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Sports
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2020-09-15
Naomi Osaka Raises Awareness of Black Genocide
Love this representation of Naomi Osaka by @_granddaughter (via @drcegreen ) Posted @withregram • @_granddaughter Naomi Osaka, a Black and Asian professional tennis player and the highest paid female athlete, will be wearing a different mask everyday of the US Open to raise awareness about the “continued genocide of Black people.” Whether you have a worldwide audience like Naomi or just a few insty followers, how are you standing up for what is right? Her murderers are still free 🤬 - Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankisom, and Myles Cosgrove must be arrested. . . . #breonnataylor #naomiosaka #usopen #black #asian #japanese #haitian #womenempowerment #justiceforbreonnataylor #nojusticenopeace #usopen2020 #queen #nike #blackwomen #blacklivesmatter #blm #asianwomen #womenofillustration #womensupportingwomen #womenoftype #biden2020 #bidenharris2020 -
2020-08-21
Living in Wrigleyville during a pandemic
Wrigleyville home of the Chicago Cubs is known to be a neighborhood of Chicago that revolves around the Cubs. During a non pandemic year when there is a game at Wrigley Field there is people all around Wrigleyville. The neighborhood is bustling with Cubs fans everywhere. The restaurants are filled and the bars too. The cubs apparel shops are getting business and people are just happy. Now during the pandemic the neighborhood has a feeling of emptiness. No fans have been allowed in the stadium in over a year and a lot of the restaurants, bars, and apparel shops have been closed or temporarily closed until the pandemic is over. Things just aren't the same living in Wrigleyville during the pandemic. -
2021-03-12
Teachers, parents call for performing arts COVID-19 guidelines to be equal to high school sports
While high school sports are going back to normal in Virginia, high school performing art programs are still restricted. A high school choir booster member has said this is unfair to the students and started a petition urging the state to update performing arts COVID-19 guidelines. Unlike high school sports, whose guidelines have been updated frequently, high school performing art's guidelines haven't been updated since September 2020. -
2021-02-23
Republican senators to Tennessee's public colleges: Stop athletes from kneeling during national anthem
In a virtual interview, Rennia Davis explains why the Lady Vols knelt during the national anthem. From the article: Tennessee Republicans are up in arms over a state college basketball team's decision to kneel last week during the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner," prompting legislators to warn the public university system not to allow student athletes to do so again. -
2021-02-15
#JOTPYPhoto from Rebecca
#joptyphoto -
2021-02-12
#JOTPYSilver submission from Laura
#joptysilver My peloton was my favorite pandemic impulse lifestyle change! @phoebe_bridgers @SandraLeeMD @BernieSanders @GHardstark @KarenKilgariff -
2021-02-17
A College Athlete's Pandemic
The story I uploaded explains how the Covid-19 pandemic has changed my experience as a college athlete. This is important to me because playing a sport in college is a huge part of my overall college experience. -
2021-01-16
Attending a Football Game in a Pandemic
For much of 2020, the thought of having fans at sports games seemed far off in the distance, especially considering the part where professional sports were cancelled altogether. However, thanks to the adjustments made toward the pandemic, in January 2021, I had the opportunity to attend a NFL Divisional Playoff game between the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens in Buffalo. It took the whole season but for the playoffs, Bills fans were finally going to be let in the stadium, even if it is only at about 10 percent capacity. The process to get tickets was brief, as the game was only confirmed to host fans less than a week beforehand. We got lucky, and my dad and I were able to get tickets. One of the requirements to attend the game, was to get a COVID 19 test on the Wednesday beforehand. The tests were done simply, and quickly with the results being sent to the patient the next day. I would have been more worried to test positive and miss the game however, I had COVID already a few months beforehand and the chances of getting it again are very low. We soon received our negative results, and it was time to prepare for the game. When we arrived at the stadium the day of the game, there were significant differences to the regular pregame scene. There was no one out tailgating, which would otherwise be done all day in preparation for the game. Entering the stadium was a bit different too, on top of presenting your tickets, everyone entering was required to provide their negative COVID-19 test results to security to enter. Once inside the stadium, the most notable changes are the complete lack of seating outside of the stadium bowl. Alongside this, concessions were more limited, walkways were marked for directional flow, and everyone was required to wear a mask at all times. In the bowl, the seats were mostly taped off, with openings where people purchased tickets in small groups of two to four seats. Despite the audience capacity being around only 10 percent, I was surprised at how loud the stadium got throughout the game, it did not get quite as loud as it does at full capacity, but it was a lot louder than you would expect from only seven thousand fans. Overall, the game experience was not ruined by covid, but I hope soon we can go back to not worrying about keeping a mask up while cheering at a sporting event. -
2020-08-30
COVID-19 Senior Year
This story was important for me to share since it is my personal experience dealing with the pandemic. Although I was not sick personally, the virus took away the memories of my senior year. -
2021-02-07
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Growing up in Tampa seeing the Bucs win is a good thing. The first time in history a team played in their home city for a Super Bowl.... but COVID. It will be interesting to see if they do the parade and if they do what will happen. Undoubtebly people in Tampa are partying. I expect to see a 15% increase of COVID cases in Tampa at the very least. The 7-day average is currently 420 for cases reported. I have to recheck in 7-10 days. It will be interesting to see how big of an impact America's game will have. -
2021-02-07
Super Bowl Sunday on a Balcony
Super Bowl Sunday on the balcony. Some occupants who live in an apartment across the way from us brought out a huge t.v. onto their balcony and have people over to sit outside on the balcony to watch the Super Bowl. This is a pure and precious moment. -
2020-03
A Year Without Rowing
The end of my freshman (2019-2020) spring semester of college was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic gradually growing more and more. Not being able to have a normal freshman year and sophomore year (2020-2021) was not what I was expecting going into college. I have always expected my college years to be full of fun times and rowing but instead they have been full of the COVID-19 pandemic and online school at home. Traveling has been cancelled due to the pandemic which is what stopped studying abroad chances in different countries around the world. Not only was my college years cut short but also my college rowing career as well. Freshman year the spring season was cancelled due to COVID-19 as well as my sophomore fall season and maybe spring. The spring break has been cancelled for the school due to the pandemic which meant the teams spring break training has been taken away which is where we get into racing sprint pieces on the water. Being able to race and perform in regattas at a collegiate level is something I have always looked forward to throughout my high school years. Not being able to have the chance to compete against other colleges especially in the main season of rowing which is spring is something that is upsetting to myself, the rest of the team, and the rowing community. Having limited rowing opportunities for practice such as small boat rowing, small group pods, and the location. Strict policies from the athletics department have been guiding what we can and cannot do for rowing. There are plans for my sophomore spring season of competing against other college rowing teams if the COVID-19 pandemic begins to decline. If the pandemic begins to decline it will lead to less policies enabling the team to practice as a whole team and in bigger boats like 8s and 4s. This will allow the teams to practice at a higher degree on and off the water to become ready to compete in the regattas. The picture that I have attached is from my fall season of freshman year when there was no pandemic going on. I picked this picture because it is special to me because my collegiate rowing season has only been a semester long. Wishing that my next two years of rowing will be COVID-19 free and full of races and regattas. Hopefully the vaccine will help fix the pandemic and move towards the future into a COVID-19 free life. -
2020-11-13
At least we can cheer...
Fall high school sports in Arizona were delayed and in some cases canceled completely. My daughter, an 11th grader at Cactus Shadows High School, is on the cheer team and was disappointed not to have her usual, very full cheer season. Football games finally were allowed to happen, and four home games were put on the schedule. They ended up only playing 3 due to quarantines with both our own team and opponents, and they were allowed to attend one away game. Our school is also known for a very rowdy and fun student section, so it was sad to be at the game without students in the stands, and only four spectators per athlete. At least they got to cheer- even in masks- and got some semblance of a football season. -
2020-03-03
Postponed season
Our spring soccer season was cancelled because of being sent home as a result of the pandemic, so we had workouts etc. that were to be done at home. I am a keeper so this is a small clip of me doing a training exercise at my house. -
2021-01-25
COVID-19
I haven’t personally been affected that much by COVID-19. My brother had it in January, before everyone knew what it was, but other than that no one in my family has had it. The way it has affected me the most is with school and sports being canceled. I wasn’t able to see my friends very often and I couldn’t get as much activity. Even with all the bad things that happened because of COVID, there was still some good things. Many people learned new things or got a new hobby. For me it was skateboarding. The COVID quarantine is definitely not fun but there is some good that has come out of it. -
2020-12-31
They Never Saw the Sun
For every birthday and Christmas, I get new running shoes. I tell my mom and husband to buy them when they’re on sale, save them, and wrap them up for me. I run A LOT. When quarantine started in March, I took one run outside. Two days later, the CDC confirmed everyone’s worst fears - the virus was airborne. Although running is a low risk activity, where I run, the trails are very narrow. Unfortunately, the people who walk/bike/run there are apparently pretty narrow minded and refuse to wear masks. Could I run outside and not catch COVID? Probably. But with both my husband and I working from home, my +65 mom living with, and a perfectly fine treadmill, that risk just didn’t seem worth it. Man, I miss those trails. But I am lucky to have my treadmill. In July, I pulled out a new pair of running shoes. I honestly didn’t think about how long they’d been tied to the treadmill, I just laced them and put them on like I had done so many times before. One virtual marathon, three virtual 10Ks, and 600+ for fun miles (all on a treadmill) later, it was time to retire my trusty running shoes. On December 31, I announced their retirement with a snarky picture on my Instagram. But what a bizarre pair of shoes to retire. Perfectly clean on the outside, completely destroyed on the inside. The poor things never left the house, they never saw the sun. As a trail runner, my running shoes are always filthy by the time I’m ready to retire them. How strange to retire a pair of shoes that look brand new. How tired they are inside. A symbol of the bizarre year that was 2020. -
2021-01-22
Night Sprints
We have a balance beam upstairs. Since quarantine, we’ve added a trampoline and a tumble trak. All the years of vowing to have my daughter only due gymnastics at the gym has ended because she hasn’t set foot in the gym since March 2020. Even a few months ago, we were talking about having her return in the fall, but with the spike that started in October, there was no way. I want to support her the best I can, because she is passionate about her sport. Even though she is never going to be an Olympian or collegiate gymnast, she does well at our local and state meets and continuing to practice everyday (even on the days she complains) gives her that light she needs at the end of the tunnel. The knowledge that when this ends, she can return to the world of competitive gymnastics and all her friends on her team is one of the things that keeps her going. But I’m not a gymnastics coach. Until quarantine, I didn’t know what half the skills were. And we have no bars, and no vault. But there is one thing I can do - run. I figure the practice videos, (thanks Paul Hamm and Amanda Borden), the twice a week live zoom practices (thank you Kazio Acrobatics & Gymnastics, who, though not being my daughter’s gym and being 400 miles away, graciously extended their online classes to anyone in the country when this all began), and the at home training schedule of conditioning and skills her gym sent in March takes care of the floor and the beam. Bars is a lost cause, I hope some muscle memory remains for her. But the vault, which is her highest scoring event, is powered by running. I love running, and her coach used to tell me that gymnasts notoriously hate running, but it is a skill that really helps with vaulting. I figured I may not be able to do a back handspring, but I can teach my kid to run. So three times a week, I make her run. She is NOT a fan of the mile on the treadmill, but she seems to genuinely enjoy sprinting. On Friday, she was bummed because it got dark before she could make it out to sprint. So to make it fun, we figured we’d just sprint in the dark with lights. Was I secretly trying to train her to hold a baton? Maybe. Or maybe I’m just trying to keep hope alive for the kid. She’s 10, and before Covid, the longest stretches she has had from the gym is two weeks, and that is only when we go on vacation. So she basically has lived at that gym since the summer before she was 3. If she wants to continue competing, I will do anything I can to keep those muscles in shape so she can return. And if I end up training a new running partner in the process, what a win. -
2021-01-25
A Semester of Outfits
I haven’t grown in height since junior high school, and, as a result, I have A LOT of clothes. As sort of a fun game for myself and my students, I do not repeat an outfit through the 180 days of the school year. When school shut down in March, I switched to permanently in joggers, since I no longer left the house. When we began synchronous Distance Learning in August, I knew it was really important for my mental health and to try and portray a sense of normalcy for my students to still dress just like I was going to teach in person in a normal year. Since I don’t get to see all my students five days a week due to our block scheduling format for Distance Learning, I decided to post my outfit to my class Instagram each day, as an “ootd,” just for fun. It’s become sort of an interesting keepsake of my pandemic experience. If you look beyond the outfits and into my eyes you can tell the days I was anxious, worried, tired about the rising case counts, the unknowns, the state of our country, and locally, the true fear of whether they would force us to return to teaching in person. But the pictures also capture that in between the ever rising death toll, wildfires, political discord, racial tension, Capitol riots, life had to keep moving forward. And even during a semester of turmoil, you can see a lot of pictures show joy behind my eyes... and not only when the Dodgers won the World Series, allowing me to retire my 1988 World Series shirt! A new semester starts today, we’ll see what the expression in my eyes says about the state of the pandemic and the world in the weeks to come. -
2021-01-25
COVID Thoughts and the Journey through the pandemic
I thought the pandemic was not as bad as I expected for me. Since soccer was still open, I got to get a lot of physical activity during the pandemic and I love playing soccer. School was different since the first semester I was online the whole time. This was very frustrating since I had no social interaction with any of my friends. The second semester however I transferred schools and it is going much better now than before. In general the pandemic was very hard to get through with all of the rules you had to follow and everything else, but it also made some memories. -
2021-01-25
Statistics
As we may know a lot of people had or have Covid-19. Compared to the world population there are 7.8 billion people in the world and 99 million people have gotten it. The top cases are in the USA (25 million), India with (10 million), and Brazil with (8 million). Overall there has been 2.1 million deaths and the average age is 60+. I had a personal experience with my peers being represented in these statistics. My great grandma, my history teacher Mr., Newman, and my volleyball teammate. The one who hurt the most was my great grandma because she ended up passing away shortly after she caught Covid-19. In conclusion, I miss her very much and a big amount compared to the population got Coronavirus. -
2021-01-24
Major League Baseball Minor League Season Cancelled 2020
The article from the screenshot is about the Major league Baseball minor league cancelling their 2020 season and the economic impact that it had on the team's ownership (most of which are mom and pop owners) and the city's and towns that host these teams. With the cancelled season, these places and people were not receiving any revenues, and in many cases, these games were a major source for the money coming in. The athletes themselves were still paid, but did not play. This may impact the future of the game in unknown ways. Some of the things that are important for these athletes is that they continuously play which keeps their skills up as well as their physical condition, but most importantly, it allows for the teams to see their talent and promote them to the "big leagues." With the 2021 minor league season in jeopardy, the future of the game is in question. -
2021-01-22
Fish Out of Water
Since March 2020, my life has taken a complete turn. For my past high school years, I’ve constantly been in the pool playing water polo or swimming. In an odd way, I have built a connection with the water. It’s become a part of my day, a part of my life, and I took it for granted. I thought I would get to feel the adrenaline and the nervous wreak on game days when our season came, but it never did. As someone who was always in the water and active throughout the week, it was a change of scenery when we had to stay home because of the severity of the pandemic in California. Not being able to play my sports represents my high school experience as a junior because everything feels out of place. Most of my days used to revolve around practices and games, and not being able to attend these felt strange. This might be a minor inconvenience, but this little change threw me off guard. I had to find other ways to adapt to the situation and learn how to organize my days so that they could resemble one similar to before everything happened. I’m sure there are also many others who feel very unmotivated during this time of unrest. I, too, fell into a hole where I lost motivation because there was nothing to look forward to and I feared that things would never go back to normal, but I eventually adapted to this new reality because I realized that I could not predict the future. In a way, the lockdown was an opportunity for me to improve myself and take on new hobbies I have always been interested in. I started to cook more and even tried baking! -
2021-01-22
My Messy Desk
I choose to use this as my picture because over the past 7 months I’ve spent a lot of time on my desk, this year I’ve spent more time on my desk then I have outside, usually I’m a really athletic person who enjoys a good game of basketball, soccer or of tennis. But this year, we haven’t really gotten to go anywhere, I haven’t gotten to see my teammates in person since late April. My desk is really messy because it’s been awhile since I’ve cleaned it, but also because I kind of live on my desk. -
2021-01-22
Covid Positives that Effected Me
One Covid positive that effected me was my nanny. She lives with us and one day she visited her mom. When she came back, she had covid. She had to go stay with her mom while she quarantined, and my whole family had to get tested. Although we were negative, we still had to quarantine for a week. I didn't get to do any sports or hang out with any friends. -
2021-01-02
When I had Covid
In February of last year, I am not sure but I think I got Covid. My whole family ended up getting sick for about 3 days. It was really weird becuase we all felt really bad. I had like a fever and just didn't feel like doing anything. Since I happened to get a week off, I ended up going sking a couple days after, and I felt fine. Overall, it wasn't that bad and at the time we didn't even know that Covid was in the US and just thought it was a bad cold or something. -
2021-01-22
No more sports
I woke up one day got ready for school put my water polo stuff in my bag and I was out the door. I was excited to train so I could get ready for a big tournament coming up. I ask my dad, what time is practice. HE said people in the high school got Covid so practice is canceled for a couple of weeks. A couple of weeks I said. Then I won't be able to train for the tournament. He said yeah I know we are just going to have to figure out another way. So I had to find out a way to practice without a pool. -
2021-01-21T12:09
Covid symptoms
Neither me or my family has gotten COVID but two of my closest friends got it along with their family. One of the families didn't feel any symptoms but had to get tested for sports. When it came back positive they quarantined but only two of them felt sick. They described it as what a cold feels like, "just a little out of it". The other family I know actually felt very sick. When the parents felt sick they got tested and where posited but only 1/4 kids were positive too. Their symptoms were head aches, fever, and stomach aches. Loosing smell and taste is very common but I don't know any one who dealt with that. I know a few people who thought they had it, tested and came back negative. After going to the doctors it turned out to be the flu. I got tested for sports over the summer despite feeling normal (everyone who trained had to do it) and it came back negative it was rather uncomfortable but not painful. I wasn't very nervous I was positive but I was nervous the test would hurt. I know a few people who said they wouldn't be surprised if they had it and probably did at one point but never tested to confirm or deny their theory. Even though its very well possible. -
2021-01-21
Covid Systems
When Covid started I didn't know much about it. All I knew was it was like another flu and it was another virus. After a few months of Covid, I started to have friends and family who got it. Some of the symptoms my aunt and her sister had was a loss of smell and taste and they had fevers and were kind of fatigued. My old basketball coach got it and he had the same symptoms. Many many people have got it all over the world and I'm glad that I only know a few people who have it, and are fortunate that most of my friends and family are healthy. -
2021-01-08
CoviD symptoms
It was a couple weeks after the New Year. My coach had a fever and felt achey. He said maybe it was the flu, but he got tested for COVID. He realized that he tested positive. He had a mild cough, but couldn't sleep at night. Also, he had to quarantine for 2 weeks so I couldn't train or play basketball with him. My uncle also got COVID but his case was worse. He couldn't breathe at all and had to go to the hospital. He was there for around 5 days, and actually caught pneumonia from it. Eventually he recovered, but it was a crazy week. All in all, these are some of the symptoms that I have noticed in people. -
2021-01-20
Zoomin' Through High School
As it almost reaches the 1-year mark since COVID drastically transformed our lives, everything has become a norm. It is normal to go out wearing a mask, it is normal to stay in your house all day, and it is normal to go to school or work online. With schools closed down, Zoom has become a necessity to connect to others. As tiring as it is, we wake up every morning and log in Zoom for hours because it is something we have to do. As high school students, we no longer get the chance to make new friends at school, interact with each other during class, or participate in sports. For most, it is certainly upsetting to not be doing all those things right now, but as time goes by, we can only hope that things will go back to normal soon. For me, I do not mind online-learning and being confined to my room all day. Though it is boring, at least I have technology. Everyday, I communicate and connect with my family and friends through text messages, FaceTime, or Zoom. During a time of unrest, the best thing to have is friends and family, and when we can not come in contact with one another, technology is the only way. Since the start of junior year, my best friends and I talk everyday to compensate for the times we could’ve spent together in person. It is hard to plan safe and fun ways to hang out together, but we find ways to interact, such as, studying together on Zoom or daily FaceTimes. However, as our birthdays and the holidays have passed throughout the year, my friends and I have gone to each other’s houses to surprise each other with gifts. When we do choose to see each other in person, we try our best to ensure that none of us are sick and we are all safe. I hope that soon my friends and I can spend time together without worry and have lots of fun before the end of our high school careers. It is no doubt that we all use technology everyday as it has become an essential part of our lives due to this pandemic. 2020 was arguably the most disastrous year that I have experienced so far, and I have hope that 2021 will be better. As I have been living on the same schedule since March 2020 and the first semester comes to an end, it seems like it has made my junior year go by in a zoom. -
2021-01-19
Procedures
The worst procedure is social distancing. Social distancing at the start of the pandemic was a pain not ever being able to see my friends sucked. The other procedure is masked nobody like wearing mask especially for sports, when your running and panting and have that feeling of will they yell at me if I take the mask off. In conclusions these procedures hit hard. -
2021-01-19
Covid Restrictions
Throughout the Covid 19 Pandemic there have been many changes in my life. The main one and the hardest one for me was not bring able to see friends that much. I still get to see them but not as frequently as I used to. The second restriction was having to wear masks. I personally believe that masks help, but they are a pain to wear especially during sports and other physical activity. -
2021-01-19
rules
when covid first hit the first rule was to slow down international travel. this didn't work when there was an out break in Washington that spread fast. I didn't really mind this rule I just couldn't travel over summer but then they told people to stay six feet away from each other. this wasn't too bad either just I couldn't hang out with friends indoors and we couldn't go to a public place so we mostly surfed skated and built bike jumps. then they told us to wear masks. to avoid all these rules I never really left my naborhood unless go to my friends house and then we wouldn't go out side there naborhood. the masks where the worst it would make it hard to breath and stuff. -
2020-10-15
Covis rules
This past year we have had to follow so many new rules for Covid-19, some of these rules are wearing a mask, social distance, and not being able to go into some places. One time i got in trouble because I was playing basketball in a Gym and we had to wear a mask at all times, but I hate the mask cause I cant breath in it while Im playing so i took it off for less than a minute and one of the employees got mad at me. I don't like any of the rule cause as a kid I don't want to have to do all of these things, I just want to live my life and not lose a whole year of my life. -
2021-01-17
Old and New: Holidays in Round Rock Texas
These documents tell the story of my COVID-19 Holidays. It is important to me because it shows what changes I experienced in my holiday plans and offers a unique perspective. Description of images: 4th of July Concert at the Dell Diamond Baseball Park in Round Rock TX. Note the 4-person "Pods" on the grass indicated by the blankets. The blankets were brought by people who had purchased a Pod. Google Santa Tracker Dec. 24th, 2020. -
2021-01-16
Pandemic Hack
The coronavirus pandemic has (hopefully) briefly changed normalcy for everyone. Admittedly, I have never really been one to go to the gym and life weights. However, I do enjoy going to the gym and running on a treadmill and playing pick-up basketball. At the start of the pandemic especially, doing either of these things became impossible as gyms closed. At the time, I lived in an apartment and had no room (or money for that matter) for a treadmill. Fortunately, I was able to find an app on my phone that helped me stay in shape. This is very easy to do as you do not need weights or machines to stay in shape. The Johnson and Johnson seven minute workout app was great for what I needed to do: help me stay in shape without the luxury of weights or a gym. -
2020
My virtual learning experience
My virtual learning experience was not unique, I imagine, consisting of waking up about five minutes before school started, sitting through a class while watching endless hours of youtube, making myself breakfast during my break, and the occasional going to water polo after three more classes. Though I have always thought that school lacked challenge, virtual learning bored me out of my mind, I could not stand it. -
2020-10-11
Limited capacity
I want to a Dallas Cowboys in October at AT&T Stadium were they were allowing in-person audiences with “limited capacity” and with masks. When I want to the stadium that has a capacity of over hundred thousand only twenty percent was allowed. As I sat in the stadium to watch the game, a roaring crowd took on a different meaning to audible sensory experiences. That is to say, because of the lack of fans crowd noises were piped in to emulate a hundred thousand people cheering. This was done to give fans a game feeling although we knew this noise was manufactured. Although this noise was piped in, yet it never felt like a real game. The COVID-19 pandemic and my trip to the Dallas game had many effects on my senses as it relates to “limited capacity.” One, it caused my audible senses to now have to distinguish real from manufactured. Second, it made me further appreciate sounds of cheering and the silence of disappointment. Lastly, it made me realize that although visual sensory and memory plays a major part in our life experiences, audible sensory is just as important to us especially because the pandemic circumstance causes disruption in our lives. -
2021-01-14
Virtual Learning
During these past 9 months, I've had more time than I would usually have. Virtual learning was boring and I couldn't focus as well as I would in a class. I would zoom from a desk in my dining room with the cold feeling of the hard tile under my feet. My dogs would sometimes jump up on my chair or sit at my feet, they are no lapdogs they are three large chocolate labs that would sit with me. Sometimes if I got tired of the usual setting I would head outside and sit under the bougainvillea tree with the smell the lavender under my nose. Besides school I would travel, we went to Arizona for a baseball tournament which was rather enjoyable, I love baseball with the sun beating down on your neck and the feel of dirt in your shoes after a play at second, it was like heaven. During the summer I went on a trip to Texas but that doesn't have anything to do with virtual learning. Virtual learning was a challenge but I am glad that we are back to school in person. -
2021-01-14T08:53:10
Covid routine
routines before Covid were easy because they where every day. routines during covid were different because. the world closed down most off the sports programs, and restaurants and even grocer stores. people had to stay ind=side other wise they would be fined a lot of money. our family had to shop from Amazon for the first couple months. I play a lot of sports, like baseball, football, tennis, golf, and swimming sports. all those sports were canceled due to covid. then after that you have nothing to do. -
2019-12-09
Why Skiing Won't Work in a Pandemic
WHY SKIING WON"T WORK Dear Director Silver Thread Public Health (Mineral County, Colorado), I've had a few days to mull over the response made to my comments to the commissioners earlier in the-week regarding the ranking of Mineral County on the Colorado COVID 19 Dial and dashboard. Though I am not a resident of Mineral County I do spend the better part of my day in the county some 150 days a year, forgive me for commenting again, but I feel duty bound that someone goes on the record in hopes that a different viewpoint might have influence, even if in the back of the mind of the county's decision making as the pandemic progresses. I see some flaws in the reasoning given for gerrymandering Dial levels, rather than using them as they are described: Nowhere on the state’s Dial web pages is the decision process STH is using described or encouraged as its proper use. To say it is for guidelines mostly and not necessarily classification misrepresents the public’s perception and use of the dial. Changing classification to a county’s preferred level interferes with individual and the public’s crucial health options and choices. There is an assumption in the explanation that because Mineral County is a small town that somehow the numbers of incidents per 100,000 would be treated differently. Is the known math of the virus and its tendency for spread somehow fortuitously different here than the rest of the planet? I think not. 1.7 deaths per 100 cases works for COVID whether there are 700 people present or 7,000 people present. Rates per 100, 000 are employed exactly to gauge the seriousness of outbreaks regardless of the size of communities. Dangerous spread in sparsely populated states made up of mostly small towns disapproves Creede’s desire for s special dispensation from the disease. The explanation of ad hoc policies and improvised rankings and guidelines fall on the premise of a Public Health expert’s interpretation of “social responsibility,” an expert completely without the means to accurately monitor or enforce “social responsibility.” Social Responsibility, by the way, is also the governor’s preferred preventative and even his office has acknowledged that it has not worked. As illogical as it is that the smallness Mineral County somehow protects it from the realities of a deadly virus that obeys its own rules (and we know its rules well) no matter where it is transmitting, the wishful thinking that a small town knows best how to make its own rules defies even the remnants of reason when the policies disregard that the county includes a resort where thousands of people have and are gathering. Even if ranking and guidelines (at the time of my comment or now) were helpful per the improvised policies of STH relative to Creede, if that logic holds, the ranking and policies for small Creede certainly could not logically also be applied to Wolf Creek Ski Area, which was and is gets visited by thousands of people per day packed into parking lots in an area about the same area as Creede and at much higher density of people per square foot. Many of the ski areas visitors have come from far flung states with high infection rates, and most are from cities where small town “social responsibility” is often something very different than enjoyed in Creede. (I’ve seen plates from over 20 different states and from literally every corner of the county.) Small town or other norms of “social responsibility” also does not describe the atmosphere or the intent of a ski resort. It’s a vacationland where, in part, people travel a long way to take a break from their normal “social responsibility.” Indeed there is a strong element of maverick independence associated with the sports of snowboarding and skiing--including the apres socializing associated; It’s a place where, expectedly, we are allowed to break the rules a little, or a lot. Even within the community, if the Dial is not accurate, it can be intentionally or unintentionally misused by leadership in organizations and businesses that have to make decisions about gathering. Not everyone understands the elaborate process described in the thinking of STH; even a reader of it might not be helped by its crafting. Some individuals and leaders predisposed to attitudes resistant to the realities of COVID 19 will inevitably use lower ranking to justify their own personal and organizational loopholes. Employers of that bent may use the misinformed ranking or juggled guidelines as leverage over employees who would otherwise be best protected by accurate “Level” and guidelines that adhere to the Dial’s published parameters. Fiddling with the COVID Dial on a county level also ignores what public health experts are saying about the current dangers of the disease and models (which have, so far turned out to be pretty darn true) forecasting a debacle this winter, for everyone, including small towns. Fatalists and skeptics of the virus are using today to deny what we know is going to happen in a near tomorrow. Those tomorrows could be better or worse depending on what is done now. Fiddling for little windows of “freedom” will enable the most likely to spread among us to spread, and delays or manipulations of accuracy will cost lives, lives that in a small town count very, very much to all of us. The danger of taking liberties with vital Public Health information by debating the application and inventively blending the facets of a Dial Level leans towards a see-saw of levels, downgrading too soon too much and upgrading too late too little. I sincerely hope that Mineral County will make more effort to educate the public and leadership how to understand and use the dial instead of explaining (or not publicly explaining) the reasons for toying with and complicating it. It might also cut down on your mail, and relieve Mineral County’s health decision makers from the burden of taking on extra potentially egregious extra-personal responsibilities, pressures and culpability for public health outcomes. Used properly, the Dial is a tool that uniformly makes those responsibilities a matter of conferred, collaborative public policy and record rather than an ever shifting discussion inviting undue blame (or undue congratulation) for decisions that might be identified as personal. My prayers are with you as you make these excruciating decisions, and I pledge my personal social responsibility to your efforts. No need to reply. I know you are busy. Sincerely, Wayne Sheldrake South Fork, CO PS I don’t put this all on STH or Mineral. I know adjoining counties are also picking and choosing from the Dial. All the better reason to keep it descriptive rather than interpretive. W. K. Sheldrake (Wayne) is the author of Instant Karma: The Heart and Soul of a Ski Bum, #1 on Outside Magazine Online’s list of “6 Adventure Books We’d Read Again and Again,” and Foreword Magazine’s ‘Gold Medal’ Adventure Book of the Year (2007). He is recording his pandemic experience in a memoir THE19: Confessions of a Mad (American) COVIDodger. He lives in Southern Colorado with his “high risk” wife where there is plenty of wide open space. They do not currently have a dog. -
2021-01-07
Covid Christmas
My covid Christmas was a little different then normal. I did not get to go over to my cousins house for Christmas Eve so I spent Christmas Eve at my house. Usually my brothers come down and open presents with us, but they could not obviously because of Covid-19. My brothers came down later, but they had their mask on the whole time. I watched some NFl and NBA games, but it's not the same watching it without the chords. Me and my family made due with what he had and it was still and good Christmas -
2021-01-06
A Covid Christmas
Usually for Christmas, we travel a lot. The last time we stayed home for Christmas was when I was in 5th grade and I absolutely hated it. We then decided that was the last Christmas we would stay home. We don't have family near us, so it was relatively normal to what I think most peoples Christmas are. We went skiing which was so much fun, but it was different. If you didn't live with them you could do on a ski lift with them. You also had to wear a mask, but it was actually pretty nice because it kept your face warm. I wanted to see my friends before Christmas, but I couldn't because of covid, but I did get to see them after Christmas, (outside, socially distanced, with masks). Usually, Christmas break seems really short because were are traveling and going on planes, or we are driving all over some foreign country. Even though I love traveling, it was nice to have a normal Christmas where we had presents and we made cookies. -
2021-01-06
A Christmas Durring the COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed everything for all of us. Christmas Vacation was especially different for me and my family this year. I'll start by describing our normal Christmas Vacation. The first week after we are out of school, my family and I normally head up to Mammoth Lakes CA to snownoard and ski. We go up there for about one week to geet us in the Christmas mood. We always stay at our Aunt's place in the village. It's really fun to go exploring and finding a bunch of new things. Once we come back from Mammoth we pick up our christmas tree from a lot in Thousand Oaks CA called Christmas Ranch Tree Farm. When we get home we decorate the tree while watching National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. The next day is Christmas Eve. On that day we decorate and bake cookies. That night we read the story of Jesus' birth and T'was the Night Before Christmas. Our Grandma also comes over almost every Christmas Eve. On Christmas day we wakeup at seven, open our stockings and presents while my mom records it all on a device. After the opening of the presents we eat cinamon rolls. The rest of the day we hang out with out friends/neighbors looking at our new stuff. After that we head over to a big parter over at our Aun't house with all our extended family. That is our normal Christmas. This year however we didn't go to Mammoth. So we had nothing to do for the first week. I ended up doing a ton of mountain biking. On Christmas Eve we baked and decorated cookies like normal bu tour Grandma didn't come over so it felt odly emty. On Christmas day everything was normal the first part of the day (other than our Grandma not being there). However, we had no party later in the day so the whole Christmas was just our household which make it feel vary lonely. This Christmas was very different than the last few years. -
2020-01-06
covid 19
On Christmas I did not travel because of covid. Instead we stayed at my house. I woke up and opened my presents right away. I got a lot of gift cards because my parents weren't able to go out and get my gifts. after opening my gifts I went outside and hung out with the kids in my neighborhood. one of the kids got a full suspension rocky mountain mountain bike and another got new grips for his bike so we went to this dirt area near my house and all of us built a big gaper and then just hit that jump for the rest of the day. -
2021-01-06T10:00:00
Covid has ruined many trips for many different people
Christmas was really differentiations for me this year because usually my family and I would be in Mammoth. Mammoth is a great skiing mountain. I am a skier and a snowboarder I love to do both because they are both so much fun. I am very skilled in both. I am a black diamond in both so that means I can do any trail there is, like runs in the trees, icee runs, and rocks. This year I just stayed inside because we were not allowed out of the house. being stuck in a closed place for over a year really is not good for your health. -
2020-09-29
Family time
"This journal entry was written as a part of the American Studies class at California High School in San Ramon, California." -
2020-09-14
How COVID has effected me
Covid impacted my summer because my family always goes to the east coast and we to the beach with my grandparents but this year we were not able to go because the house we rent was not available and It was not suggested to go on a plane so that was canceled. I also usually play on a lacrosse travel team and box lacrosse team but that was all canceled only of late has it started to reopen so I’m hoping we get to play some games but we have only been able to practise and have no contact practices. The one thing that was really unfortunate was I was supposed to move my brother into his dorm.But was not able to do to the fact that there COVID guidelines say that only one family member can help move them in. -
2020-12-17
Covid and Lacrosse
Ay wat up Journal? This weekend I went to Utah for a college lacrosse recruiting tournament and showcase. During the showcase last Friday night, my team went 3-0 and I had Dallas and Tulsa looking at me. Saturday, while playing with Booth we won our three games that day. I had a bunch of turnovers, GBs, and clears. Later that day i went to walk around the Temple grounds since our hotel was only a block away from the temple. Sunday, we won our semi-final game by one in overtime! We won the championship game by one also in the last 30 seconds of the game! Both games we had to come back after a three point deficit. The games were extremely intense and all of us had to ball out in order to secure those dubs. Matt and I taped five jars of pickles to John’s and Henry’s hotel door using lacrosse tape. We also filled up a wastebasket with water and pickles and leaned it up against their door. I'm extremely grateful that this tournament wasn't canceled. All of my other tournaments for lacrosse have been canceled. We were supposed to go to Las Vegas and Tuscon. I just hope that I have enough film to make a highlight reel. -
2020-12-08
Big Events Now Virtual
Whether it be a sports game, musical or concert, its not happening in person during covid. Covid has made social distancing a top priority, meaning that huge gatherings in confined spaces probably won't work. Sports events including the NBA & NHL took the route in keeping there players safe from the disease by implementing the "bubble" which ultimately isolated the players from all contact except for games and practices. No concerts are in session as well as musicals, they can be shown virtually on the other hand.