Items

• 
  2020-10-31

  Socially Distanced Halloween

  This image shows Xs marked in tape on a sidewalk outside a brownstone in Park Slope, Brooklyn. The owner(s) of the home marked the spot for each child to should stand in order to remain socially distanced when trick-or-treating.
• 
  2021-06-30

  (HIST30060) French Impressionism Exhibition at the NGV

  Before Melbourne went back to its fifth round of lockdowns, a friend and I bought tickets for an exhibition on French Impressionism at the National Gallery of Victoria. It was an absolutely amazing feeling, not only just being out of the house but also being able to see these famous paintings which I've only seen images of online previously up close. While nowhere near an expert on art or art history myself, my experience in working in a museum and putting together a small exhibition earlier in the year made me appreciate the carefully curated exhibition.
• 
  2021-10-09

  Graduation 2020

  For my graduation ceremony in the summer of 2020, my school only allowed the students to attend the ceremony without bringing friends or family to watch the ceremony. Instead, my school decided to do a LIVE broadcast of the ceremony through their page on Facebook and their channel on YouTube. With that being said, my graduation party was kept small since this was midsummer. Through this, I was not able to bring my friends and family to campus for the ceremony in order to share with them that experience.
• 
  2021-08-16

  False Promises?

  After 20 years of bloodshed, the Us military forces withdrew from Afghanistan, leaving it under Taliban rule. The departure was followed by a , two week process of which more than 120,000 people tried to evacuate (Council of Foreign Affairs, "The US War in Afghanistan" The tweet depict the heartbreaking images of crowds of people trying to cling to the sides of Us military planes at the Kabul airport and tweets from US civilians sympathizing with the troubles overseas.
• 
  2020-08-15

  Mario-themed, socially distanced birthday party

  Like so many other children, we were unable to have a birthday party for my son when he turned 5. The COVID numbers were rapidly rising in Tucson last August and it would just be too unsafe to have people together to celebrate. In order to still plan something special, I made a Mario-themed scavenger hunt around town for my son so he could still see some family and friends. I made a bunch of Toads and hid clues inside and made masks of different characters, such as Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Donkey Kong, etc. Starting at our house, the Toad on our front porch had a clue for my son, telling him that he had stolen his birthday present and to get it back he'd have to solve the clues. This led us from house to house, where my son would search for another Toad and another clue, while our family and friends pretended to be the different characters using the masks. Staying outside, they were all able to wish him happy birthday and hand off a birthday present. In the end, my son solved all the clues and Toad "returned" his birthday present back at our house, which was a Nintendo Switch (which was itself difficult to purchase at this time because there was such high demand with limited supply). While it wasn't a traditional birthday party, it ended up being a lot of fun and something that he still talks about. We were able to record clips of his different stops and put it together in a short video. The pandemic really made us have to rethink how we celebrate birthdays but in some cases it created unique experiences that were even more special.
• 
  2021-10

  A fitness lovers life during a pandemic in the UK

  It describes how I struggled during the pandemic as I was not able to do what I love doing the most: training.
• 2020-03-15

  A Pause on Life

  It was March 2020 when the world found out about this new virus called the corona virus (Covid19). This virus hit the news, and my parents began to worry. It was still the beginning doctors were beginning to learn about it, not many people knew the much about it. On March 15th I started my day like any ordinary day. I had a salad for lunch, while eating my salad I realized I couldn’t taste anything, but I didn’t think much about it. At this time the symptom of losing taste and smell was not a symptom for Covid 19 yet. I mentioned it to my mom about me not being able to taste and she answered by saying “that’s so strange dad can’t smell or taste either.” I still didn’t think much about it I thought we both have a cold, but I thought it was strange that me and my father can’t taste or smell. I soon realized that it was a symptom of Covid 19. After realizing I panicked and called a doctor to get tested and sure enough me and both my parents tested positive for Covid 19. I was in shock because it was so early and I didn’t think that I out of everyone in the world would catch the virus. And just like that the world paused, business closed, restaurants closed, you couldn’t be around your friends or extended families, and we all had to stay home. Unfortunately, the timing was not in my favor. I was planning on getting married on June 4th, however at the time I wasn’t worried, I kept thinking to myself this virus will go away there will be a vaccine and by the time June would come and I can have my dream wedding. As time passed, I realized my dream wedding would be crushed. It was a hard time, every day in quarantine my wedding plans were put on hold and I wasn’t allowed to see my fiancé. I cancelled my invitation order and altered it to 20 invitations instead of 700. I wasn’t allowed to get my dress altered because everything was closed. My father had to cancel the venue. After being let down I came to a conclusion that I still want to get married on that date with just my close family. And so, it happened. I replanned a wedding to my grandmothers’ backyard. I had my ceremony with only my close family and afterwards my friends joined. It wasn’t the wedding I was supposed to have but it was the best wedding I ever had. At the end of the day it taught me a lesson a lesson that life isn’t about the external objects or flamboyant events, but being surrounded by the people that love and care for you is all that matters. I was so happy and so appreciative that I was able to have the most perfect wedding. I believe Covid 19 was a wake-up call for the world. It allowed people to focus and work on themselves, realize what the true important things in life are, and to understand the significance of life.
• 
  2021-09-24

  Power of 100 Vaxx Fest poster

  Shared in Facebook by Tsuutina Comm. The poster is directed at indigenous people in the Canadian Province of Alberta. It advertises three days of events (24-26 September 2021) that those who get vaccinated at the event will also receive a swag bag; that there will be draws for gift cards, Macbooks, and iPads; social media influencers present; live music; drive-in-movies; and food.
• 
  2021-04-17

  Hell-spot at Port Republic

  In February I registered for the 1st Minnesota living history event organized by the Liberty Rifles. The idea behind it was that we would create an interactive living history event in conjunction with the National Park Service for the public at the Gettysburg battlefield. At the time, I hadn't been apart of an authentic event before, nor had I been to Gettysburg, so I was really excited for the event. I spent something like $800 improving my impression and so that I could be sure I met the uniform standards and guidelines. Unfortunately, two months before the event the NPS canceled it over Covid concerns. Needless to say, everyone was pretty bummed about it, but the LR event organizers had a plan B event in mind, so a few days after the news of Gettysburg being canceled we were told about the Hell Spot at the Port Republic event, and that we were going to portray the 1st Virginia Infantry (US). Covid cancelled a lot of events in the hobby, and for most of 2020 nothing was happening, much to our dissapointment.
• 
  2021-09-17

  "The Big E readies for just-announced mask mandate"

  This MassLive article reports on the Big E's reaction to the newly instated mask mandate in Massachusetts. The Big E, or the Eastern States Exposition, is a New England fair held in West Springfield, Massachusetts, annually. It was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic.
• 
  2021-09-20

  The Big E Health and Safety Measures Web Page

  This page on the Big E's website lists the health and safety measures put in place at the Big E, known formally as the Eastern States Exposition, which is a New England fair held annually in West Springfield, MA. The fair was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic, so it has a series of health and safety measures in place in attempt to make attendance safe in 2021.
• 
  2021-09-16

  "Masks at the Big E: Mask mandate will take effect in West Springfield as Big E begins 17-day run"

  This MassLive article reports on the Board of Health's decision to enact an indoor mask mandate, which will affect the Eastern States Exposition, or Big E, held annually in West Springfield, MA. The New England fair was cancelled in 2020 and is trying to make a comeback in 2021 despite the pandemic.
• 
  2021-09-20

  "Despite COVID and mask mandate, The Big E had its largest Sunday attendance for an opening weekend in a decade"

  This article reports on the crowds on the third day of the Eastern States Exposition. Commonly referred to as the Big E, the Eastern States Exposition is a New England fair held at the end of September in West Springfield, Massachusetts. It was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic, and town residents have concerns about the Big E in 2021.
• 
  2020

  COVID-Safe Birthday Parties

  The attached collage of photos displays the COVID-19 birthday parties that have become so well-known in my family over the past year and a half. After a few birthdays were skipped over due to uncertainty at the beginning of the pandemic, my family decided to do birthdays that would be distanced, outdoors, and masked. Unlike the passing of the months, which was meaningless when we were stuck indoors, the changing colors of the “Happy Birthday” sign added a sense of progress and individuality to each celebration. However, these photos, identical aside from the color scheme, are a reminder of the restrictions of the pandemic. While the decorations changed, the masks, socially distant tables, and disposable plates did not. Outdoor family gatherings at my house had once been a choice. However, during this pandemic, we did not have the option to eat indoors on a hot day or go to my uncle’s backyard where social distancing was more challenging. This collage of photos is relevant not just to illustrate ways in which our lives have changed during the pandemic, but also how we have adapted and maintained our values. These photos reflect what my life has centered around during the pandemic: attempting to engage in my normal activities in a safe manner. This is surely a sentiment that many can relate to. Thus, I feel that, in the future, these photos can demonstrate the adjustments that were made in order to maintain family values and a semblance of normal life.
• 
  2020-10

  Pandemic Birthday at the Aquarium

  Last October 2020 I celebrated my 22nd birthday. Between COVID-19 and the death of my father, my birthday wasn't high on my list of things to prioritize. However, my family and I decided last minute to go to Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut as it is one of my favorite places & they had socially-distant protocols in place. I enjoyed seeing the belugas, seals, penguins, and jellyfish in a safe and distant manner.
• 
  2020-03-15

  Lockdown in the Frozen Tundra

  When we first got the news about school closing down for a couple days, school was the last thing on my friend group and I's minds. When we got off school that gloomy March day, I instantly met up with my friends to go up north for a trip we had been planning for weeks. I was so excited because we had so many activities planned such as snowshoeing, hiking, and snowmobiling. After we all met up, we packed up the car and left. At the time, we had heard things about Covid-19 from around the world, but we were all still pretty foggy on what it is and what it does to you. It was almost as if we acknowledged that it existed, but told ourselves that it could never happen in the United States. When we got there, we unpacked all of our things and quickly headed outside to go snowshoeing on a nearby path. When we were through with our activities for the day, we headed back to the cabin. I remember checking my phone and having a bunch of texts from my parents and friends saying that they had just cancelled school for another couple of weeks, and I started to think that maybe this whole thing was more serious than I had thought. Looking back on this picture, I look at all of our faces and notice that we were so oblivious to what we were about to experience. This is essentially the picture taken before our lives changed forever.
• 
  2020-03-11

  The Vanderbilt University COVID Shutdown

  This is a photo of an ABC news segment that was aired on March 11th, 2020, at the very beginning of the pandemic in the United States. The photo shows an interview of a Vanderbilt student (me!). The caption reads “Undergrad Students Must Move out by Sunday”. The interview was taken on a Wednesday, which had been the day that the students were notified that they would need to vacate the campus. The Monday of that week, March 9th, had been our first day after spring break. That same day, we received the first email about the Coronavirus. It stated that classes would be cancelled for the next two weeks. At that time, some students and parents began to panic. Some students decided to leave campus for those two weeks, and believed that they would simply return after those two weeks. These students only took the belongings that they would need for those two weeks, and many of them left the majority of their things in their rooms. Two days later, on the Wednesday of that week, the students received a second email that we would all need to leave campus, and that we had until that Sunday to move all of things out entirely. Naturally, mass chaos ensued as students struggled to figure out how to move all of their things. Most students did not have any help from parents or family, as many people were afraid to travel. This time was a blur of stress, fear, and sadness as students mourned the year that was left unfinished. It was a charged frenzy of packing and moving, but despite this, all around the Vanderbilt’s campus, friends could be seen hugging and crying, particularly the graduating seniors. It was truly surreal in the worst way possible. For me, this picture represents that entire, horrific, move-out experience. On the day that I found out that we would need to leave for the remainder of the year, I was in a practice room in my dorm with one of my friends. He had just been telling me how he had been fighting with his father over whether or not to leave during the two weeks without class. He, of course, wanted to stay on campus, but his father was convinced that he needed to come home. I had already conceded to my parents on that battle, and had plane tickets to come home for the Friday of that week. I, like everyone else, thought that I would only be going home for two weeks like the email had explained. I also was willing to be home for the two weeks to see my family, as I had been in the UK over spring break, which had caused major tensions with my parents. Wednesday’s email confirmed our worst fears: we would all be forced to leave for the rest of the year. I remember feeling completely numb. I walked out of the room to call my parents, while my friend called his. As I spoke to my mom, I realized that I would need to pack up all of my things extremely quickly. She advised me to go to the UPS store to get boxes; as soon as my friend and I were both off the phone, we went straight there, buying up many boxes each to begin packing. While we tried to smile and be upbeat, both of us were still in utter shock. With every ounce of my being, I did not want to leave. It was my sophomore year, and college finally seemed to be mine; I had a phenomenal group of friends who I loved deeply, I was involved on campus, and I loved my classes and professors. The tragedy of it all reverberated through me in waves. As devastated as I was, I had a more imminent task to focus on: moving out. Once we had bought our boxes, we realized that we could not carry them back to campus, and ordered an Uber. As I struggled to carry my boxes from the Uber, I noticed a news crew stationed outside of my dorm. “Could we ask you a few questions?” they called to the pair of us as we labored with our boxes. My insides swirled with anger and frustration about the whole situation, about the unfairness of it all. “Yeah, for sure!” I responded. Maybe someone would actually listen to us, and understand the insanity that we were experiencing. While I don’t remember the exact questions asked, I remember telling them that we had just picked up boxes as we were required to leave campus later that week. I attempted to communicate how upsetting this was to the entire student body. While I have never actually seen this news clip, a friend of mine sent me this picture of me being interviewed. For me, this picture captures how surreal the move out was. I was on the news, and I forgot all about it. It honestly meant nothing to me in that moment, as my world was pulled out from beneath me.
• 
  2020-10-31

  Connecting through Climbing in the Pandemic

  Just prior to the pandemic, I got seriously into rock climbing. For me, not only it was a much more fun way to work out, but it is absolutely a social sport. Everyone at the climbing gym was and continues to be extremely friendly, and you can simply strike up a conversation with anyone by simply asking what routes they are working on so that you can help one another find the most efficient way to reach the top. As all the routes are graded, just watching yourself improve and working on harder routes is an amazing feeling. With the outbreak of the pandemic, however, the gym closed until September, and I felt like such an important piece of my life went missing. While it was hard losing an activity and social outlet like that, I like trying to find silver linings in the difficult times. Even though it took me a while to come to this conclusion, I realized that it took the pandemic and losing it to truly appreciate the people there and sport itself. Ironically, I can almost contribute the pandemic to my continued obsession with climbing, even if it did rip it away from me for a few months. Attached is a picture of the first event back at the climbing gym, which was a lights-out event for Halloween where you could only use headlamps to see where you were going.
• 
  2021-05-20

  Providence College Class of 2021 Graduation

  This photograph was taken by one of the photographers at the commencement ceremony for the Providence College Class of 2021 when I was being announced as receiving the honor of highest in academic rank (valedictorian) for my class. Providence had held its graduations at the Dunkin Donuts Center downtown for the past several decades, but COVID-19 restrictions made that impossible for the Class of 2021. Instead, the College opted to have commencement on campus, holding it at Hendricken Field. Each student was only allowed up to two guests. My parents and brother all graduated from Providence College, so it was difficult knowing that the pandemic prevented me from being part of the same traditions that they got to experience as seniors, such as Senior Ring Weekend. My brother had graduated just two years earlier, so I knew what being a senior was "supposed" to be like, but did not get to experience it. However, having graduation on campus was truly a blessing and a unique experience. I was able to get an extra ticket so that my mom, dad, and brother could all be there to see me receive my degree, and my grandmother was able to watch the livestream from her home. After a challenging year full of disappointment and distance, the Class of 2021 was graced with the chance to celebrate our achievements together.
• 
  2021-05-15

  Graduation: We Made It Work

  I was very lucky to graduate in Spring of 2021 from Eastern Connecticut State University, as my school managed to create a socially-distanced graduation for us. It was a tricky event for the university to handle, and commencement had to be divided into three ceremonies at various times. You had to wear a mask and each chair was placed six feet apart. Handshakes were skipped in favor of elbow bumps and air fives. Despite all the planning, the event was truly memorable and so special to me. In 2020 my father unexpectedly passed away (not COVID related). Being able to attend a "real" graduation in 2021 meant the world to me, as I felt like I had achieved something and was honoring his memory. Though COVID-19 has limited many events, I was fortunate to have participated in a commencement ceremony this past semester.
• 
  2021-07-22

  Hourly AQI Sacramento Region Thursday, July 22

  This is an animated map of air quality in the Sacramento, CA region on Thursday, July 22, 2021. The map shows the air quality in the region every twenty minutes during the day. From roughly 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM, Camp Wolfeboro is located in the "unhealthy" air quality index level. From 7:00 AM to 12:00 noon the air quality is "unhealthy for sensitive groups". The poor air quality in the region appears to originate in Alpine County based on the animation, the location of the Tamarack Fire.
• 
  2021-07

  Tamarack Smoke Outlook, Thursday, July 22

  This is a report from the USFS Wildland Fire Quality Response Program outlining the expected air quality impact of the Tamarack Fire near Lake Tahoe from Thursday-Friday, July 22-23, 2021. The reports discusses the possibility of increased smoke in the areas south of the Tamarack Fire, which includes Camp Wolfeboro. The report also notes the fire on Thursday had increased over 10,000 acres in size from the day before.
• 
  2021-07-23

  First Race in a Pandemic World

  Terrified, I put on my shoes and walked over to the canyon. I’m always nervous before a race - where will I place? What if I can’t finish? It’s adrenaline talking. This time, it was different. For the first time since early 2020, I was competing in a race, outside, with other people. When I signed up, the case count was the lowest it had been since the original shut down. I was nervous, but excited. Then Delta exploded. As the numbers climbed, I tried running with a mask that week. Two days before the race, I made it 3 miles and had to take it off. This was the Hot and Hilly 10K I was prepping for. It’s over 90 degrees and the course is all hills. I knew I wouldn’t be able to do the mask the whole time. I also knew the course had narrow parts, wide enough for only one runner. What happened if I got in a group? Was being outside enough to dissipate the virus, like current advice suggests? Or is Delta more potent? And is there a difference between standing outside unmasked and running full speed unmasked in a group of other people roughly and heavily drawing air in and out? As I waited for the gun, I wore my mask. I was the only one and that didn’t bother me. In fact, I was a little self conscious that I would be judged but I think everyone was just focused on the trail. When the race began, there was a natural small bottleneck. I left my mask on. About a mile in, I had to take it off. Luckily, the crowd had thinned. Since I am not an elite runner, I wasn’t doing the 7 minute miles of the head of the pack. On the flip, I also am not slow. I was able to find a sweet spot where I could see the front of the pack in the distance, but was far enough ahead of the average runners that I was not in a crowd. Overall, it was amazing to be racing again. I love competition. For over a year, I ran only on the treadmill. There was part of me that wondered if my ability have disappeared during the quarantine. I came in 4th place in my division and am beyond excited with that placement. I also was relieved knowing I was done with the crowds for the day. I spent two weeks secretly nervous I contracted COVID and am happy to report that the vaccine seems to have worked for me. I have another race scheduled for October and am already feeling nervous. Our hospitalization rate has shot to nearly 500 and the ICU is two away from 100. Will my next race being outdoors be enough to protect my family, especially my two unvaccinated kids at home? Will my vaccine even still be effective by October? My second shot will have been administered seven months prior at that point.
• 
  2021-08-08

  New Normal?

  I went to church this past Sunday for the first time since the quarantine of March 2020. I'm not sure what I was expecting but there were a lot more changes than I had imagined. Sanitizing stations, hand wipes, and masks for those who wished to wear them. People were still socializing, not everyone was wearing masks but it was nice to see that it was an option and available to those who wanted. Before the pandemic, there was always a table with refreshments where we would go and grab pastries before Sunday school. Now that table had someone there to grab pastries in an attempt to limit contact. There were so many viable changes outside but the one that stuck to me most was the one I caught inside. Communion is a very important aspect of the Christian faith, I remember growing up in a Hispanic church there was a ceremonial feel to communion. It was a special occasion, a time to reflect and remember the foundation of our faith. I kept that feeling with me growing up but this past Sunday I was taken back when I walked into church. I was handed what I thought was a trinket. I sat down and stared at this object for a second, this was how we were to take communion. Of course, it makes total sense not to pass a tray around with crackers and juice to a building full of people, especially because you can never know for sure who's been vaccinated and who hasn't. This was just an unexpected change that the pandemic brought on, I wonder if this will be part of the "new normal" everyone is always talking about.
• 2020-08-23

  Covid-19

  Last year, Covid-19 was at its peak. It was the beginning of the year, and it was during our football season. During the week of our 2nd game, about 5 of our seniors got quarantined because of some kid at their lunch table. He got Covid, so they couldn't be around anybody, including the football team. So, they had to sit out of football for 2 weeks. As the year went on, we had a bunch of people that couldn't play because of Covid-19. It got so bad that our coaches got Covid and we couldn't play in sectionals. Covid-19 completely ruined our season last year.
• 2021-08-03

  The Comfort of Carbonara

  Homemade recipe of Carbonara for my son's tenth birthday, with all the restaurants closed, we improvised.
• 
  2021-07-19T21:53

  Program Director's Monday Night Campfire Speech

  Every week during camp at Camp Wolfeboro, the Program Director gives a speech near the end of the Monday night campfire. This is an audio recording of the last portion of the speech given by 2021's Program Director, James Mizutani. He mentions and discusses the pandemic that has taken place over the past two years in his speech. Transcription: So, it, it was a lot when I got up here, uh, to work as program director in 2021, it was kind of a shock. Um, I had to— the med lodge was new, the camp director's cabin was not habitable anymore, uh, Kneeknocker¹ was all shiny. The nature lodge, my home for a year as Eco-Con² staff, is now like [in remittal?], and you can't put people in there anymore. So a lot of things have changed, some good, some less good. The less good things are fixable, we'll get a new nature lodge, it'll be fantastic and it'll be great and it'll be better than anything Eagle's End³ will ever have (audience says "woah"). But one of the things that didn't change was my feelings about camp. I love camp. I love everybody who's up here. I love working with my staff. Now I just call them my staff, instead of me being a part of staff, I still am staff [unintelligible]. And getting to see all of you every week, I get to see Scouts every week, I get to catch up with them, I get to see what they're doing while they're not at camp, and I get to see what they're enjoying about camp, why they come back every year. And I find that it's a lot of the same reasons why I come back every year. You're out here, you're away from a lot of distractions, you're with some of your friends, you're doing stuff that you don't normally do on the day-to-day. I don't mind normal days, the last two years have been wake up, move eight feet over onto the other side of my room, and sit down at my desk. Now I wake up and have to like, jog 800 feet to the PO⁴ in order to make it to the staff meeting on time. So, it's a very different lifestyle. And, I think it's a good thing for all of us to have been reintroduced into that lifestyle, into that camping lifestyle. And so I want you all to take advantage of everything that Wolfeboro has to offer. Make the Wolfeboro lifestyle a full lifestyle, a busy lifestyle filled with program, filled with excitement, filled with singing, filled with swimming at the Waterfront and shooting at the Rifle Range and going on hikes and being out here in this beautiful valley looking at the stars. There's no light, there's no artificial light in the valley after 10:30pm. And that's something that you can rarely get anymore. Um, I want you all to take hold of all the advantages that you have here at camp and make the most of it because after two years, you have a lot of catching up to do. So, have a good week everybody and I'd like to reintroduce the 2021 Camp Wolfeboro staff (applause). Footnotes: 1: A bathroom (with showers starting in 2021) found between the Program Office and the Mess Hall 2: Short for "Ecology and Conservation". A program area on the Tuolumne side of camp that handles nature-related merit badges and activities. 3: A program area that handles civic-related merit badges and activities. Eagle's End staff and Eco-Con staff were engaged in a prank war during the summer of 2021. 4: Program Office, where the camp director and program director offices can be found.
• 
  2021-07

  Wolfeboro PO Whiteboard

  The top of the program office at Camp Wolfeboro, where the camp director and program director offices are, has a large whiteboard every year where Scouts are invited to draw anything so long as it is Scouting-appropriate. The two photos of the whiteboard were taken at the middle and end of the fifth session of camp; IMG_5768.jpg was taken on Wednesday, July 21 at 11:41 AM, and IMG_5817.jpg was taken on Friday, July 23 at 4:17 PM. In the two and a half days between the photos, there were some additions made to the board. The whiteboard includes a variety of references to recent cultural trends, some of which include: -Upper left: text reading "whats [sic] so funny about Sussus Amongus", a reference to a YouTube video titled "What's so funny about sussus amogus?", itself an Among Us parody of the Biggus Dickus sketch from Monty Python's Life of Brian. -Center left, immediately next to the edge of the board: the word "SHEESH" in orange marker, which is used to show a sense of disbelief about something, with a positive tone (similar to how "dang" or "damn" might be used) -Upper center, slightly to the right: a dark green drawing of an open eye crying laughing emoji, an edited version of the laughing crying emoji that is used in memes to signify an emotional reaction to something -Bottom right: an orange-colored set of Olympic rings, with the words "Olympians [illegible]" in blue beneath it Some of the additions between Wednesday and Friday include: -Center left: an Among Us crewmate next to a text bubble saying "SUSSY!" (a reference to the slang term "sus", meaning suspicious, often used alongside references to Among Us) Many of the specific cultural references refer to the video game Among Us. According to the program director, the massive Garfield drawing at the bottom left was drawn during the 2019 camp season but became unerasable by the time camp opened in 2021 (camp did not take place in-person in 2020).
• 
  2021-07-27

  The years of struggle!

  In 2018 I had to face a lot of emotional traumas in my life. These traumas made me a single mother of my 3 children. I was having a hard time adjusting to being the sole provider and the only person my kids could now rely on. I had never been to fond of school but with my new life I had been contemplating going back. After a lot of support of my family I decided that it would be best for me and my kids if I went back to school. I joined an Associates degree course for Social work and human services. I felt like I was thriving in school for the first time. Then the pandemic hit and my world changed again. Now I had all my classes online as well as homeschooling and raising 3 children on my own. At times I felt like the universe was truly against me these last few years. At the end I have just realized that nothing is to hard for me to overcome. I'm so grateful for mine and my families health at the end of this pandemic and I'm grateful for experiences and lessons learned.
• 
  2020-12-31

  The Summer Your Librarians Became Youtubers...

  I am a children's librarian in rural Louisiana. We are approximately two hours away from all major forms of entertainment, so the library acts as not only a community hub but a place for children to learn and participate in extracurricular activities year-round... until Covid. Though our community hardly noticed the virus itself, the effects of being locked down soon took hold, and we were left with a community of children, families, and elderly people more isolated than they usually were. The depression set in. And my director had the fabulous notion to take what we did to the airwaves... Or rather the internet. Our seriously underutilized Facebook Page became the hub of activity, and overnight we went from librarians to Youtubers leading digital craft and art classes, Zoom creative writing workshops, and nightly bedtime stories. What initially began as a means to cheer up the children soon developed into full-fledged outreach. Local politicians, law-enforcement, and other community leaders read stories for us on our page as a means to connect with the people in our community. We did special digital story hours with schools once they opened back up in the fall, and also read stories to patients in the nursing home. Continuing with this train of thought, we partnered with our local American Legion Hall, which is located on a main thoroughfare and has large windows clearly visible from the road, to set up our annual "Christmas Around the World" exhibit (which features Christmas traditions from many different countries as well as Kwanzaa and Hanukah traditions) since there was no way to feature the display in our small meeting room safely. Every program was modified, digitized, and brought to the people of our community in the best possible way they could be... which turned the 'year of the plague' into a year of learning, cooperation, and ingenuity for us.
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  2020-04-09

  Grieving Rituals Lost to COVID-19

  Rituals are an important way to celebrate special occasions and victories as well as to deal with the stresses of life. This article discusses the grieving process people have gone through because of the loss of rituals (graduations, funerals, weddings) during the pandemic and the importance of creating new rituals.
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  2020-05

  Roses are red

  My grandmother's birthday is in May, so last year, during the beginning of the pandemic, we were unable to visit her and celebrate her birthday or Mother's Day. So, we sent her a nice card, and in it, my brother and boyfriend made up the poem. It reads "roses are red, violets are blue, when coronavirus is over, we'll come see you! xoxo Owen + Andrew"
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  2020-09-19

  PHOTOS: How The World Is Reinventing Rituals

  This article captures images of the continuations of and changes in rituals around the globe during the pandemic.
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  2021-07-22

  Hospital staff charging $21,000 for an ICU Hospital Bed

  Hospital beds and medical supplies face enormous pressure with the ongoing pandemic. This article indicates that hospital staff were charging over $21,000 for an ICU hospital bed, a scheme that was broken up by the Peruvian police. If one hospital has been caught, how rampant could this practice be? Also, how can the average Peruvian afford such astronomical prices? The fees and the fact that people paid them show the disparity in healthcare access between Peruvians of means and those without.
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  2021-07-10

  Dear Diary: A Quarantine Reflection

  My submission to the Journal of the Plague Year is a reflection on the process of writing diary entries about living through a quarantine period at my summer program at Phillips Academy Andover. It talks through my feelings of anxiety and guilt, as well as feeling a sense of distance from the rest of the world during the seven day period, and explains how keeping a diary can help you understand your own emotions during a difficult time.
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  2020-11-14

  Diwali rangoli at City Center Bishop Ranch

  This is a photograph of a rangoli at City Center Bishop Ranch I took on November 14, 2020. That date also happens to be Diwali, a Hindu holiday on which some people make rangoli. Rangoli are made of various dyes and powders.
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  2021-06-28

  My Pandemic Experience

  When the pandemic was coming, I was initially relieved. I was supposed to fly to Chicago to visit my sister and go to our favorite band’s (Keane) concert, but as a person with anxiety and panic disorder who is terrified of airplanes and crowds it allowed me to back out. The concert was cancelled. It was the excuse I needed to back out without shame or blame. It seems silly now, but at the time covid seemed more like a bad cold or flu to me. It seemed like another Swine Flu or Avian Flu or other scare in recent memory which hadn’t amounted to a plague style pandemic. Lockdown was even kind of nice at first. My husband, daughter, and I got to spend a lot of family time together. I had taught ESL online for a number of years previously, so converting my in school classes to online was easy. I had no problems teaching over Zoom. I’m a homebody anyway, by habit and by anxiety, so this was great… until the body count started. I was horrified and sickened to hear about the freezer containers being used in New York City to store the overflow of bodies. The germaphobia that had plagued me in childhood, that I had gone to years of therapy to overcome, came roaring back with a vengeance. Like everyone else, I went to the grocery store to stock up so I wouldn’t have to leave me house for awhile, only to find shelf after shelf empty. As a super health conscious, organic, vegan my choices were extremely limited. My husband and daughter aren’t vegan, but they do eat only organic, which became impossible. Soap, disinfectant, cleaners, and hand sanitizers were nowhere to be found. At a time when it was so important to be as clean and healthy as possible all those modern conveniences were utterly gone. I felt helpless. I imagined that people living during pandemics like the bubonic plague and Spanish flu must have felt similarly. After a couple of weeks, quarantine started to feel more like a claustrophobic prison sentence than a family vacation. I missed my sister, my parents, my friends, my colleagues, and my students. On my birthday and Easter I just had to wave at my parents through the glass door. My favorite hobby- taekwondo, which I had started in order to relieve stress and help with my anxiety was taken from me. I had to do the classes online from my living room, which was nearly impossible. I felt trapped. A raging epidemic across the planet from which there was no escape. If I spent too much time thinking about it, I would start to feel the claw of panic. By the time summer arrived I was at breaking point. Luckily with summer we had some reprieve. Case loads declined, and I started meeting my best friend outside. We socially distanced ourselves and wore masks, but we were together and that was a start. By the end of summer she and her boyfriend were on our “quaranteam” that is we decided we could see each other since we weren’t seeing anyone else. In the fall school started. Since I teach at a Catholic school we were able to have school in person full time, though we had students in every grade who opted to go remote. But my bestie and I were back in the building with most of the kids, and I started to feel less trapped. I was going to stores masked and my daughter was also in school. But as soon as Thanksgiving hit everything changed again. So many people ignored all of the recommendations and restrictions and got together with family and friends. It made me so angry that people were so careless. A friend of mine had a large family in Pennsylvania who all got together for Thanksgiving. She didn’t go because she thought it was reckless. 8 out of 14 people at the family dinner got covid and 2 of them died. Then at Christmas, my great uncle passed. No funeral. No wake. Nothing. Schools shut down again. We were trapped. Then the vaccines came. It was nearly impossible to get one for a long time even if you were eligible. Slots filled as fast as they were posted. You needed to present a lot of proof of eligibility in order to get one. As a teacher, I was able to get mine earlier than many others. I got the Moderna. The first shot made me feel a little sick for a few hours, but with the second I had a fever of 103.5, aches, chills, nausea for 12 hours and a general malaise for 3 days. A friend of mine in taekwondo, who has some autoimmune problems, had a severe reaction after her first Moderna vaccine. She has had side effects for a few months now that are not going away. She has dizzy spells and heart palpitations regularly. She is undergoing testing and being monitored by the CDC. Despite some horror stories, the vaccine is still the absolute best thing that we could have hoped for. I would like my daughter to get it as soon as they open it to the under 12 population. A lot of people won’t get the vaccine because they are in the “Science is fake, I’m a Trump supporter” camp. In my opinion, Trump’s misinformation and mishandling of the pandemic cost tens of thousands of American lives, and his diversive legacy is going to cost us dearly for many years to come. It is now June again. School just finished. New York State is allowing people to enter buildings unmasked if they are vaccinated, but few people are actually requiring any proof. Given that the people with a cavalier attitude toward wearing masks are many of the same people who are against getting vaccinated, an honors system policy towards wearing masks is really just a no-mask policy. It is very frustrating to me that people can’t just deal with masks for a while longer to fully insure this disease’s eradication before we have another relapse and find ourselves back in quarantine again.
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  2020-05-22

  Pet Adoption Protocol During the Pandemic - A Purr-fect Fit Animal Rescue

  This is a social media post from A Purr-fect Fit Animal Rescue in Buffalo, New York explaining their covid procedure to potential adopters.
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  2020-02-14

  Happy Valentine's Day! We have COVID!

  For Valentine's Day 2021, I gave my boyfriend COVID! What a great gift, right? The week before I started to feel down, congested, and I had a sore throat. As it was mid-February, I thought it was just a regular cold, like I get every year. So I really thought it was no big deal, so my boyfriend and I spent the weekend together like normal. But on Feb 14th, I woke up, got in the shower, and realized I couldn't smell any of my soaps! I ran out of the shower in a panic and went to the kitchen to smell all the food we had. I couldn't smell the onion, the salsa, the garlic powder, the coffee...nothing! So we decided to cancel our date plans for the day and went to get tested. My test came back positive so we went in the quarantine together, as we had spent the last four days together. At this point, I was getting exponentially sicker and laid in bed for the next 5 days. About 3 days after I lost my sense of smell, I lost my sense of taste, but only for about 24 hours. What a terrible week! Hopefully, Valentine's Day 2022 is better for us!
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  2021-05-27

  Teachers Rock

  Right before COVID-19 hit my husband made the transition from active duty military to reservist. After eight years we were finally given the gift to settle down and live a "normal" life. January of 202 we moved into our home and three months later we were facing a quarantine. That same in the midst of that my daughter started kindergarten. It was a moment I had thought of for quite some time. In my mind, I would take lots of pictures, walk her to her class and tearfully walk back to my car and having a pity party about my growing girl. Instead, my daughter spent her first day at home in front of a computer while I fought to get into her virtual classroom. For months we dealt with virtual than in class then back to virtual learning as COVID cases peaked. My daughters Kindergarten teacher was the only constant bright light throughout the school year. Through it all she worked tirelessly to make sure the kids had a positive school experience. She went out of her way to make sure the school brought them joy in the midst of the chaotic year, having her in my daughter's life became personal to my family. At the end of the school year she sent out her last newsletter thanking parents but the reality of it is- she was a complete rockstar and we will forever be grateful. I wanted to share her last newsletter in hopes that it reflects an ounce of how difficult this school year was for teachers and how resilient children were.
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  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.
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  2020-02-01

  Timeline of political and personal events - Tyler Corcoran

  I got COVID-19 in late March and with the rapid changing of events, watching it all happen from my bed was a very sobering experience, so I created this timeline to show the most important events from the last 15 months
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  2021-05-24

  A Memoir of 2020-2021: How COVID-19 Affected the Lifestyle of a High school Student

  The PDF tells the story of my life over the years from 2020-2021. It explains how covid affected the lifestyle of a high school student, with many other added details.
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  2021-01-01

  Curtain Call on 2020

  This past year was a crazy one. Since it’s now 2021, for the first time, I’m really looking back on 2020 and reflecting on my memories and moments. The year started off normal, and simpler. I had just made friends with a group that I liked a lot in December of 2019, I’m still with them, so that was pretty important. I imagine my life would be different, and I wouldn’t have many of the memories I have today. I don’t remember much about January or February itself, but I do remember Mardi Gras. At the time, the USA wasn’t really concerned about COVID-19, so being with friends during Mardi Gras were some of the best and last moments of large gatherings and celebrations I’ve seen in a while. After the 2 weeks of festivities, March rolled around, a month that stands out for everyone when looking back at 2020. Halfway through the month, we learned that we got out of school for 2 weeks. I was in media arts and my friends and I got super excited. The tone dialed down quickly though, as my entire math period following the announcement was Mr. Milling answering questions from kids about the virus and explaining the CLP. My friends and I hung out one final time that night on March 13th. After that, we split up and resorted to talking through phones and headsets as a communication system. In April we started meeting up again at Audubon Park for bike rides, and that continued through June. Then it seemed like school came fast, and all of a sudden, we were back in person, and things felt just a little bit normal.
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  2020-04-12

  One Way to See Family During a Worldwide Crisis

  Primary Source Essay Wildania Hernandez The primary source I’m using for this project is a picture of my family on a zoom call celebrating my father’s birthday on march 12, 2020. This is how my family and myself had to gather together to actually spend some time since the virus started. Our family is a very united family, we are very close and before COVID-19 started we used to get together in somebody’s house and just cook and dance and talk, and enjoy every second of it but everything changed when the virus started it was spreading too fast, and everybody was scared. I remember how my mom was always watching the news and you could see all the videos of all those people that died in Queens and they had so many bodies that they didn't have a place to put them. Funeral homes were full and all I could think was about those families who lost a loved one and how some people were thinking that COVID was fake. The first time we use zoom was to celebrate my father’s birthday, it was something new and not something like we usually do but at least we got to see some of our family members. We were always home since we stopped working because of the pandemic. We used to work for a medical transportation company so we were “Essentials Workers”, we transport people to get dialysis treatment 3 times a week and after the virus started to get stronger we had to stop working because almost every patient we transported died of COVID-19 before the wave of summer even started. Sadly the COVID ended the life of two members in my family, at the end of June we got the news that one of my aunts was at the hospital on life support, three weeks later one of my uncle was in the same situation. We couldn't see them or say goodbye, everything just happened so fast that we were in shock and this is how we started our “Weekly zoom meetings”. The reason why I selected this source is because I want to show historians of the future how families use to communicate in a group without getting together. We used this tool to so much that we had an schedule, every Friday we had a zoom meeting to just talk about our week. To talk about our different point of view of the pandemic and not only that but all of the events that happened last year, like the protest that started shortly after George Floyd was killed, and the election in November but most importantly those zoom meetings was just to make sure that everybody was good and to support each other since some of my family members were still working outside. Crazy how everything started last year and now we have a vaccine and hopefully everything will go back to normal in no time but for now we need to live with the memory of what started in the year 2020 that affected the whole world.
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  2020-09-18

  Grandpa's 80th Zoom Birthday

  This is near the beginning of the school year. I am still settling into 8th grade and am yet used to life during coronavirus. This is the first birthday I have had to celebrate over zoom which was really weird. This is still the stage of Coronavirus Journals where I say what I ate for lunch. Tyler 9/18/20 New Orleans, LA Coronavirus Journal Today is Friday, and Rosh Hashanah. I don’t think my family will celebrate though. I know we will be celebrating my grandpa’s birthday tonight over a zoom dinner. I am really excited to talk to my grandparents because I haven’t spoken to them for a long time because of covid. Today I woke up at 7:48 am and I am really lucky that we have til 8:15 to get to school because I would have definitely been late. Yesterday I had a baseball scrimmage and did pretty well. Today for lunch I had a turkey and swiss cheese sandwich and some barbecue chips. I am pretty lucky to have no homework today since I had Science, History, and Band.
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  2020-09-01

  First Day of Covid School 2020

  This was the first day of school of 8th grade and the whole mask thing and all of the precautions were new to me as we just got out of quarantine. I didn’t know what to expect as the outcome of the year and was just taking it all in. Tyler 9/1/20 New Orleans, LA Coronavirus Journal Today I ate a turkey and swiss cheese sandwich for lunch. I ate with my advisory. I had drama today and we played “Greetings Your Majesty”, which is basically where you come behind somebody and say “greetings your majesty” with a weird voice. If they guess who said that to them they get to stay as majesty, but If they don't then the person who spoke gets to be majesty. There is a jester who chooses who gets to go. After school today I am going to Coach Luke for pitching lessons instead of travel baseball practice because we already said we would go to pitching. Of course before that I will do my homework and if I don't finish before I leave for practice I will finish it after school. Today wasn't very special in any sort, but last Saturday was my Bar Mitzvah which was on zoom and my Bar Mitzvah party which only had like 6 kids. Last Thursday I turned 13 years old. In Docs class today we watched him do an experiment from 2 years ago and answered questions about it. On a sadder note - the actor who played Balck Panther - Chadwick Boseman died last Friday at the age of 43. I had recess in the Valmont Courtyard today and I played taps, wallball, and four square. Because of the pandemic we played foursquare using only our feet and heads. I didn't play taps and wall ball for long because a lot of people joined. Today was a pretty normal day, but a crazy week.
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  2020-06

  Some Graduation Memes and Photos During the Coronavirus Time

  Graduations during 2020 were conducted remotely. This meant that the students missed out on an important and memorable ceremony to mark this milestone in their lives. All ages were affected. The students were mostly home, and some had videos either as a live feed or prerecorded. Families tried their best to make the occassion memorable for their kids. Some schoolz had car parades for their graduates to "march" in front of their school or neighbors.
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  2021-04-06

  MN State Fair during the Pandemic

  The Minnesota State Fair was canceled last summer due to the pandemic. These food stands are a lot of peoples primary source of income but due to the pandemic they were forced to shut down operations. As a result, they started to expand out to random parking lots throughout the twin cities. These stands are important to many people as the state fair is a tradition for so many people here in Minnesota. The fact that these stand owners figured out a way to get us the food we deserve is an example of how us Minnesotans have persevered through the pandemic.
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  2021-04-25

  Padraic Cohen Internship Portfolio

  This is my portfolio for my internship experience with the JOTPY, thank you so much for this; I really enjoyed working with each and every one of you - thank you for everything.