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Date is exactly
2021-08-28
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2021-08-28
The First Jab
HIST30060: This is an image of when I was waiting to leave the Royal Exhibition Building following my first vaccination. The experience was not something I was unfamiliar with, throughout high school I received regular vaccinations, the only downside this time was there not being a bowl of lollies to reward myself with as there was during high school. I had been anticipating the worst of symptoms after what I had heard from others, but fortunately all I really got was a stiff arm. This was also amidst the beginnings of the anti-vax movement and protests that we unfortunately are so accustomed to at this point. -
2021-08-28
End of pitching in
At the beginning it was different. April and May of 2020 was not the later, divisive and hate-filled environment that would allow the Covid virus to flourish, not the largely “every-man-for-himself” climate whose popularity grew to mirror the surge of the pandemic itself. Back then, everyone was hunkering down, the streets were empty, and Santa Monica was more like the city I had seen in pictures from the 1940's. The light even seemed different. Despite the specter of certain death, or at least alongside it, was an almost relaxed feeling: we were all in this together, against a common (if mysteriously deadly) enemy, and there is nothing we could do. Well, except stay indoors, and avoid contact with other humans at all costs. I know that during WWII, Santa Monica hummed with activity, with defense plants working three shifts, and Clover Field roaring with warbird take offs and landings almost continuously, and in the Spring of 2020, Santa Monica was still largely of the “we did it once, we'll do it again” mindset—everyone had a job to do, and it was actually an easy one: all you had to do was to keep to yourself. Loose lips may not sink ships anymore, but uncovered ones (especially in public) could spew a deadly toxin—the origins and makeup of it almost completely unknown—and leave devastation in its wake. This feeling couldn't, and wouldn't, last long; humans being what they are. With a national figurehead in a leadership position that was unable to understand complexities, and that largely and specifically promoted failure, the home front grew distrustful of the concept of a “common good”. Citizens quickly grew weary of making sacrifices, of doing without the niceties to which they had become accustomed. Under the guise of individual freedoms, all suffered. “It will all just go away very soon”, we were told, and eventually it did. Not the disease. Our American way of life. -
2021-08-28
Visiting Grandma
This photograph is from when my mom, dad, brother, brother's fiancé, and I flew to Georgia to visit my declining grandmother. For my entire life, my grandma, my mom's mom, lived in the next town over, only about seven miles away. However, as she aged and as the isolation from the pandemic set in, my family decided that it would be best for her to move to Georgia to live with my aunt, my mom's sister. Although we tried to take care of my grandma from the start of the pandemic through when she left in October of 2020, we lived in perpetual uncertainty and fear of exposing her to the virus. Every time we had her come over for dinner, we were afraid that we were taking a gamble, especially when the pandemic was just starting. My grandma moved to a care facility in Georgia in April. Since my grandma, my family, and I were all vaccinated, we planned a short trip to make sure we got to see her one more time. Although we were masked and only had a limited amount of time, getting to see us again meant a tremendous amount to my grandma. -
2021-08-28
Schemitzun
I attended an indigenous festival at the end of August 2021 called Schemitzun. Called the "Feast of Green Corn and Dance," the powwow took place on Mashantucket Pequot grounds and hosted various tribes competing in music and dance. My family and I attended as audience members and we were truly struck by the spirit of the event. The main announcer explained at various points during the festival that this year's powwow was very special, since Covid-19 had canceled the event the year before. He explained that events like Schemitzun keep the indigenous community connected and vibrant, and this year's event was meant to be a celebration of perseverance and survival. I found it incredibly powerful that indigenous communities continue to thrive and grow despite centuries of struggle, and managed to survive the Covid-19 pandemic on top of that. -
2021-08-28
hermit HERALD, ISSUE 126
U.S. biometric database in hands of Taliban -
2021-08-28
A year and a half (and counting) in my room
Before hell happened I had never exactly been much for being outside, I live in Texas what do you expect? I spent most of my days inside and only ever went out for 1.5 social events a week and weekly classes. Then things started to go bad. Suddenly I had no reason to ever go outside, suddenly I was alone in my room, surrounded by mess and with only the light from my lamp and monitors. I actually started to take more walks because of the pandemic, I just had to get outside, I had to move at all, I had to do something. The human brain is not well equipped for quite this level of repetition, day in day our in the same environment doing the same thing, checking the same few websites to see how bad things have gotten for those still brave enough stupid enough or desperate enough to be out in the world, to see the hell that the world became when everything changed. It is an experience that does not do well for motivation or mental health. I stopped really caring about school, I spent most of my days thoughtlessly doing the same thing and thinking, always fucking thinking about the state of the world and my own life and my own meaningless existence and I just couldn't... I couldn't stop thinking, thinking that my life had no meaning and I was worthless to all those around me and I was alone. Apparently, the human brain is not equipped for quite this level of repetition. It's quite a wonder I'm even stable now, considering the things I went through over this hellish year and a half, but here I am an, my life means nothing and I'm fine with that because life is beautiful, even if people are irresponsible and hateful it isn't their fault, it's the fault of the very people who let this get out of hand in the first place. I was able to finally see that, and I kept realizing it over and over and over and over again, and I'm still realizing it today. The real point is that we are not separated by race or religion or sexuality or gender identity or anything like that, we are all just people, and we need to help each other. The human brain is not well equipped for quite this level of repetition but that's only if we're alone.