Items
Date is exactly
2021-01-14
-
2021-01-14
Upset with Twitter
a comic strip about Covid-19 -
2021-01-14
D.C. Kept Swimming Open During the Pandemic. It May Have Saved Me.
This is a story I wrote in Washington, D.C. in January 2021, during the pandemic, and in the immediate aftermath of the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. I had taken up swimming during the pandemic because the city happened to keep some pools open for lap swimming. This new activity brought me solace and comfort during a very difficult time for our city, our nation, and for me personally. This story captures all of this and distills it into a single poignant and emotional moment of solitude and togetherness at the end of the story. -
2021-01-14
Venezuela's Pandemic Street Art
A Caracas, Venezuela artist is using his graffiti skills to cheer people up during COVID-19. Wolfgang Salazar has gained popularity for his spray-painted murals of Venezuelan heroes and regular people. -
2021-01-14
1 person dies every 6 minutes: How L.A. became the nation's largest coronavirus hot spot
LOS ANGELES — In Los Angeles County, 10 people on average test positive for the coronavirus every minute. Every six minutes, someone dies from Covid-19, according to county public health data. The startling figures come as Los Angeles became the first county in the nation to record 1 million confirmed coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic. According to county public health officials, roughly 1,003,923 people in L.A. have been infected with the virus and more than 13,000 people have died. The numbers are equally sobering across the state. California has nearly 2.9 million confirmed coronavirus cases and more than 31,000 deaths, according to NBC News counts. A more contagious variant of the virus has also been detected in the region. -
2021-01-14
Religious Leader Claims Covid-19 Vaccine "Turns You Gay"
A popular rabbi is claiming that the vaccine for COVID-19 “could make you gay.” And it's all part of Bill Gates's plot to "cull global population." Swipe up in our stories to read more. -
2021-01-14
How Covid Affected Me
Covid-19 has effected many people in the state of California which is where I live in California less than 0.01 of people have died from Covid and most of them were above the age of 65 and or had other health problems. As a 14 year old kid I wasn't worried about the Coronavirus at all because Im young and had a very healthy body. I was able to mostly still have a pretty normal life other than some thing that were different. I didn't know anyone personally that died from the virus although i know one person that got it. Overall my year wasn't too crazy or too different it was a little strange. -
2021-01-14
Vaccine Clinic and Personal Vaccine
I work at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA. My role is usually in education with a background in pre-hospital emergency medicine. Because of my background as a paramedic, I was asked to work in the vaccine clinic for the hospital staff as an observer. My position was to keep an eye on the hospital staff for 15 minutes after they received their Covid vaccine, just in case there were any reactions. Thankfully, my shifts have been very uneventful due to the safety of the vaccine. It was fascinating to talk with the staff when they came back for their second dose, as I was given insight into their experiences with the first dose. This meant that when I went in for my first dose in mid-January, I fully knew what to expect. I received the Moderna vaccine. About four hours after getting the shot, my arm felt quite sore. By the night of the vaccine, my shoulder was throbbing, but it was manageable. For the price of some shoulder pain, the opportunity to receive the shot during the first wave was well worth the discomfort. I get my second dose in early February, so I will see then if I feel as crummy as some of my friends and co-workers have after the second dose. -
2021-01-14
Five Ways to have Fun during the Pandemic
The SARS-Cov-2 pandemic has brought hard and difficult times for everyone. As an employee at a local bank, I was deemed as an essential worker. As a result, for the vast majority of the pandemic, I was working, helping people however I was able. While being deemed an essential worker, our bank rotated staff, and as a result, I spent about two weeks at home. During my time working and my time at home, I got into two things: movies and the stock market. 1. Movies Before the pandemic, I had never been a major fan of movies and films. However, with my time quarantined at home, I took advantage of this time by watching classic, critically acclaimed moves. Some of the favorites that I watched during this time were old Martin Scorsese films like Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, and Raging Bull. I also watched the original Scarface movie (1932), the Godfather series, as well as Braveheart. Watching these classic movies introduced me to a whole new world. 2. The Stock Market Working at a bank, we were hearing quite a bit about interest rates, mortgage rates, and, of course, the stock market. One of my coworkers introduced me to the market, showing me how to buy and sell stock. After piquing my interest, I began doing my research, learning the difference between terms like “value stock,” “dividend stock,” “blue-chip stock,” “exchange-traded funds,” etc. Outside of two new things I began to enjoy and spend time doing, the other three things that have helped me get through the pandemic are things that I have always enjoyed, but things I have come to appreciate even more: sports, classic literature, and technology. 3. Sports When the pandemic first began in early to mid-March, I remember looking forward to the beginning of the SEC basketball tournament and watching the Tennessee Volunteers basketball team play the Alabama Crimson Tide (since I am from Knoxville, I love the Vols). The game was set to start at noon; however, earlier that morning, I saw on Twitter that the SEC tournament had been canceled. Slowly, all sports began following. As an Arsenal F.C. fan in the English Premier League, I was also disheartened to hear that the Premier League would be postponing their season. However, with a lot of hard work and coordination, sports slowly began coming back. In mid-June, the Premier League resumed its season and in September began a new season. Likewise, the NFL season was able to go on, as was the college football season. While sports are, in the grand scheme of life, fairly insignificant, they provide people with a sense of community and a distraction from depressing life events. I will certainly not take sports for granted after the Covid-19 pandemic. 4. Classic Literature Since the senior year of my undergraduate degree, I have slowly grown to love classic literature. Making time to read books simply for fun can be hard to do in the daily hustle and bustle of life. However, Covid-19 slowed down the world for me. During my spare time, I read from plenty of authors, namely, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Albert Camus, Leo Tolstoy, John Steinbeck, Alexandre Dumas, and others. Many of these authors discuss philosophical questions of life and existence. The first book I read at the start of the pandemic was The Plague by Camus. For the time, it was more than fitting, helping me to mull over the Covid-19 pandemic. These authors have provided a brief escape while also providing various questions and answers about how to confront life, even in a pandemic. 5. Technology Before the pandemic, I never realized how much technology can help us during times of quarantine. I have never really been tech-savvy and thus I never stopped to think about how important technology is, especially during a pandemic. While there are obvious drawbacks to technology in society, being able to facetime with my family and communicate with loved ones who had contracted the virus was very special. Again, while technology has many problematic elements, connecting loved ones during the pandemic has certainly been special. -
2021-01-14
I got the vaccine!
On Thursday, January 14, I got the first round of the Moderna vaccine. I am a high school teacher in American Falls Idaho. I think I might be one of the first teachers in the country to get the vaccine. I am very excited and honored to be among the first. I’m very grateful to my school district for working hard to get vaccines. -
2021-01-14
The Silencing of Industry
The sensory experience that overwhelmed me the most as the United States, and the world, came to an abrupt halt when it was realized that we were in a pandemic virus outbreak was an aural experience—it was the overwhelming silence that came with the world stopping. I live in a heavy industrial town on the Pacific coast Of Washington. While I live about fifty miles from the cities and one hundred miles from Seattle the economy of this area is based around heavy industry and there is constant noise that comes with this. There is a port a mile from my house that is said to be the busiest deep-water port on the northwest coast. At this port soybeans, wheat, oil and lumber are shipped out and German cars built in Mexico are brought in, among other commodities. In my neighborhood there are four train tracks. The closest one is about five hundred feet from my house, the next three are another three hundred feet further. Those train tracks bring goods into the port like soybeans and wheat from the farm fields west of the Cascade mountains and fuel and oil for the ships and for the operations at the port. The train tracks also ship out the cars that come in from Mexico to car dealerships throughout the Northwest. Across from the four train tracks there are lumber mills. The lumber mills load up chip trucks (trucks that carry sawdust from the sawmills to paper mills) and the chip trucks roll in and out of town on a constant basis. The log trucks also roll through town on a constant basis and the log truck drivers as well as chip truck drivers live in the area and park their trucks at their houses. All of this leads to a very noisy area for such a small population. This has never bothered me as the only thing that I really miss about living in cities is the noise. This is the reason why the first thing I noticed as the Covid-19 shut down occurred was how much silence there was. No longer were there log trucks and chip trucks rolling through town. No longer was the rumbling and squelch of the train heard in the early morning and the late afternoon throughout the town. No longer were the airhorns and warning sirens heard from the port. It was just pure silence. -
2021-01-14
learning virtual
My experiences with virtual learning is like a detatched environment from in person school. The benefits are being in the comfort of your own home, being able to concentrate more, and having food/water/bathroom near you. The negative side is that the poor technology can make communication more difficult. -
2021-01-14
Sensory History: What Does The Plague Year Smell Like?
If someone asked me ten years from now the defining smell that I remember from the plague year, I would quickly respond with hand-sanitizer. Before the start of the pandemic, it was the smell of bleach and Pine-sol that reminded me of those bygone days when my mom would wake up early on a Saturday to open all the windows and scrub the house from top to bottom because “cleanliness was next to godliness” as she would say. In the past, the smell of bleach and Pine-sol had come to mean a sense of cleanliness and the simpler days of childhood, where my biggest fear was missing the latest Power Rangers episode. However, hand-sanitizer mixed with its scent of alcohol and strong perfume has now become the smell that I relate to cleanliness. Hand-sanitizer has become that essential item in my purse that I cannot leave the house without first checking to see if I have more than one bottle. When I leave a public space, the first thing I reach for is not my car keys or my cellphone; instead, it is my Bath & Body Works Pocketbac Sanitizer. It has become an accessory that matches my outfits, masks, and even daily perfume choices. This past fall, when I celebrated my birthday, one of my most exciting gifts was not my seasonal favorite body spray, Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin, but the hand-sanitizer that shared its name. Hand sanitizer has become a safety net and tool to make venturing in public spaces with high touch areas a bit easier. While handwashing, social-distancing, and proper face coverings are the most effective way to prevent the spread of Covid-19, hand sanitizers can hold one over until they can wash their hands properly. Anyone with children can agree that hand-sanitizer is a necessary tool because kids touch everything. -
2021-01-14
Halfway, hamburgers, and drive-throughs
I work in the library at a high school. It has been a surreal experience during the pandemic. While on spring break last year we learned that we were not coming back for two weeks, which became the remaining 9 weeks of the year in short order. At the end of the school year, we had to collect, and in some cases return, the items that students had from campus or had left on campus when we departed for spring break expecting to return on March 16, 2020. For a few weeks, we held drop-off zones for band instruments, sports uniforms, textbooks, and even cameras in the school parking lot. We distributed laptops to students who needed them for virtual learning. We asked seniors to drive through the student parking lot to pick up caps, gowns, and other graduation regalia, eventually diplomas, senior shirts, and if a favorite teacher was working that particular shift, to say final goodbyes. Drive-through graduations took place all across the state and the country in May, hoping that the rising senior class would have a different experience in 2021. We somehow are no closer to the end of the pandemic, and there is little chance that my school will return to in-person learning before spring break, and that is how it should be. I cannot say what graduation will or won’t look like at this point. Cases in Arizona are exploding, and in the days surrounding my posting of this story, we lead the entire world in positive cases. In some ways, it doesn’t feel like we have even reached the halfway point. But actually… I have. Because yesterday I was vaccinated with the first dose of the COVD-19 vaccine. My library team and I stalked the website all weekend, waiting for when 1B groups could sign up. I found an open time on Wednesday, January 13, 10 months after March 13, 2020, the day we now say the world fell apart. On top of working, I am a Ph.D. student in history at ASU. So after the first class meeting of my Wednesday class, I drove from Ahwatukee to Chandler-Gilbert Community College and participated in my own parking lot drive-through pandemic procedure. Almost like I was ordering a hamburger in a drive-through. Or maybe I am the hamburger in this analogy? We filed in lines, then split into multiple lanes, guided by a combination of medical staff and National Guard. The first nurse I spoke to, who asked to see my appointment number and my ID, asked me if I had any medication allergies. I responded that I get raised hives from Amoxicillin and Bactrim. She tied a strip of yellow caution tape around my driver's side mirror and told me that I would have to stay 30 minutes after my injection, rather than 15, to make sure I didn’t have an adverse reaction and then proceed to lane 5. No one was paying attention to my car, and I was far from the only one with this yellow strip, but for the few hundred feet that I drove toward where Lane 5 split into an A and B, I felt marked, and then I got to thinking about what other things warranted the Caution tape. I think that it harkened back to my biggest fear about COVID, that if I became infected, I would be seen as irresponsible, a pariah. It’s a privileged outlook, to be sure, but I had done my best to be safe for almost a year, hence why I was in line for the vaccine on the third day that it was open to 1B individuals. The next medical staff told me to lower all four windows in my car. You might think for airflow, but a coworker told me it was so that the EMTs could get in your vehicle if you were having a nasty reaction. The doctor for the 5A line asked me again about my allergies and decided to remove the tape that he did not see any fear for an adverse reaction. I pulled up under the tents, put my car in park, and the nurse opened the door. She confirmed with me that it was my first dose and rubbed a single-use alcohol prep pad on my arm. She asked if I was ready while she did that thing that doctors do, the thing where they squeeze a bit of your arm where they are going to stick you. “Yep,” I said back, chipper, unafraid of needles, vaccines, shots, or anything like that. “Okay,” she said, less than a second later, “you’re all done.” I didn’t even feel the needle before she was putting a bandage on my arm and putting my t-shirt sleeve back down. We exchanged “thank you” and “have a great day,” and I pulled up to the end of the line where an EMT gave me a packet of information on the vaccine and a card that had no patient name yet but was stamped with today’s date, indicating that I had completed my first of two vaccines. That I was halfway done. I really have to wait 30 days after the second dose to truly be “done,” but “third-way” done doesn’t quite have the same ring to it. I pulled off to the side on the meandering path back through the campus parking lot and took a photo with my half-completed card. Because by social media rules, if you don’t take a selfie with your card, were you really vaccinated? Thinking back to my coworkers’ puppies that had gotten their vaccinations to make them safe around other dogs over the summer, I sent the photo to our group chat, “halfway to street legal!” -
2021-01-14
THE SAGA OF THE CORONIALS
Corornials. Pandemikids. Just a few hours old and they already bear a generational hashtag. Having a baby is stressful, but having a baby during a pandemic and delivering that child in a COVID-infested hospital when your state is at critical ICU levels does nothing to ease new parents' stress levels. My tiny grandperson was born under these circumstances and my daughter spent almost the entirety of her pregnancy in a pandemically-constricted world. She went to all her OB appointments alone (no husbands allowed), could never socialize with her friends unless they were outside and 8 feet apart, and, of course, a virtual baby shower. A week before her baby was due she was told she could not have her doula with her at the hospital. This was the person she trusted the most and had worked with for months, so a decision was made to deliver at home with a midwife. That seemed slightly safer than a COVID-filled hospital anyway. But after 30 hours of labor, that plan was abandoned. A 25-minute drive to a hospital that would allow her doula to stay with her ended with a C-section several hours later, followed by a too- early discharge 2 days later. These new mothers (and fathers) have had an experience that deserves memorializing. And city dwellers bear an ever greater burden. Is it safe to push the stroller in downtown LA or New York? There can be no childcare until vaccines have been distributed. The cohort of heroic coronial parents are going to have unbelievable tales to bore THEIR children with—the Herculean hoops they jumped through—when the miasma of the virus finally goes poof. And what of the pandemikids? Will this unite them as are millennials and baby boomers? It will be an interesting project for a sociologist in a few decades. But right now, ignorance is bliss and most adults would be happy to have the memory of this year erased forever. Too bad I am not a coronial. -
2021-01-14
The End of an Era with Mickey Mouse for Californians
Since 1988, my annual pass has made Disneyland my second home. Growing up within walking distance of the park, randomly deciding to Disneyland to hang out was a normal part of our day. Bored after school? Want to go out to dinner? Want somewhere to walk around? Popping into Disneyland was the answer. It's not just that I spent nearly every 4th of July, Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve, birthdays, and whatever other holiday there is there, spur of the moment visits for us are like a non Californian deciding to go to Starbucks. Shoot, when my grandparents took me to the park to play as a kid, they meant going to Tom Sawyer's island - to us "the park" is synonymous with what most people call "Disneyland." Married with my own family now, swinging into the park on the regular is still our normal. Before the pandemic, we were at Disneyland a minimum of once a week, even if it was just to go on a couple of rides and grab a bite to eat. Today. for the past two hours, my phone has been buzzing like crazy with people messaging me about the news. As one friend said "it's like our safe space has disappeared." Disneyland has always represented a safe space, a respite from stress and pain and reality. The pandemic truly wasn't real to me until March 12, when Disneyland announced it was temporarily closing its gates by the weekend. We rushed to the park, and, as you can see in my Instagram post, I naively thought we'd be back by April. Reality hadn't set in. Still, through these 10+ months of being home, knowing that we would eventually be back at Disneyland was a beacon of hope. Acknowledging that life after COVID is going to change in ways we didn't consider is setting in now. I realize for someone who didn't grow up in the shadow of the castle, this all probably seems strange. But losing daily access to the place you have been the most for the past 33 years is a sobering moment. -
2021-01-14
Virtual Learning
My virtual learning experiences wee pretty diverse. First, I needed to go on Zoom every morning on the weeks at home. Second, I needed to finish my work at home. Third, do the same thing again every week. I think that I have learned a lot of things in school while Zooming with my partners and teachers to go through different learning topics in my house. One of the obstacles in virtual learning are when you have hear something different that the teacher had said because of audio issues, technological issues and more. -
2021-01-14
How I believe that Covid was created.
I think that people created Covid in a lab. With all of the modern day technology, I think that it would be not hard task to create a virus. Weather or not they meant for the virus to rapidly spread throughout the world, I don't know. I think hat Covid was originally meant to only affect one area but it spread really far and became a world wide pandemic. This is how I believe Covid was created. -
2021-01-14
Virtual
The computer represents us virtually learning. Virtual learning was definitely a challenge, not being able for the teacher to observe our work was a free gap for us not to do it. I think a lot of students thought that. I think it would be better if all my classes were like Spanish. In Spanish we had to stay off mute and engage the whole time, the only thing I didn't like about this was staying the whole 1hr 20min. The benefits was I didnt have to wake up at 7:00 every morning at be drove to school. Also being able to automatically be home after school was also a upside. -
2021-01-14
School at home Covid styles
While I was learning at home I had a very simple routine. I would first wake, wash my face, and then brush my teeth. Then get dressed. If I could I would have stayed in my pajamas all day, but my mom told me that I had to get dressed for the day. I worked at a desk that was right next to my bed. I basically stayed in my room all day and did work. In between classes, I would work on assignments that I had not submitted yet. If I was not working I was either on my phone or drawing while listening to music. During lunch, I tried to go outside as much I possible but I was usually too busy to do so. -
2021-01-14
Online Learning
Virtual school was not all bad. I got to wake up an hour later and participate in school in my pajamas. However, the numerous hours spent in my room, staring at a screen quickly became dissipating. Work piled up and motivation was scarce. I did get used to it after about six months but it still was not pleasant. I procrastinated to the extreme, I did not pay attention in class, I spent more time in my bed than ever. I did not realize how much I missed school in person until I came back. -
2021-01-14
My experiences while learning virtually.
My experiences while learning virtually had some good things and some bad things. Some of the good things were I didn't have to get dressed and could show up in a sweatshirt and sweatpants. Another thing is It was easier to do homework and get it done because we had plenty of time during class. Some of the negatives were that Wi-Fi sometimes wouldn't work or my assignments wouldn't be submitted. Some other things would be getting a hold of teachers and getting help outside of class was really hard aswell. Those are my experiences while learning virtually. -
2021-01-14
What I did
Over the course of online learning I would usually get up go to class and wait for a break. I would get up at about 7:45 and then get dressed in a cozy sweatshirt and some fuzzy sweatpants or shorts depending on how hot it was. Then I would look at my schedule and go to my class. After my class I would eat and then continue classes until the end of the day. I think the most challenging part of online learning was probably just making sure I had everything and that I wasn't missing a class or that my Wi-Fi was working. I think the best part of online school was getting to stay in my pjs. Over covid we decided to go to Nashville, it was so awesome. I barley had to wear a mask, and no one was really crazy about it. I loved it we got to eat out without a problem. I even got to go shopping. I got a rust colored sweater, some brown leathery boots, and a cute black bandana with orange, yellow, and green flowers. Over all I think the best part of covid (and by far the funniest) was when me and my dad went out to Malibu. We went to a shopping center and we were the only one without masks walking outside. This old woman was walking as well and when she saw us she called us creepy and moved to side like she was scared. I mean I get it but still how are we creepy for not wearing masks. Over all though, quarantine hasn't been that bad. -
2021-01-14
Virtual learning
During the crazy year of 2020, we weren't allowed to have school in person. Instead, we had to learn remotely. There was both benifits and obstacles in this time. Some of the benifits were that we didn't have to wake up early, or go to different periods, because everything was one click away. Although there were some benifits, there were also difficulties. Some of them included no socializing, technology could sometimes fail, and we didn't have the same tools that we had in the classroom. Overall, this year has been a great change, and I think that we haver to start getting used to a different life. -
2021-01-14
virtual learning experience
My experience with virtual learning wasn't so terrible but still not good, i couldn't leave the house making it so i couldn't talk to my friends, plus, its on computer which is greatly distracting. During quarantine, i was in the house so long that my eyes hurt when stepping outside. But other than that it was ok, its not like we were starved or sensory deprived. -
2021-01-14
COVID-19: Virtual Learning
School was one of the many things that came as a halt during COVID-19. At first, we all thought that COVID-19 would be a nice 2 week vacation. I thought that it would be an escape. However after hundreds of days on zooms, things began to be too boring. 8I would wake up at 7:59 sharp. Exactly one minute before class. Without brushing my har or washing my face I quickly opened my laptop which was on my brand new white desk that I added to my room in order to do zooms. Often times my wifi would go out and in and my family would yell as we glitched out of our period. Then I had a break and I would eat a breakfast of a microwavable frozen Costco sandwich. Then I would go to period 2 and begin my next zoom, then another. Then it was lunch and I would be starving during the long day of staring blankly at a computer screen. Finally I had period 4. Although often difficult, online school did have its' benefits. It was nice to be able to do school from the comfort of my own desk (sometimes bed), sleep in later, and eat during class. But it was very difficult to focus. -
2021-01-14
Virtual Learning
Well, my school decided to teach virtually. I was quite saddened by this news. I was hoping we would be over with this virus, but apparently not. My routine is basically wake up in the morning, take care of my dog, eat breakfast, and go to school on my computer. I enjoy sleeping in a little more and not having to get ready for school, but there are lots of challenges along with virtual learning. I had a very difficult time learning online and it was difficult to do projects at home. I did not have all the supplies so I could not do some projects. Some classes were strenuous and I was exhausted at the end of the day. Also, some other benefits of online learning is not wearing a uniform and not waking up early for school. Overall, I enjoyed some things about virtual learning, but I also struggled with some parts too. I would rather want to go to school so I can make new friends, learn much more, and get to know my teachers. -
2021-01-14
Virtual learning
Online school, it was terrible. It is the worst way to do school. It may sound good, you don’t have to wake up, sleep in, and chill. But with that comes a price. You were not engaged in class and you felt numb to homework or getting bad grades. It was so boring and miserable that I didn’t care what was assigned, what my grades where, or about the final. It was so bad and I think it was a tool to cancel our opinions and voice. Cancel culture is what this whole COVID thing is. -
2021-01-14
Virtual Learning
When I first heard about virtual learning, I thought that it would be great. I would be able to do whatever I wanted during break and in between classes. I could sleep in. The only downside was that I wouldn't see my friends. However, when online school actually started, I quickly discovered that I was seeing my friends more often because school ended earlier. Online school was great. The only obstacle was that sometimes my wifi wouldn't work well. When this happened, I was forced to go down stairs to the dining room, where the router was located. It never affected my grades, and was annoying if anything. Then I learned that we would be going back to school, and I was greatly disappointed. I was even more disappointed when I discovered that school would be completely different. We would have plexiglass in between our desks, and we couldn't even get around the school the usual way. Only certain entrances and exits would be open for use. In years to come, when I'm looking back on my life during COVID, I will have something to be grateful for: Virtual learning. -
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. -
2021-01-14
Remote Learning [DUPLICATE]
Every morning I woke up just 20 minutes before class. That would give me enough time to get out of bed, brush my teeth, eat breakfast, and get ready for school. At each lunch or break period is when I would see and talk to my family. During class, I would often get distracted or lose concentration from learning. This would make it hard for me to do my assignments or answer questions in class. Procrastinating was a big challenge for me during virtual learning. I would mostly do all of my assignments at the last minute, this was because I really did not enjoy virtual learning. After school I would just practice soccer or play video games since I had no motivation to do my homework. In class it got very boring for sitting in my room half of the day and not really moving around much. I did not enjoy online learning a lot since it was a very hard time. -
2021-01-14
Remote Learning
My experience while learning remotely was tough. I had so many distractions around me that made me not focus. Although there were a lot of good things that came from it. Like I was able to get more sleep and wake up five minutes before school. I did miss my friends a lot while home so overall I am happy we are back to as normal as it can get. -
2021-01-14
The impact of Covid-19
Corona Virus or Covid-19 started in Wuhan China in early 2020. It has almost been a year since this deadly virus started. When the disease spread to America and was declared a national pandemic. Stores all around the world, and with those stores, schools shut down too. All kids around the world were now going on virtual meetings and learning from home. This change affected me a lot. I started going to bed later and barley getting sleep, I wasn't exercising, or eating right. Life wasn't that good... until I got used to it. Once I got used to it I would sleep in between classes and have all my assignments turned in on time. We're back to school now which makes me sad and happy at the same time. Whatever happens I'm just glad I get a good education. -
2021-01-14
Virtual Learning During Covid
Virtual learning was definitely an experience that came with a lot of challenges, but also a lot of added benefits. Some challenges were not being able to ask questions in person, because some questions are too detailed to get a good answer to without seeing what the other person is talking about. I also seemed to zone out more online than I would in class because we were on zoom so long. I definitely feel I was on my computer more in the last year-ish than my entire life. Some benefits were my sleep schedule was actually way better when we were online than it has been in a while or when we were in person. My stress also seemed to go down incredibly when online because the teachers seemed to be way more understanding on zoom, and wanted to help you. Overall I like being back in school, but being online wasn't as bad for me as it must have been for others. -
2021-01-14
Remote Learning
My personal experience while learning remotely was pretty tough. I mean it was hard to stay focused with all the distracting of your room. I guess the good part was you could wake up 5 minutes before school and open your laptop and school was right there. And you wouldn't have to wait in line for your parents to pick you up or anything. But I did miss my friends a lot and I am happy to see them now. -
2021-01-14
Remote Learning
The year started out like any other. We were all in class together enjoying to company of friends and teachers. We had hear of a disease spreading on China but nobody was even worried about it. The disease began to spread more and more into the world, and eventually, in the the USA. One the Corona Virus had reached the United States it started to become a more serious problem. But it wasn't untill we had our own cases in LA and Vetura county that things really changed. On March 15, 2020 we started our romote learning. It was a big change we had to get used to. It was mostly downsides but there were some upsides aswell. One of the upsides was we had more freedome in what we could do durring our breaks. When we were in school we only had a selection of activities to do, but since we were home we could do many different things that weren't at school. Another upside is that we didn't have to spend the time driving so we could wake up later and get to doing our activities earlier after the school day ended. That was pretty much it for the upsides however and now we must talk of the downsides. W weren't able to see any of our friends from school anymore! That was a bummer because it made me feel distant and disconected fro the society at school. Another downside was that it was alot harder to understand things in class. We had to make sure we found the assignments online instead of just being handed then=m in class with direct instruction. This factor made it hard for me sometimes to understand what was due the next day and what we had to do for homework. These are the biggest downsides, but there are many more I haven't mentioned in this single article. -
2021-01-14
my zoom story
My experience learning online is very annoying. Almost everyday my zoom crashes at least twice and my WIFI starts being laggy. It is easier to learn in a way but harder to submit everything. So it is very different from in person but now that we are in person it is easier. -
2021-01-14
virtual learning
it was march 18th we started online school. none of knew what we were doing we just logged onto zoom. it was confusing because we didn't know what to do if we had ask a questions or if we had to go to the bathroom. I think my favorite thing from online school was defiantly getting to make my own lunch. I had sat at my dining room table just doing school work. it was hard for teachers to find stuff for us to do like in rocketry we just watch movies.i finally went back to school and started in person. one of my favorite things was waking up at 7:50 and going to school at 8. and that was my virtual learning experience. -
2021-01-14
Virtual learning
Learning virtually was very strange and had many advantages and disadvantages. Every day I got on zoom from my bedroom from March 18 to about December with the exception of summer. Some advantages about it were that I didn't have to wake up as early to drive to school and that I can do school from the comfort of my room. Some disadvantages however were I couldn't hang out with my friends or talk very much, and I personally found it really hard to pay attention because each period was about an hour and 20 min on the computer and my grades weren't as good because I had a hard time not zoning out. And on top of that nearly everything was closed down from restaurants to malls and other places to hang out, exc. I prefer learning in class than virtually because I can hang out with my friends and I pay attention better in school. -
2021-01-14
My Experience Of Covid School
Online school did not start until two weeks after school was canceled in school. My previous school I attended for the first half of school had no idea on what to do so I never really had anything to do or, if I did it was very easy. I never really learned anything during online school but how to join a zoom for the first time. The next school year though, I had zoom everyday in my room. I was very behind thought because I learned nothing the end of last year. Now currently I am in school but covid safe, and is back to learning at a new school. -
2021-01-14
Paige Hansen
While virtual learning from home my experience was very interesting it wasn't fun but it was also really boring sometimes. My routine would be to wake up grab breakfast grab my computer and started zooming online. I once did school in Utah which was pretty fun. The benefits of being online were probably being able to wear sweatpants all day and eating food when I wanted to and also probably not waking up as early and the obstacles of being online where I felt like I didn't get the full feel of being at school because we were virtual learning and also I couldn't see any of my friends. -
2021-01-14
Remote learning
Quarantine makes people stay at home, especially for students. During this particular time, schools provided us remote learnings. We discovered many technologies online, and it also made turning in assignments easier. On the other hand, students spent too much time on electronics during remote learning, and collaboration is always difficult. -
2021-01-14
Remote Learning
When I first started online school in march I thought we would be off-campus for 3 or 4 weeks, and then we would go back. I didn't know much about covid-19, so though I would still be able to see my friends. We had plans to do online school at each other's house, and hang out all the time. We went into a state-wide lockdown 2 days after and I wasn't allowed to go anywhere or hang out with anyone. It was fun at first, we watched shows, we did puzzles, we cooked a lot. But once we hit late may and I still hadn't seen my friends, I was getting really sad. As for online school. I thought it was nice because I didn't have to get up so early. The first week or so, we got up I got dressed, I did my hair, but they somewhere along the way. I rolled out of bed, still in my pajamas, and turned my video off. During classes, I was always so bored because school wasn't really interesting because we weren't learning as much. I was fine with online it was just the fact that I wasn't eating lunch with my friends anymore, or that I couldn't talk to them during passing periods, but I did love being able to eat in class or getting a snack whenever I wanted. It was also hard in the fact you couldn't really get one on one help with the teacher. -
2021-01-14
Remote Learning During COVID-19
During the quarantine, we still had to go to school, so we switched to remote learning. Using a meeting application called Zoom, we could talk to each other and continue our classes. We would start every day at 8:00 and end every day at 2:45. Our classes were divided into A days and B days. Half our classes were on A days, and the other classes on B days. We would get breaks between classes which was a total plus. However, we also had to adapt to something new and strange. It was hard but a great learning experience. Overall, online learning was hard to get used to, but it will be a useful skill to know in the future. -
2021-01-14
Remote learning
Learning virtually was definitely a change. It was hard to get used to at first. There are sone benefits of learning online. All your classes are right infront of you and with a click of a button your are in your class. Also, all of your supplies are on your desk, so you dont have to carry any books or anything to class. But, there were also some downsides. Not being able to see my teachers and friends was hard. Teaching a class online is also definitely harder and there are many distractions when it comes to online school. Changing to the block schedule was also difficult. We used to have all 7 periods in 1 day, but now we have 3-4 classes a day and they are twice as longer. It is hard sitting on a chair for an hour and a half for each period. -
2021-01-14
Online Learning!
When I got the news that my school would be shutting down on March 6, 2020, I thought it would be only for a few weeks. Little did I know that it would be months before even being able to see friends. Looking back, zooming in to classes in 7th grade was crazier than 8th grade, as I was learning the routine. I remember not knowing how to go to Gallery view, so whenever someone spoke I would have a massive head on my screen. It always made me laugh. After about a month, I started to get the hang of things, and I was even enjoying it! I had a routine. 7:30: wake up, shower, get dressed. 7:50, sit in my chair and watch Youtube until class started. I noticed that my grades were increasing, and I had better sleep schedules! I also was getting better lunches than I did at school, although school lunches at my school are amazing! I remember I asked my dad if he could do a Meatball Sandwich, and it was the best thing I ever ate while in Science! To be honest, I enjoyed online school more than in person school, but now, in the month of January 2021, I am missing seeing friends and teachers in person. -
2021-01-14
Virtual Learning
I personally enjoyed virtual learning because I got to be at home. Virtual learning has lots of pros and cons. The pros being that you get to be at home and be more comfortable. But the cons being its more difficult to focus and you don't get to see your friends -
2021-01-14
At-Home Office Hacks
While I am not currently working from home, I am studying from home and staying home as much as I possibly can, which can feel extremely stifling. I would sit at my small desk in my bedroom for hours at a time, longing for the setting of a library or cafe to do my work in, and would soon grow bored and unfocused, failing at being productive. After a week or two of some distracted study sessions in which it felt like I got nothing done, I was fed up and frustrated, so I decided to try out a few changes to refresh my study space. Here are my hacks to creating a comfortable study-from-home (or work-from-home!) space without investing in new furniture or risking exposure to Covid-19. 1) Move your desk. My previous desk location blocked my window, leading my little office area to feel dark and closed off. By moving my desk, I now sit adjacent to the window. This allows more natural light to shine, raising my mood, and it allows me to people watch when I need a break from staring at my screen all day. 2) Clean your workspace. I am definitely guilty of having a cluttered, messy workspace, with papers all over my desk and books all over the floor. I recently reorganized so only the absolute essentials were in my workspace, and it feels so streamlined. It really is true that a cluttered space leads to a cluttered mind, and clearing it out has given me more mental clarity when working. 3) Go outside! I don't have a huge backyard, but I have enough space for a small patio table and chair that has provided a great change of scenery when I'm feeling cooped up. Now, I do work on a desktop computer, so I can't do all of my work outside, but I try to go out there as often as possible when I'm working on readings or using my tablet for school instead of my computer. The fresh air is so necessary, and the sunlight gives me some vitamin D while also raising my spirits. 4) Drink tea. While this isn't really a pandemic-specific hack, I found that a cup of tea serves as a great timer for working on schoolwork. I make a fresh cup of tea right before I start working, sip it throughout my study session, and take a break when I finish the cup. A cup will usually last me 30 minutes to an hour, and I typically take a few minutes to stretch and walk around before making another cup and starting the process over again. It is both relaxing and hydrating, and serves as my own little form of the pomodoro technique. So, there ya go. My little tips and "hacks" to make at-home studying or working just a little more bearable. While I definitely look forward to the day that I can study in public again, I have gotten more comfortable with my home set-up, and will continue with this routine while staying at home is the safest option. -
2021-01-14
The Routine
Covid-19 reset everything for me. School, weekends, shopping, restaurants and so much more. So I had to take a step back and recreate my routine for school to follow the new normals for me during Covid-19. I started off from the first thing I do everyday. Getting ready for school. Now that I don't have to drive or pack my bag anymore I now allocated this time as extra/backup time for homework. For the most part things should be the same material wise but I need to make new home for my books so I can stay organized with all my class. The last thing I need to recreate for School is what should is what I should during my break and lunch. I thought of some ideas that did not do with electronics and came up just talking with m y family or working ahead on homework. In conclusion, I think recreating my routine was very substantial and don't regret one bit of it. -
2021-01-14
The Horrors (and Benefits) of Remote Learning
When my school shut down in March, I welcomed remote learning. My life had become so busy and stressful and I never got enough sleep. I would be a nice two week break before I went back to school for the last two months of school. I had no idea how wrong I was. Within 4 days, the novelty had worn off. The long hours (5 1/2) on Zoom were horrible. English was the worst. We were reading Shakespeare (in 7th grade!) and it move so slowly. Being the fast reader that I was it was my worst nightmare reading at this slow, slow pace. We had 80 minutes of class. We spent all of those 80 minutes reading and only got through 5 pages. We had a block schedule. Four classes one day and three the next with chapel. For the last three months of seventh grade, I sat at a picnic table in my parent's room. I got one half and my brother got the other. During these three months I was miserable. Three days after the end of school I got a new bed for my room. It was a loft and it had a desk underneath. All summer I would do something educational at this desk for three hours, eat lunch, workout, and go outside to hang out. All that summer, all the kids in the neighborhood wanted to do was Nerf war. I was lucky that the summer before I had received a pink and purple strongarm with pink and white bullets. These six bullets were quickly lost in the grass and replaced with some of my friend's classic orange and blue ones. When summer was over I had to go back to my desk for those 5 1/2 hours a day, except this time I would have homework. The previous year the teacher had done their best to make sure that we didn't have to do work outside of class (my English teacher of course made no effort to do this). Now I was in 8th grade with one of the hardest possible course loads. I was taking Geometry, Conceptual Physics, Spanish 2, and all of the other required classes. I would regularly work for an hour and an half after school before working out. I would do yoga or a random HIIT or strength class I found on Peloton. During all of my breaks I would walk my dog (a yellow lab puppy). In October, we got a Peloton stationary bike and my brother got to go to school to do his Zoom classes (weird, I know). Now I would be home alone from 9am to 11:30am every day. My schedule looked like this. 6:45 - get up and get ready for school 8 - go to my first class 9 - walk my dog and practice piano 9:45 - go to my next 2 classes 12:35 - lunch 1:25 - my last class 4 - workout I was glad when it was over. Now that I think about it, I didn't actually list any benefits. -
2021-01-14
Remote Learning
Virtual learning was easy for me, but I did not like it. I do not like having to do things on my computer, and I did not learn as well as I did previously. However, I learned many things that I usually would not have learned such as keyboard shortcuts, ways to access things on my computer more quickly, and many other computer skills. I learned how to type more quickly, I learned the better ways to take pictures for a clearer image, and I got into a few fields of learning that I never would have tried. Even though 2020 was a difficult year, it taught me many good skills and lessons. After 2020, I have become a much more well-rounded person.