021-01-12

  What I think started Covid-19

  I dont really know the exact reasoning because I myself dont really watch the news and even if i did there is to much fake news that i see on tiktok and what other people tell me. I have heard rumors that vary from someone at a bat that they put the virus into and i have also heard rumors like it was made by people kinda like a sabotage so i cant really know what the real one is. If you look it up its says that the bat one is rights but no one will really know whats real and whats fake.
• 2021-01-11

  COVID-19:first occurences

  It was a cool, crisp, Monday morning. January 13, 2020. I remember the day so clear that I could recall it in deep detail. I had just returned to school a few days prior. I went on my new iPhone 11, which I had just received as a Christmas present, and began texting friends. I soon went onto an app called TikTok, went onto the for you page. There was lots of silly videos. Then, suddenly, I saw a video joking about some virus in China. But it was in China!! So for away. I thought it would never make it to America. I began researching it but time was limited. I thought it was just a regular virus, I doubted it wound affect me. I quickly ate an English Muffin with creamy apricot jelly and butter on top. I got in the cary and talked to my mom on the way to school. "Mom," I muttered as my brother sat silently in the front seat while I was in the back seat of the Prius, "what is this corona thing I heard about?". MY mom breathed out harshly and then back in. She promised me that it was just a little virus in China and that everything would be okay. We hugged goodbye, little did I know that in a few months, she would be the one of the only people I could hug. Then I went to school and said hello to my friends. To be completely honest, there was one of them that was not super kind to me, for privacy's sake, we are going to call her Bailey. I asked my not so friendly friend, Bailey if the had heard about Corona (which was the slang everyone was using to refer to it). "Ya duh!" she replied, "It's a huge virus that China created!". I was not interested in starting conspiracies. Then I went to class and my mind continued spinning for the rest of the day.
• 
  2020-12-10

  Connecting Past COVID-19: #8

  On this professor’s birthday, students hold up hand-made signs thanking him and wishing him a happy birthday during their Zoom class. He expresses that “this is the most wonderful present.”
• 
  2020-12-10

  Connecting Past COVID-19: #7

  This professor is in complete shock when her students hold up signs thanking her during their Zoom class.
• 
  2020-12-10

  Connecting Past COVID-19: #6

  The students of this class cry alongside their professor when he explains his gratitude for this act of kindness. He states that “this is something that [he] will definitely recall forever.”
• 
  2020-12-10

  Connecting Past COVID-19: #5

  In this class, the professor had stayed up with his students late each night preparing for their final exam. After they show him the signs they made to thank him, he is completely speechless.
• 
  2020-12-02

  Connecting Past COVID-19: #4

  This was the first time when all the students of this class had their camera off, and when their professor suspected something he was surprised by the signs of thanks they held up to their camera. He claims that this act was “the nicest thing ever.”
• 
  2020-12-03

  Connecting Past COVID-19: #3

  When this professor’s students hold up signs for him on camera in their Zoom classroom, he is more excited to see their faces for the first time after they had kept their cameras off all semester.
• 
  2020-12-04

  Connecting Past COVID-19: #2

  The professor of this class is not sure whether her students’ cameras are off intentionally or if she had made a mistake. She is subsequently surprised by her students holding “We love you” signs, saying she loves them back and asking to take a screenshot.
• 
  2020-12-09

  Connecting Past COVID-19: #1

  At first, the professor of this class thought that he had done something wrong when all of his students’ cameras were turned off on Zoom. He then thought it might be a new cool trend. He was surprised and emotional when his students surprised him with hand-made signs showing their thanks.
• 
  2020-10-15

  Vampire Weekend’s “Campus” TikTok trend

  For many in gen Z, TikTok has become a form of escape during the quarantine. The range of content on the app means there is something for everyone and really allows anyone to find a niche. Towards the beginning of the semester, one of the big trends on the app was to show clips of your college/university set to the song “Campus” by vampire weekend. For many, this was a reaction to the fact we are missing out on a significant part of our young adulthood, actually being at college and on campus. Many people also did the trend in a different way, showing clips of their house or apartment, which has become their campus. I decided to take my own spin on it, and take clips whenever I found myself doing schoolwork in cool spots. The college experience looks very different for everyone right now, but I think it is fair to say that my generation has struggled with the fact that we are losing out on time that we will not get back. Adults who are in the middle of their careers might not be having a great time, but by and large, they are not missing out on much other than their normal routine, but that feels much more significant to college students, who only have four years at their school and so have lost off on basically a quarter of their undergrad experience
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  2020-12-16

  Team Things During Pandemic

  Our coaches asked the team to take a video of ourselves doing something with a softball. TikTok is a huge app in our generation and it is filled with popular videos and people. It is a very significant part of this generation's history and we wanted to be a part of that by creating this video and posting to our social media pages, along with TikTok. Within the video, one of my teammates is cleaning the softball with disinfectant spray which is what life has come to during the pandemic and that is what softball teams were doing during the summer. This video shows our team coming together during the pandemic and still somehow being a team during this crazy time. This is an object that an archivist can collect that relates directly to our generation along with an authentic view of Suffolk softball. As an archivist, they look for authenticity and unique objects that have meaning which is what this object represents.
• 
  2020-12-10

  Nurses in 2020

  I think this is an important combination of sources depicting nurses at the beginning of this pandemic, in comparison to how they feel now. My sister, a nurse at a hospital in Los Angeles, California, sent this photo of her to me on March 21st, 2020, smiling and feeling good. 9 months later, she is exhausted, scared, and still working around the clock to help her patients. I think this collection item both demonstrates how significant social media has been with my generation under COVID, as well as being something of interest for future historians to see how devastating the year of 2020 has been. This video of her got 193.3K views on the TikTok app, showing how many people are using the app and watching videos surrounding COVID-19.