Items
Date is exactly
2020-04
-
2020-04
The Unseen Heroes: A Tribute to Essential Workers
In the turbulent maelstrom of the COVID-19 pandemic, a silent but terrifying force has emerged: the workforce needed They were the unsung heroes of our time, navigating the treacherous waters of the mind uncertainty and fear to keep the public afloat. When I think about the impact of COVID-19, I am drawn to their stories, their sacrifices and their resilience. Each day as I scoured the news, filled with alarming statistics and heartbreaking stories, I couldn’t help but marvel at the dedication of these individuals. And from the health care workers fighting on the front lines, to the store clerks making sure things stay on the shelves, to the delivery drivers braving the delivery of vital supplies to our doors and them courage and selflessness are beacons of hope in the darkest of times. I remember a particularly poignant moment when I saw a picture of a nurse in protective gear holding the hand of an elderly patient. The painting spoke volumes about compassion and human connection in the face of loneliness. And it captures the essence of the epidemic: struggle, solidarity and the unwavering spirit of humanity. But amidst the chaos, there were also moments of beauty and resilience. I stumbled upon a series of Instagram posts featuring acts of kindness - neighbors helping each other, community members rallying to support local businesses, and strangers offering words of encouragement through virtual forums. This gesture was small, but powerful in its impact and served as a reminder that humanity triumphs even in the darkest of times Sharing these stories and ideas reminds us of the importance of documenting our collective experiences during this period of history The pandemic dramatically changed our world, leaving an indelible mark on our collective consciousness . . . . By preserving this information, we ensure that future generations understand not only the challenges we faced but also the strength and compassion that emerged in response. -
2020-04Pandemic public bus
Photo credit goes to the Coronavirus Chronicle Facebook page. The photo shows the locked front part of the MTA bus. This photo directly connects to my experience of taking buses during the surge of the Covid-19 pandemic in March and April 2020. I observed absolutely the same picture of the bus interior every single day on my daily trip to work. The front of the bus was purposely locked by crisscrossed chains and two safety belts. Hence passengers could not get on the bus in the front and the machine that took trip payment money and cards also were not available for public use. Passengers had a free ride throughout the pandemic on all NYC buses. MTA drivers avoided close airborne contact with other people to keep themselves safe and not lose their in-person work respectively. Such isolated buses reminded me of a post-apocalypse underground train in one of the parts of the Matrix film. Neo and his fellows had to hide from computer program agents that try to invade their shelter at the abandoned subway system. -
2020-04
Getting Our Time Back
The Covid-19 Pandemic was a hard time for everyone. People were sick, out of work, losing loved ones, and going through several other mental and physical health problems. However, we also had a lot of time on our hands during the pandemic, and my family took the as the perfect opportunity to bond. During the pandemic, we spent a lot of time together, we would paint, talk, watch movies, play games, basically anything we could do get together. This gave me the chance to grow closer with my family during a hard time and I really cherish the time we spend together. . -
2020-04Saved
The pandemic has not only been a devastating experience but a time of reflection. -
2020-04
Getting our Time Back
During our everyday lives, we tend to lose so much of our time that we'd like to spend doing things we enjoy such as spending time with family or even just doing hobbies. For example, when you have to work all week you usually spend at least half your weekend catching up on personal chores. During the Covid-19 Pandemic, my family and I were able to get back some of the time we had been spending at school and work, we were able to spend time together instead. We were able to have movie nights, game nights, and meals at the table, and we just enjoyed being together overall. This is so important to me because I value every second I spend with my loved ones, and I was glad we really got a chance to bond during a very stressful time for everyone. -
2020-042020 Planner
This bullet journal, titled "Keep It Together," was created fresh after moving states in January of 2020. January through February are well organized, with the planner I drew out having individual days, and places for grocery lists, to-do lists and monthly goals. Even March keeps the same energy, stretching into the beginning of the pandemic, but April comes with a great shift. What was once a detailed planner has lost any sense of time, becoming an amalgamation of grocery lists for vague weeks, stream-of-consciousness poetry, and abandoned bullet lists of brainstorming what to do with my life...only for the journal to snap back into focus at the end of July, continuing its main function as a planner, what with less frills than before. This mirrors my own experience in 2020, as April-July was the period of time I spent alone, living in a new city, working at a fast food job that did not stop when the rest of the world did. I felt very much like my journal, unmoored and adrift, until a change in job and living situation and deciding to go back to school helped bring me some sense of purpose again. -
2020-04Sudden Change to the Nature of Library Work
This story shows how pandemic radically changed workplace experience, including sensory memories, for my occupation as a library worker in Washington County Utah in April 2020. -
2020-04Covid in the Wild West
A comic strip about Covid-19 -
2020-04
Blessing in Disguise
2020 started out great. I finally started to like my experience as a freshman at Duquesne. I really took a liking to my classes and the sorority that I joined, and I was always busy which was a nice change of pace from the fall semester. With this, I met a lot of amazing people who soon would become my closest friends. I was having a great start to the year. However, that all came to a pause in the middle of March. What I thought was going to be a 2-week vacation turned out to be a complete change in the way we live our lives. Zoom University was a nice break but it soon turned into a nightmare. I myself am a home-body, but getting up every single day knowing that I was about to have the same exact day as the next and the next was really hard. I had a really hard time not seeing family, friends, maintaining relationships, and just trying to stay sane during this quarantine. While this seemed like a never-ending cycle that would soon drive me and everyone in my house insane, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. While I really loved my life at school, I realized that I didn’t have much time to focus on myself. It was just one distraction after the next. I finally got to really do things for myself. I made it a habit to workout inside the house, go on daily walks with my family, journal my thoughts, and really work on finding my inner peace. During this time, I realized that some things I had in my life pre-covid that I thought were serving me and bringing value, were not. Covid really stripped down every distraction and made it clear what was making me happy and what wasn’t, and for that I am grateful. Although it came with many struggles, covid taught a lesson to myself and I think to a lot of people of how to adapt well to a situation and focus on what is important, your well-being and the well-being of those closest to you and get back to your roots! -
2020-04How Stuffed Peppers Kept Me From Killing My Roommates
In March of 2020, I had just turned 22. I was prepping to graduate from Loyola University Chicago and searching for a job in journalism — a notoriously tough field to start out in, pandemic or not. The virus started spreading, and the jobs started disappearing. Chicago, my once-vibrant home where people scattered like ants as the CTA trains screeched into the station, was deserted. It was eerie. The internet was swarming with newly viral recipes: banana bread, sourdough starters, homemade pizzas. I wasn't interested in those, they didn't strike my fancy. In a time of severe isolation for most, I was stuck with roommates. Don't get me wrong, we had our issues. The dishes were almost never done, and we disagreed on whose responsibility they were. But in my boredom, I took up cooking, and for once I didn't mind cooking for them as well. I was one of many COVID-induced chefs who began as amateurs and blossomed into connoisseurs that rivaled the best of takeout menus. The only problem was, I'm a vegetarian, and my roommates are born-and-bred Midwesterners, set in their ways of eating and enjoying meat at nearly every meal. But by April, I had sprung head-first into a phase of cooking stuffed peppers several times a week, and they had followed me down the rabbit hole. There were no disagreements about whether to put meat in the filling or not — we didn't need it, there was enough flavor and protein regardless. And the dishes were always done, somehow without a single argument or passive-aggressive slam of a door. The peppers were fun and colorful, Instagram-worthy in a time that lacked almost anything visually intriguing. They became a source of collaboration instead of the division that had seeped in through our 100-year-old Chicago apartment's walls, a result of being trapped with no one but each other for weeks on end. It's superstitious, maybe, but I think these peppers may have saved us from severing our relationship forever. We mended our fracturing friendships and became a family once again, eating dinner together and making sure the kitchen was clean. -
2020-04Sounds of a Spring Lockdown
On March 25, 2020 Governor Polis ordered a state-wide stay at home order for Colorado. By this time, my family was already limiting our time outside the house to work or errands. My daughter, Kat, has severe asthma, so we knew we had to limit our exposure as much as possible. Previous midnight trips to the emergency room were full of her wheezing out tiny gulps of air, the beeps and blips of the machine keeping track of her heart rate, and the guttural growl of the blood pressure cuff as it tightened around her arm. These were the sounds I first heard when the stories of a new, novel virus came out, the sounds that stayed most in my mind the more I heard about rising cases. The first week in April the movie theater where Kat worked closed down. My son, Gabe, left his job a few days later. I cried that day, not from sadness but relief. And not a quick cry, but the loud sobs that make your shoulders shake. The next day was a major shift for us. Instead of leaving the house to work, they came to work for me instead. My cross stitch shop was already a full-time business. Now that many people were staying home, the US saw a return to basics (baking and crafting), and my shop exploded with more orders than I could fathom. There is something that satisfies most of us in having that tactile experience, whether it be the feel of flour (soft and powdery) as you knead your bread or the stabstab of your needle piercing your fabric. Though there was the stress of craft stores closing and supply chain delays, long work hours, and boxes of hoops stacked in the living room, there was mostly the sound of the Beatles and loads of laughter. Kat has a high-pitched giggle (she snorts when she really gets going), Gabe a deep laugh rich in tone. Someone came up with the adage that laughter is the best medicine. I couldn’t say who created the saying, but the sound of laughter in my house during the April 2020 lockdown in Colorado kept myself and my children in positive spirits. In fact, our lives have been forever changed by that April. They are back to their old jobs, but we still keep mostly at home and with each other. We have family game nights and cook together and keep the laughter going strong. -
2020-04
Empty New York
This is a photo I took of an empty street in New York. During the first peek of the pandemic, New York traffic-filled streets and bustling attractions were rather empty. -
2020-04MUSE 360 Assingment Juliee Decker RIT
Assignment prompt given to MUSE 360 students of Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) by instructor Juliee Decker, Spring 2020 -
2020-04Clean Hands and Empty Spirits
This story is a small snapshot into how I felt mentally, and smelled, heard, and touched physically during April 2020. It talks about how the smells and noises around me at the time contributed to my worsening mental state and the feeling of hopelessness. This is important to me because it was this time that I learned that I am mentally stronger than I think and that I can get through rough patches with the help of my husband. It was not a fun experience, but I grew from it. -
2020-04Maple Street Biscuit Company
Maple Street located in historic St. Augustine was deemed an essential business during the statewide quarantine. To help the community they sold extra toilet paper, cases of water and paper towels, which were out of stock at most grocery stores. -
2020-04New Adventures due to Quarantine
These two images were taken when my sister and I went to an abandoned train tunnel and explored it. Being stuck in quarantine has brought us back together and outside yearning to explore new places. -
2020-04Hiking
The pandemic left me feeling very depressed and alone after losing what was left of my senior year. This all changed though when my family and I started hiking. Every day we would hike a new trail in the town in which I grew up in. On these trails is where I truly strengthened my relationship with my family members. We truly bonded with one another throughout our long hikes. These hikes made also gave me time to reflect on myself and where I was at that point in time. Throughout these hikes I was able to set some goals for myself on where I wanted to be in my future. It is definitely safe to say that I have achieved these goals as well up to this point. In all, I truly would not trade these long hikes for anything in the world. These hikes they really changed my outlook on life and it was here that I truly was able to strengthen my relationship with my family members. -
2020-04Faith-based Organizations Responding to COVID-19
Coming from the USAID (United States Agency International Development), this article provides a breakdown of several different FBO’s (Faith Based Organization) and their response in providing aid during the pandemic. The article discusses various faith groups (Christian, Muslim, Jewish) and their individual responses. While a lot of aid and charity has been provided in the United States, many FBO’s are working to also provide aid to those overseas as well. Citizens of Pakistan, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, as well as Latin American countries are being helped during this time. -
2020-04The Historical Research Project
Specifically, the Covid-19 pandemic inadvertently prevented me from my continued work in the Research Department at the Denver Public Library, as well as my volunteer work with the School Tours program at the History Colorado Center. However, it has given me an opportunity to conduct a history research project of my own choosing. I have had an ongoing interest in a writing project on the Domesday Book, which was a survey conducted in medieval England in AD 1085-1088. The repeated news stories on fellow Americans and citizens from around the world choosing to become interested in artwork and/or other projects while presented with an abundance of personal time due to Covid-19 restrictions has inspired me to begin this project. I was able to obtain a copy of an English translation of the Domesday Book and, though my graduate level academic work has not been postponed in any way, I have found time to begin this work. I will always remember that I began this passionate project because of the Covid-19 lockdown and restrictions, it will occupy my time far beyond Covid-19. -
2020-04COVID. A Blessing in Disguise?
The pandemic has allowed me to take a step back from everything in society to see what I truly care about and what truly matters to me. Not only what matters, but who in my life I love and care about that matters. The photographs I have attached show exactly who those people are. Throughout the pandemic I have made stronger relationships with my family. Although there were moments that it was hard spending time with just them 24/7. It was difficult knowing I could not see friends from home that went to different colleges during the year. This is because their parents were definitely stricter about COVID than my parents were. And I completely understood that, but it was tough not seeing one another knowing they were just five minutes away. To fill that frustration, we would have Netflix watch parties from our houses on our own computers so that it would feel as if we were all watching the same movie in the same room. Then after a few months we would take our dogs for walks outside, and that is shown in one of the pictures. We did this so that we could see each other while being able to properly social distance. It was just hard having to accept that for now it would be our new normal. Going home from Duquesne meant that all my friends from school would also be heading home. In another picture it shows a few of my friends and I all FaceTiming one another. We would all group FaceTime together just about once every day to play games and just catch up which also gave me something to look forward to. A positive that come from quarantine was being able to do workouts with my family three times a week. We never got to do this because I would be at school and my brother would be working. Two times out of the week we would work out at a local park near my house. Then every Saturday morning bright and early at 7 AM my dad’s trainer would pick a different sight throughout the city to work out at. This was something I definitely looked forward to once a week because typically we would just work out at the same gym. Now that the gym had to be shut down it allowed us to think outside the box. In one of the pictures it shows my dad, brother, his girlfriend and others that worked out at Point Park one freezing morning. It was definitely hard waking up on a cold morning, but having a change of scenery, being able to be outside and be physically active with some family and friends was nice and refreshing. We went to other destinations around the city too such as outside Hinze Field, PNC Park, and Pitt. In another picture is my mom and I. We have always been close, but with me being away at college COVID had allowed me to be around her more often. We would watch movies, cook dinner, and make fires together which was nice to be able to spend more quality time together. Overall, COVID was hard not being able to see certain friends that I have missed, but it had also allowed me to make stronger relationships with those I had not spent a lot of time with because I have been away at college. In some aspects I would say that COVID was a blessing in disguise for me and my family. -
2020-04Covid Portraits: Allston
I decided to do a series of portraits of family members in masks to document the pandemic. -
2020-04Covid Portraits: Los Angeles
I decided to do a series of portraits of family members in masks to document the pandemic. -
2020-04Banana Muffins
When the pandemic began, the company I work for sent us all to work from home. While I did some baking and cooking before, I took it upon myself to grow and learn more. Plus, in the office we usually had some sort of food available, and now I had to provide that for myself. I began looking up recipes to make at home that were fast and easy, yet really good. I stumbled on this recipe and now it is my go to recipe. The smell from them baking and after they come out of the oven is great, and they don't take too much time. The smell lingers in the house the rest of the day as well, and the I love the flavor of these muffins. -
2020-04
The Pain of Teaching at Home
This is story like many others during this time. The work of a parent with kids sent home for e-learning. Though I had a background in education, having an M.A. in Education, this was a task that was a difficult one that my education and years of teaching could not help me. The first task is explaining to younger children why they have to stay home. Especially when we as adults are unable to truly grasp what is going on. The second part is trying to motivate students to learn when the school was not ready for this type of teaching. Though the teachers tried, the manner of teaching was a difficult one that led great stress during this time. To add to it, the consistency and norm for the children was shattered which required me to try to recreate that same standard, yet another difficult task. Added onto that, is a child that struggles with reading, which most of the assignments were backed by, instead of the lecture they were used to. The first step was trying to set the norm for them. Breakfast, work, break, work, lunch, work, done. Though it sounds simple, with two separate students with different educational abilities, and drive for success, keeping one on task while the other was done or finishing faster was a task. Aiding them was truly difficult. Some of the difficulties came from my teaching experience being middle and high school not elementary. The next being understanding some of the finer points of the material being taught, I found myself having to learn the material to then teach the material to my children. To compound it further, there is the social aspect of being stuck at home with out the interaction they needed for their peers. Though I fancy myself a “cool” dad, I will never measure up to my kids’ friends. Attempting to fill this void was significantly more difficult than being their teacher. Though my kids did not have near the growth they would have received academically while being in school, they did not lose intelligence and picked up some knowledge along the way. Though it took tears, patience, drive and resilience, it was a time that we can all reflect on and hope it never happens again, which it did, 5 months later, but everyone was better prepared and the lessons learned from the springs allowed for greater success on the second go. Here is to hoping it doesn’t happen again!!! -
2020-04A Different Kind of Adventure (But an Adventure all the Same)
I wanted to use this collection of photos to highlight the change of attitude and environment for friendships pre-Covid and during Covid: In the first three photos my college friends and I are out and about a major city and public transportation, giving no second thoughts on sanitary factors. For us, an adventure meant exploring the city limits and beyond. In the next photos, taken after most of us returned from our respective universities and finished a serious quarantine. We finally reunited, though barely leaving our home limits, after being locked inside for weeks, it felt like an adventure; Despite the need for much caution and unfamiliar form of socializing. We cherished each other’s company in this new way of hanging out. Finally, the last photos were taken later in the summer. Out of quarantine but still amid a pandemic, we found adventure were found in something as ordinary as grocery shopping or trying something different like eating fast food in the trunk of a car. -
2020-04Family facetime
At the start of lockdown it became clear that my family would not be able to see each other for a while. Most of my family lives in Sydney, some of us live in Melbourne, regional Victoria and Canada. In response, my sister initiated a Coffey Family FaceTime every night at 6:30pm with whoever was available. However, this meant teaching my grandmothers how to use Facebook and how to start a call. More than 8 months later and both my grandmothers still can’t turn their video on without direction and also can’t start Facebook calls. This call kept us together when we felt far away. Celebrating father’s day and birthdays and anniversaries on FaceTime made some moments more memorable and some feel more lonely. Face timing each other was fun until there was a family dinner in Sydney and you couldn’t leave the state. However, there were fun moments, stirring up my parents dogs by yelling “walkies” or “dindins” and then leaving the call, FaceTiming on empty trams and using the weird face effects to confuse my grandmother about who’s camera was whose. The call gave structure to the days spent inside and caused me to talk to my grandmothers and extended family more about the current world events. HIST30060 -
2020-04ANZAC Day 2020
Like many families we participated in a dawn service unlike any previously held this year. As gatherings and official ceremonies were cancelled people looked for alternate ways to commemorate ANZAC day. Across the country there was a movement to participate in a unified but socially distanced way. Lighting a small candle and observing the minute silence made us all feel a little more connected during the height of the Sydney lockdown. -
2020-04Birthdays in lockdown - HIST30060
When the pandemic caused Melbourne to more-or-less shut in March, my year 12 brother who attends a boarding school, and I, who lived in the city to be closer to university, had to move home to the Mornington Peninsula with our parents. All four of us, and our two dogs, celebrated our birthdays in lockdown - and not just any birthdays; my mum turned 60, my brother turned 18, and I turned 21. We had high hopes for grand celebrations which were obviously not possible under the government restrictions, so instead we did what we could from home and the celebrations were very special. Even though we didn't have access to some of the things we normally do for birthdays (e.g. dinners out at restaurants, movie tickets etc.) it was so nice to see the effort we put in to make each other's day special. -
2020-04Summer Reading Time
A friend whose child recently beat cancer started the Teddy Bear Foundation this last summer. He reads to children in both English and Spanish. Since he is no longer able to do so in person, he started a YouTube channel in order to read stories to children suffering from cancer. -
2020-04COVID Stimulus Check: Grad School in Quarantine
This meme, posted on the popular social media platform Reddit, represented and still represents the feelings of many Americans as they attempted to survive the pandemic with a one time payment of $1,200. For many college students there was no money at all, it is common for parents to still claim their adult children as dependents for tax purposes and because of that their children were not eligible for the stimulus check. Thousands of students, including myself, had to make it through without even the small one-time payment provided by the government. With the pandemic still going strong there is talk of another stimulus but if the same problems with tax status occur again then it won't mean anything to many struggling students. -
2020-04No Disneyland this Summer
I started following a lady on Youtube and Instagram as I began preparations to go to Disney for the first time. This Youtuber gives advice on how to have a great Disney trip for introverts. Needless to say, my trip didn’t happen and neither did hers. -
2020-04
Celiac Disease and Quarantine
In April of 2020 I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease and had to immediately stop eating anything that contained gluten, so no wheat, barley or rye. Gluten is in EVERYTHING. Bread of course, but sauces, candy, condiments, cheese dips, frozen foods, you name it. It is even in beauty products and lotions. Learning to live with CD meant learning how to change the recipes to some of my favorite dishes. I started with a Gluten-Free loaf of bread, which ended up being a disaster. Unlike a regular loaf, GF flour is not sticky or elastic, but acts more like a batter. The “dough” was ultra soft and wet, and especially hard to form. I followed the instructions, but the bread came out hard on the outside and dense and wet on the inside, like an old 50s cake recipe. Quarantine and baking hasn’t been the greatest combo. -
2020-04Hickory Run State Park
Since I work and go to school full time, it can be hard to find time to get out into nature. However, since the coronavirus caused my job to be furloughed for a time, it allowed my fiancé and I to use our newfound time to explore the amazing beauty of Pennsylvania's state parks. -
2020-04The Silence of Moab
Moab Utah is a lively tourist town normally filled with visitors from around the world. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has made it a ghost town. -
2020-04Medical Intensivists (COVID-19)
The portraits overlay a story mostly untold of the feverish “backroom” effort that distinguishes order from chaos inside hospitals suddenly at risk of being overrun. The photographs also explore the new people-and-place aesthetics of casual videoconferencing as first experienced in recent months by millions of people worldwide. -
2020-04
Missing out on important Life Experiences, stuck at home.
When my high school, Hamilton High, postponed the return of school for a few weeks due to the rising COVID-19 cases here in the United States, I wasn't all too bummed about missing an extra few weeks of school. I didn't consider how deadly the virus would be, how many lives it would take, and how many life experiences it would steal from me; all I knew was that I got to be at home doing whatever I wanted for an extra few weeks. I thought I was free, free from my usual life obligations, free from stress, free from all the problems the average teenager goes through. Little did I know that that was the start of mine, and many others, living purgatory. As the days passed by, seeing the cases rising and the deaths rising left me contemplating about how short life really is, what was I doing with my life, was I living my life to the fullest. I realized that any day I could wake up, not knowing it would be the last day of my life. Not only that, but as the return date to school pushed further and further back until finally, they announced that the rest of the school year would be canceled. That means that I would not have a traditional graduation, nor would I be able to attend prom. With COVID cases on the rise seemingly every week, I realized that most college campuses would be either closed or highly limited, and with a pandemic ongoing there wouldn't be much of a chance for social interaction, or going to classes in person, or really just living the college experience. I feel like I was deprived closure from high school, and my first year of college wouldn’t be the fun freshman college experience that most other people have. Fortunately, my friends and family have been safe from the virus, which I am very grateful for. However, I still can't help but feel slightly sorry for myself and other teenagers who are missing out on their freshman experience. -
2020-04Coping with Quarantine
I must say 2020 so far was not what I expected it to be. I began Brooklyn College on January 30th, 2020 for spring semester after taking a 10 year break from when I received my associate’s degree.I enjoyed getting back into the swing of things and coming to campus, making new friends and getting to know my Professor’s and engaging in my classes. This was a new routine me and it was exciting but challenging as well, between work, home life and taking five classes to say I was super busy was an understatement. When I first heard of the Corona Virus and what was happening in China, the resilient New Yorker in me thought “ this is NYC that won’t happen to us, we are fine “ but I was wrong. I was truly blindsided when the virus started spreading and became a world wide pandemic. Sadly I realized that it was serious when the mass hysteria began and I could not find toilet paper, hand sanitizer and everyday cleaning products. Shortly after, College became remote and I found myself unemployed. My busy, hectic, challenging and exciting new routine suddenly came to a stop, but I would soon realize the blessing in disguise with this quarantine. I was now home with my Sixteen year old Son and we were both learning from home. It was not easy for me, I soon noticed that I learn better in a class setting. I found it difficult to give my full attention to my Professor’s and my assignments but I pulled through and found the discipline to pass all my classes. During the quarantine I needed to find ways to make life interesting for myself, my Son and Fiancé. We started spring cleaning early, I started cooking takeout dishes that we missed, such as Chinese fried rice and Magnolia Bakery’s Banana Pudding, and I even learned how to dye my roots blond. My family and I were blessed to not be affected by Covid-19 personally and the quarantine did bring us closer together and although 2020 was not what I expected I am thankful and blessed for what it has given me and I hope that we all can only move forward and I pray there won’t be a second wave. God Bless us all. -
2020-04The Room Gym
As for all of us around the world, we all experienced unique circumstances within our homes. For me, it was keeping up with my workout routine these past six months. The gym has become my second home over the past two years. It was where I can relieve my daily stressors and shut off my mind for an hour. The healthy lifestyle changes that I have made were greatly influenced by working out, so having the gym closed during the pandemic was a drastic change in my environment, along with the closing of schools. Right before everything was officially shut down, my mom and I drove to the nearest target to grab a set of dumbbells. By the time we got there, everyone was in a frantic state and the shelves were practically empty. Luckily, I was able to get my hands on a set of 10s and one 40 lb. They were the last of the weights, I cannot imagine what would've happened if we came five minutes later. These three dumbbells became the sole accessories of my workouts for the coming months. I knew it was time to get creative. In addition to some resistance bands I own, I obtained a shopping basket from my local market. To mimic the deep back squats, I would pile all my weights in the basket and grab two dining table chairs. Then I would stand on top while straddling the basket with my hands. Originally, I used my younger brother but he became too occupied with video games as quarantine went on. This repetitive movement would allow anyone to quit after the first month, but I kept on going. The idea of maintaining my strength no matter the lengths I had to go through was my key motivator. By using grocery bags filled with detergent bottles tied to a broomstick, laundry bags filled with clothes, I performed my exercises in the strict confinements in my bedroom. My parents were too busy focusing on not scraping any new furniture or floors that came with finished renovations. I was not allowed to workout outside my room, so this was another mentally challenging restriction. It is different weight lifting right next to an unmade bed, and I was so close to giving up almost every week. I would try to find loopholes, but nothing was going to change my parents minds. I had to keep pushing myself, no matter what. I knew if I gave into the temptations of my soft bed, I would never get back to exercising until the gyms re opened. What helped was going on daily isolated walks, so I could at least get out of my room for a little. As I am sitting here typing this memo, I am ever so grateful for the gyms reopening. With the limited equipment and lack of space, I am truly amazed that I did not give into the laziness. Though in other aspects of my life activity levels depleted, working out in my room was the one habit I kept consistent throughout. -
2020-04A Year I Will Never Forget
2020 started off a great year for me, I was so excited to turn 21 and envisioned this amazing year where I would travel, meet new people, etc. However quickly that dream ended, working in a pharmacy I was always on edge about the virus especially when the cases were spiking which caused this worry inside my family and I. I worried about my two immunocompromised parents mostly, what would happen to them if they got sick? Would I be the reason they did so? Would I bring home something from the pharmacy? Fortunately my family is safe and healthy but I wasn't, what I assumed was just a cold turned out to be one of the worst experiences of my life. I couldn't believe I had COVID-19, I was taking all precautions and yet it was inevitable thought I will never forget this birthday; celebrating turning 21 with COVID and eating ice cream cake in my pajamas. I was grateful I ended up recovering but it was devastating when I would hear almost weekly someone I knew had passed away whether it be a friend, patient, a familiar face. Sometimes I can't wrap my head around all of this happening, we have been in quarantine for over six months and it seems like there will be no end to this either. I want to remain optimistic and look forward to things but it so hard to when everything seems almost draining. The small things that once brought us to ease seems to be so far away now. -
2020-04Hope Is All We Have
Similar to many other Americans, the difficult months of March and April provoked a feeling of fear of what is to become when we return to “normalcy” in me. I still remember watching news channels constantly breaking the news of hospitals being overcrowded and insufficient storage of bodies making me terrified. The non-stop sirens were a reminder of the heart-wrenching situation we were living in every moment. I realize that we may never return to normal again. As we slowly return to our respective workplaces and institutions, I expect a more cautious attitude in New Yorkers. Some changes include less crowded trains and buses, fewer social gatherings, and less physical contact. Previously, crowdedness and liveliness were the essence of New York City but I do not expect this to remain to the same extent now. However, one positive change I expect in people is a kinder and compassionate attitude towards one another. These few months of quarantine have taught us to appreciate all that we have more. I expect New York City to develop a greater community outreach with New Yorkers looking out for one another. Having been one of the hardest hit cities in the world, we will evidently have more guidelines and safety precautions in effect once we return which will serve as a reminder of the battle that we have faced. I believe that each life we lose will soften the hearts of New Yorkers and unite us in our strength to overcome. When we look back upon this crisis, we will remember the frustration of being restricted to our homes, the fear of hearing the news of a lost loved one, and the anticipation of the good news of a treatment. -
2020-04The impact COVID-19 had on my mental and emotional health.
My experience throughout this unexpected pandemic took a toll on my state of mental and emotional health. When I first found out about how quick this virus was spreading throughout our city, schools were still not closed officially and I was still traveling on public transportation to work. When taking public transportation, due to the lack of masks, I had to wear a scarf around my face because that was the only way I could think of protecting myself. I was anxious all the time, but most especially on the train and bus rides, my anxiety would get the best of me, so much that at times I felt like I had to hold my breath so that I can minimize my exposure to contracting this virus. Once things started getting really bad and schools and non essential jobs finally shut down, it was a slight relief. Switching from in person lectures to virtual learning was not as easy as I had thought it would be. I was now not only anxious and worried because of this pandemic and the health of myself and my loved ones but also because I was having a hard time trying to adapt to a different style of learning. I was taking two science courses, both biology and chemistry which were not the easiest topics for me. To prevent us from "cheating" professors had made the exams much harder which was another stressor. Throughout the spring semester I was staying up really late at night trying to study in every way possible so that I would do well on my upcoming exams. Whenever I had the time to sleep I just couldn't because my anxiety wouldn't let me. I would have never imagined this getting so bad, I thought maybe with quarantining we would have it under control but unfortunately this virus is still on going and who knows when we'll get back to what was considered normal. -
2020-04Jewish Melbourne: Chabad Kingston resources for Pesach
L'Chaim Chabad Kingston assembled a website of resources for Pesach 2020, providing information for congregants: "As Jewish people around the world prepare for Passover under the pale of coronavirus, we are faced with a host of new challenges and questions. How are we to prepare with minimal ingredients and limited access to communal resources? How to celebrate the Seder alone? How will we celebrate the Festival of Freedom with our movement restricted? Find answers to all this and more ..." -
2020-04Old Paranoia
The modern day photo, the one quivocating social distancing to Communism, I first stumbled upon on social media. The photo instantly made me think how paranoia has always played a part in the American attitude towards the government; Americans have always been quick to assume that the government isn't being straightforward with them and that there's a conspiracy afoot. That conclusion leads me to the second photo, taken in August of 1959 in Little Rock, Arkanasas, was the response to school integration that allowed African-Americans to go to formerly White-Only schools. As you can see, it's a mirror image of Americans forming conspiracy theories or general paranoia that is usually scapegoated onto Communism. -
2020-04
Faith
The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted my family and I drastically but by having faith we were able to overcome it. It has been a very difficult time for my family and I as we were tested positive a few months ago for the novel coronavirus and shortly after we recovered, one of my uncles passes away due to complications of the virus. I chose this image above and the title because it reflects what I had during everything that my family and I went through due to COVID-19. Having faith is what got me through it all and it’s very important for me to always continue to believe in it. -
2020-04#ArtsMatter
This memo was released in the beginning of the stay at home orders in Massachusetts (April 2020). As a response to the state-wide quarantine, MASSCreative released this statement explaining ways they will continue to support the cultural communities. This message is important as it is from the start of the Covid-19 responses in the state. -
2020-04
The Unfortunate Events
Personally, COVID-19 hasn't changed my life too much. I work at Starbucks and did online college before all of this hit. Work stayed open, we do have to wear masks, we have plexi-shields up and take extra precautions with sanitization. -
2020-04
My Past 4-5 Months
My xbox has actually been very helpful for me during this pandemic. Normally I am able to see all my friends in person, but because of coronavirus I wasn't able to do that. With my xbox I was able to talk to all of my friends during the pandemic. It was a great was to keep in touch while also having fun. Without my xbox I would've been very bored and I wouldn't have been able to talk to my friends nearly as much. -
2020-04JFK Library From Home
This webpage explains to audiences how they can experience the John F. Kennedy Library and learn about the legacy of President Kennedy from home. By following the museum via the suggested social media platforms, audiences can see the highlights of the museum holdings. The library email digest, including museum opening updates and events, is also advertised on this page. -
2020-04John F. Kennedy Library Virtual Backgrounds
These virtual backgrounds are used as a way to engage audiences of the John F. Kennedy Library during the COVID-19 pandemic. -
2020-04-23Executive Office of Health and Human Services Massachusetts Office for Refugees and Immigrants (ORI) FAQ
The Executive Office of Health and Human Services Massachusetts Office for Refugees and Immigrants published an FAQ about immigrant and refugee rights in Massachusetts during the COVID pandemic. Some answers given include: the closing of the border to refugees and how to seek citizenship during this time.