Items
Date is exactly
2021-05-29
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2021-05-29
Graduation
I chose to submit this photo because this is the first picture I took of my graduation -- after spending a year and a half in online schooling. I do remember my in-person schooling, but once everything shut down and my life completely changed, I was lost and had no idea how to handle things. I fell out with lots of friends because I didn't see them as much anymore. It became difficult to communicate with people because I spent most of my time indoors, trying to keep myself and my family safe from COVID-19. I lost interest in my hobbies and in school -- nothing felt worth it anymore because we were all trapped inside, and when we went outside, masks were required to keep us safe. I couldn't see people's faces anymore. Things didn't look positive -- I wasn't sure if anything would ever change. I worried we would be isolating for many more months, possibly years to come. But for some reason, graduation felt liberating. I remember walking out of the arena after graduating and thinking, "Okay, this is a new start." I knew things would not change immediately, and they would take time. But I felt that life goes on, and I will learn to get through this, just as I got through those times where I was isolated. I learned to appreciate the people I had around me, become closer with those who really mattered, and just appreciate daily life because at any moment, everything can change. -
2021-05-29
COVID-19 and Mental Health
I took this picture on May 29, 2020, at 10:35 am. Why I choose this picture? This picture reflected my feeling in 2020. After months without going outside, I was heading to Staten Island to visit my aunt. I remember that I had anxiety even to open the door of my apartment. Whenever I went outside, it was close to my apartment, and my skin started to itch for no reason. My family used to watch the news the whole day. I was tired of listening to the report. Besides, during COVID-19, I was having an awful time. A few months ago, one of my friends died, and It was depressing for me. Before she died, I let my ego break the relationship between us. I refused to call her or text her because I was tired of looking after her. I remember my father told me to call her because I did not know what was happening with her. I ignored him. Riding to Staten Island that morning made me remember the hard time that I was going through. The day that I went to Staten Island, it was cloudy and dark. I thought that the ferry would sink into the water. When I got to Staten Island, it started to rain, and I did not bring an umbrella. I was mad, but it was my fault for not checking the weather. I compare that dark and desperate day with the mourning of my friend and the pandemic. For months, I felt guilty and thought that I did not deserve anything good in my life. The worst of all of this is that I did not have anybody to talk to. I was in quarantine for months, and it affected my mental health. I had no desire to continue college and my business. I used to cry a lot, and all I wanted was to talk to someone about how the pandemic and the death of my friend affected me. I had desired to go to the Dominican Republic, but I could not go. I think that this source can help historians because they can get to know about different perspectives of people during the COVID-19 pandemic. They would notice the anxiety that not only I went through, but everybody around the world had been through. My neighborhood was affected significantly. Some of my neighbors got COVID and died from it. I know that many people saw themselves as the picture. They thought that everything around them was going to end. They thought that they would be stuck in the pandemic forever.