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2022-03-20
Covid 19 as a senior
When Covid first started, I never imagined it becoming, as serious or being as long as it was. I was a senior in high school, and on March 13, 2020 I never thought that would be my last day of high school. All I wanted was to participate in all the fun activities, but that never happened as life never really went back to normal. -
2022-03-20
Cooking During the Pandemic
This is one recipe I learned to make during the pandemic. It is a chicken pot pie with a biscuit topping (that I luckily did't have to make myself). I've made many things over the course of this pandemic. Restaurants became too much of a hassle for a while in 2020, and many weren't even open. I used to go out to eat more often before the pandemic, but with me starting school again in the fall of 2020, in addition to masks being very annoying for me to want to wear, I would either order takeout, or make food myself. Between school and the pandemic, cooking has become one of my favorite hobbies, as I need to eat anyway, and I have been able to try types of food I didn't know I'd like. Prior to the pandemic, I would not eat pickled things as often, but now I seek it out with recipes to try. I also learned some new skills, like discovering I can make the non freezer variety of jam, and how to use cast iron the right way. I maybe would have learned these skills later on anyway because I enjoy cooking, but being at home more has made me want to try more recipes. Contrary to the stereotype, I did not learn how to make sourdough from scratch during the pandemic, but my dad did, and now he's on a kick with making sourdough bread weekly when he is home. Cooking has been one constant I have had, and I did it before the pandemic, but currently, I am doing it more often to save money and learn more skills. I intend to teach my kids in the future on how to cook things. It's more than a hobby for me though, as the better I can cook, the less likely I am to want to spend money on takeout. With rising prices of food in 2022, knowing how to cook has been a blessing. -
2020-09-08
Remote Learning
This was my son on his first days of remote learning in Kindergarten. He was a great trooper and worked hard to have the sense of being in school. Some days were more difficult than others, but overall we made it through and we continue to prosper through this pandemic. -
2020-08-26
Working From Home
When my son started Kindergarten remotely in August of 2020, I was required to work remotely for the first time ever. It was the hardest year for both myself and my son. Being that it was his first school year, I needed to split my time between fulfilling my job requirements and helping him learn how to use the computer properly. -
2022-03-20
Work, Food, Viki, and Home
If there were anything that COVID changed in my everyday schedule, it would be helping me get closer to family. Ever since the pandemic, we have hardly gone outside the house unless it was for work or shopping for groceries. A typical day in my life would be waking up to check my emails and messages. After moving from Utah to Washington after graduating, I managed to find a job at a small business called Sozo Gifts while pursuing my master's program. I wouldn't say I am not a breakfast person, so I go straight to work after getting ready. After work, I go straight home to help my sister cook dinner. When I was living by myself, I ordered food a lot through Uber Eats and Door Dash. Being with my family during the pandemic helped me change my eating habits. We cook traditional Samoan food such as baked taro, pisupo, palusami, fai'ai pilikaki, or traditional chicken soup. After dinner, we all tend to gather around the living room and watch the latest episodes of our favorite Korean Drama. My sisters were never fans of KDrama before the pandemic, but I managed to introduce them to my favorite app, Viki Rakuten. Now, we binged watched a lot of KDramas through the Viki app, and it became our favorite thing to do as a family after dinner. I was supposed to go back home to American Samoa after graduating with my bachelor's. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic and strict lockdown and regulations back home, I wasn't able to return. But almost every evening, we would video chat with my parents and close friends back home. Now and then, my friend would send me pictures of the island. I never planned to stay in the states this long, but the pandemic has caused some setbacks and changes in my life. However, I learned to adapt to new changes, and it became a routine for me while also being grateful for letting me spend time with my family here in Washington. -
2022
Pre Existing Chronicles
Covid is stressful by itself but when you add a pre existing condition such as sleep apnea, Covid can enhance and mutate itself to become a bigger threat for the person with the added pre existing condition. -
2022-03-20
Jason Inskeep, A Day in the Life of the COVID-19 Pandemic
A Day in the Life of the COVID-19 Pandemic, 2022 edition: After two years of living in this pandemic, Dr. Kole de Peralta from Arizona State University, has asked me to ponder on how my day-to-day life has changed (or not changed) because of the pandemic. There are a handful of routine activities in a normal day that I will examine: dropping my daughter at school, conversations with my wife about her work, yard work, grocery shopping, my own workday, and extended family interactions. Several of these subjects I have reflected on before, but others I have not put much thought into. Dropping my daughter off at school: Ignoring the early pandemic stage, i.e., online school for my daughter, for the last year my daughter has been attending middle school in person. Before the pandemic this was a simple task of getting into the car, driving, and dropping her off. However, the process has evolved into making sure that she has a mask or two on her, as until recently masks were mandatory. Multiple times we have had to run back home or to the store due to forgetting a mask. This had added another layer to our morning routine. However, I must note, she is a stellar example of selfless health consciousness. Even when she does not have to wear a mask, she is typically the one that will, even reminding me. Interestingly, masks are no longer mandatory in her school, yet she still wears them and complains about the kids who do not. While a daily routine was altered for our family, she also appears to group kids into masks wearers and non-mask wearers. Conversations with my wife about her work: My wife is a 3rd grade teacher. Pre-pandemic she checked in occasionally with how her day was going, how the kids were behaving, or just to check on our dogs. Until last week, masks were still required at her school. As she works at a school for the deaf, this caused many communication and behavior issues. Most of our conversations have become about how difficult it is to sign to the children in her class without the necessary component of facial emotion for inflection or the equivalent of intonation. Or she will also discuss how the kids act about the masks. Ironically, when they removed the mask requirement last week, she then texted me that she felt vulnerable, even though she knew it was better for her and the kids’ communication. While this obviously affected my wife more than me, the pandemic has changed how families talk about work and school. Rather than, “how was your day at school,” questions changed to “did the kids wear masks and did anyone get isolated?” Yard work: In late 2019 I developed a horrible sinus infection that caused eye issues and facial pain. I discovered later this was likely from trimming poisonous Oleander bushes without a mask on. I also routinely mowed the yard with no mask. I often had some form of face or noise pain before that, which looking back sounds idiotic. I likely would have worn a mask if I had one sitting around, but it always became an issue of realizing I needed one and lazily just wanting the work completed. However, as an “essential worker,” my company supplied my family with an endless supply of masks. Today, now that masks are readily available, I find myself wearing them during yard work and my sinus issues have all but been eradicated. Grocery Shopping: My family used to shop as a crew, now my wife and I take turns because of the pandemic and continue two years later. This has changed a weekly routine, but I am ok with it. Here is a link to a previous archive item that included this discussion, https://covid-19archive.org/s/archive/item/46478. My workday: A typical workday for me as a shift technician worker, pre-pandemic, would begin and end with a pass down meeting with our night shift. The meetings took place in one room with approximately ten people, in a central location. We would then cram as many people as would fit into golf carts and separate to four different factories for our workday. Additionally, we would sit at desks, perform routine maintenance, and assist each other throughout the day, all within cross proximity. After the pandemic, started people began getting sick and getting each other sick. I work in the semi-conductor industry and there was a parallel surge in demand for chips. Beyond just our health, it was apparent that if people were not separated, it was possible that our mega-site could negatively affect the global chip supply chain and my employer’s bottom line. Thus, jobs like mine were made “essential” and safety rules were vastly improved. Other “non-essential” people began to work from home to make the site safer for essential work. Even today, we meet in four different control rooms rather that all in one room, with ¼ the people, wear masks unless eating, cannot ride more than one person in front and one person in the back of golf carts, and must perform complex maintenance tasks six feet apart and if this is not possible wear supplied air masks. While management may remove some of the safety regulations soon, things have become more complex at my job and manufacturing industries because of COVID-19. I also have to walk up to one to two miles a day due to golf cart rules, which is probably not a bad thing. Extended family interactions: The pandemic is slowly wanning. Rather than stopping by my parent’s house or simply all agreeing to have dinner as a family for a birthday on a certain day, as it was before the pandemic, things have changed. My family spends a fair amount of time to discuss how everyone is feeling and if we should cancel before we meet if someone is sick. Thus, all our plans are much more complicated, and we find ourselves meeting up as a family less out of caution. COVID-19 has altered the type and frequency of my extended family’s interactions. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed my days. However, it seems to me that I, and those around me, always adjust to situations that at first seem so stressful. Humans are highly adaptable, even to extremely spontaneous and stressful situations. Even more than we give credit to ourselves for. This exercise shows some things I had not even thought about, because I did not have a choice and just adjusted. Which is surprising because I am known as the biggest worrier! -
2022-03-20
A Day In The Life
Every day things that run through my head that have changed since the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic -
2022-03-19
Change can be good? Sometimes.
I am submitting my Day in the Life of COVID. This document shows how the aspects of my life have or have not changed. My life has changed a lot when we were put into lockdown, but it also changed again when I returned to working in person. Yet, work is not the only thing that has changed. I would like to think some of the changes I have discussed will inspire some positivity in my life and others' lives. I think that it would be good to add some more positive stories to the archive. -
2022-03-16
COVID Surge in American Samoa
American Samoa, a small U.S territory located in the South Pacific, was the last place to experience the surging numbers of covid cases. When the coronavirus was declared a pandemic at the beginning of 2020, American Samoa was the only place on earth not to have any cases of COVID. To combat the disease, the government of American Samoa barred incoming flights for a whole year from the United States and their neighboring island of Western Samoa. Although the island did not have any COVID cases, the government promoted and maintained the restrictions throughout the island. However, after opening the borders for inbound flights after a year, American Samoa did not report its first Covid case until September 2021. Since then, travel restrictions and quarantine for travelers were enforced, but eventually, a big surge of cases began to be seen in mid-February of this year. The opening of borders to inbound flights brought the disease into the island. Coronavirus cases jumped from only a hundred to 555. It is still considered relatively low worldwide, but it is high for a small island. Fortunately, no fatalities are reported, with more than 80 percent of the population vaccinated. The attached image is data reported weekly by the American Samoa Department of Health to the public to show how many cases are positive in each village and totaled in American Samoa. The people were worried that the disease might cause some fatalities, the government was quick to impose a lockdown restriction called "CODE RED," which barred social gatherings, schools, traveling, and work on February 22. Although the public panicked with the news of coronavirus cases on the island, the government worked to assure the safety of the people by making sure people were aware of the number of cases and the situation with live news updates and weekly data by the Department of Health. I was also worried when I first heard of the surging number of COVID cases at home. Although I moved to the states for school, I made sure I am kept up to date with what is happening back at home. With the fatalities I saw here in the states with Covid, I was also worried for my parents. But it was comforting to see the live updates by the government on social media which kept me closer to home. -
2022-03-16
School Shootings, I don't miss them.
This is a ParentSquare message from the superintendent from the school district that I work at. A student from the Online school that our district provides as an alternative for students because of COVID-19 decided it was a good idea to shoot at fellow students. This is particularly frustrating for me as a school employee because this student put other students in danger and ended the life of at least one student. Actions like this also put the school employees or outside civilians in danger if they get caught in the crossfire. Gang activity has become an issue in this town and I fear there will be more retaliation and the cycle of violence will continue. This will likely interrupt the student's education even more because of fear or fascination, probably just as much as COVID has. It has become increasingly difficult to engage some students with their students because they are behind maturity-wise after a year of being online due to COVID and this school shooting is not helpful. -
2020-09-01
Seattle's 2020 summer, school, and kids
At the end of 2020, I was completing my student teaching online for my BA in Secondary Education. I was placed in a school in Seattle. Student teaching during this time is something that was incredibly difficult. Looking at faces through blurry webcams, and seeing the black tiles in zoom from students who wouldn't or couldn't turn on cameras. I will never know what a lot of the students looked like, or what their voices sounded like, but getting to read their work, and see their messages in emails and chats is something that I will always remember and will always hold a place in my heart. The 12-14-year-olds I was teaching had just been the last 3 1/2 months watching the BLM protests and marches in their city take place. A few students told us that they lived just streets away from the main events. Some students had been active in the BLM marches and protests that had taken place during the summer before, some stayed at home and watched on social media live streams and the news, some had parents who were heavily involved. They watched their friends, their family, their community, and strangers get tear-gassed, hit with "blast balls", and be subject to other physical violence. The levels at which they understood the what and why varied. Some had such an amazing level of nuance that some adults I knew couldn't comprehend. Others had an extremely base understanding of why people were protesting and marching. But all understood that it was a monumental event and would be something remembered in history. These children were scared, concerned, confused for a variety of reasons. Yet, overwhelmingly there was a sense of urgency for justice from these kids. My lead teacher and I knew that we had to pivot lessons in order to keep them engaged and meet their needs. Focusing on how the concepts they needed to learn could be applied to material that would interest them, and using homeroom activities to try to calm nerves, create a sense of community and answer questions about everything from Covid, to the protests, to the current election. They wanted to write and read about what was important to them, what they saw around them, and they wanted to read about different perspectives and lives from their own. We honored that. For the final writing assignment of the semester, we gave them some guidelines and standards that needed to be met within their writing, but gave them some freedom on how they wanted to meet those standards. I won't get into the specifics of the assignment, but I will say it worked well and was adapted to best serve students at all levels, and those with IEP/504 plans. We were met with everything from songs and poetry, letters to the mayor and the governor, essays about our anchor text, to reports about youth activists that they researched. I don't think the impact of the events of summer 2020 in Seattle on children is thought about. The events that a child experiences and is around affects them for the rest of their lives. Most don't have the skills yet to emotionally process fully what they see. Their thinking didn't stop when the marches and protests did, they wanted to learn and talk about it in order to process. The compounding factors of the summer and prior to that Seattle was essentially ground zero for Covid in the U.S. left most kids spinning. School became a safe place for a lot of these kids, and I hope that it has continued to be one. -
2020-09-09
The Four Walls of Insanity
The day my life completely changed, QUARATINE had been announced in my district. What had begun as a light conversation with no expected impact on us later came to crumble our walls of reality and how vulnerable we really are. We live in a time of the future a virus wasn't expected to take so many of us out the thought that we've evolved beyond this point was false. We were unprepared for anything that was to come. I never got to enjoy my senior year complete my senior year, a year I'll never get back. I had begun with so much excitement it was my senior year in cross country I gratefully got to finish my season with all my teammates and some of my best friends from high school. However that would later come crashing down as I was getting excited for prom season shopping for a new dress and planning the night out with friends we were sent on a "2 week spring break" I never got back. Classes continued online, I no longer was able to do my daily routine of going to school then practice with friends. From now on any interaction was via Zoom or FaceTime we longed for reconnection. I'm someone who thrives off interacting with my friends especially pre quarantine the lack of interactions was draining me. I had to find a new way to cope which as you can see led to many hair color changes within a couple months. The four walls I would be so excited to come to after a long practice now became a prison cell. I would't change the way I chose to quarantine because I saw the negative affects of socializing with sadly one of my neighbors passing during that height of pandemic. However we are all only human and selfishness is part of who we are and I think it's fair to say my mental health took a large toll during the couple months that felt like years. Once my family as well as others became more lenient I was a able to hangout in small groups of people but never large and still fear it a little over 2 years later. I don't believe I have fully recovered from the situation this time period put us through. The isolation did allow me to discover new interests and how to spend time with myself which can be difficult, as well as an appreciation for long walks on your own. However it was a confusing time and one that only brought about more anxiety and fear with someone who deals with this struggles on the daily. -
2020-03-31
Ending the School Year in COVID-19
I described how ending the school year during COVID-19 was. I am a high school teacher, and we went on Spring Break and never came back. I include an e-mail I sent to my students. -
2021-06-01
Buildings become useless.
I once heard from my uncle that the pandemic has rendered buildings useless. When people started working online, going to work has plummeted. Nowadays, many people prefer working at home over going to their office. They find it more convenient working online because they do not have to waste their time traveling back and forth as well as losing their money on gas. Due to the development of technologies, people can pretty much do things online. We can work online, shop online, and do all kinds of entertainment online too. Thus, many businessmen lost much effort and money in paying off their building rent. Some trying to sell off their building but the condition just makes it more challenging, because no one would want to carry that burden to themselves. My uncle told me that, in his prediction, buildings will disappear in the near future and that people only go out for traveling or in some necessary circumstances. I thought about that a lot and somehow I kind of agree with his prediction. I do not think that buildings will completely disappear but people will definitely work online more in the future. -
2020-04-01
Sleeping disorder
The pandemic has disturbed my sleep. During the quarantine, I did not have to do much except for sleep and doing my homework. Since my school was doing the asynchronous study, I stayed undisciplined to myself. I sleep whenever I want to and started staying up late. For the whole summer, my sleeping routine had totally changed. I slept during the day and stayed up at night. Because I slept too much, I even skipped meals and had lost so much weight during that time. Due to this unhealthy lifestyle of mine, my health has deteriorated a lot. Once school started, I was having trouble with falling asleep at night. It felt like I was having jet lag. Therefore, every time I went to school, every step I walked felt so heavy, and I was always in a state of sleepiness, and loss of concentration. Even now, I still find it difficult to sleep for many days. I also lost my appetite for food and exhaustion keeps following me until these days. The reason that leads me to this action, I think, is because of all the boredom I felt during the pandemic. All I could do was hang around my room. I was lack of vitamin D because I barely walked out in the sun. Moreover, I lived far from my parents and I completely had no energy to do things or to find things. No one was there to encourage me or talk to me. I was with a host family by that time but we rarely talked so I would rather lock myself in the room and sleep through the day. When things started opening back up, I figured many people have also had the same issue as me. So in conclusion, the pandemic has caused sleeping disorders in many people. -
2021-07-11
Wild Ride at the Safari Park
Over the past few years, the COVID pandemic has become a pretty lonely time for me living in Missouri, where I am originally from. I moved out to Arizona over five years ago and have not left. When the pandemic hit, my job moved to be online for a while, and therefore I made the trip to go back home and be with my family. We realized that we became increasingly stir-crazy through the pandemic by staying in the house all of the time. There was no more travel to the restaurants, shopping, and entertainment places. The past summer, with the pandemic on a decline, my family and extended members traveled to the Wild Animal Safari park. There was my Aunt Pat, my Niece, Morgan, my mother Robyn, and myself in the car as we traveled an hour away to enjoy the safari animals. The great thing about the excursion is that we did not have to get out of the car to remain safe during the pandemic. We received our animal food at the entrance and then proceeded through the park. It was one of the best times of the year because I am not sure I have laughed so hard in my life. I had no idea animals had that long tongues that they would stick in the car windows to get the food pellets. It was delightful seeing my niece squirm around in the car as she tried to get away from the animals. It was one of the best times during the pandemic, and I cannot recommend this excursion or something similar. -
2020-09-20
Discovering You Have COVID19
It was September of 2020, and I was babysitting at the time. The kids I was babysitting for were sick, but I did not think much of it, babies are sick all the time right? So, I continue going to work throughout the week. I am changing the diaper of the child, and may I add that this is a dirty, poopy diaper. I am thinking in my head, "Wow it is kind of crazy that this does not smell bad, it ALWAYS does." Suddenly it clicks in my head, I cannot smell. I go smell a candle, smells like nothing, an onion, nothing, perfume, nothing, and I am instantly in a panic. I am then wondering if I can taste anything, I try every food in the pantry, again... nothing. I immediately tell the mom I babysit for (she works from home), and she tries smelling her candle, and she smells nothing either. We go together and get tested, and we all had COVID19. We all ended up being okay and quarantine for 10 days, so its okay to laugh at the situation now. That was my most memorable moment of COVID19. -
2020-06-27
Graduation
This picture, it is showing me having my high school graduation in a parking lot. All having to stand 6 feet apart, outside and listen to our names being read off through the speaker of our cars. Not your typical graduation from high school and I'll never get to go back and have one because of covid. -
2021-11
Strangers united in pettiness
Medical mask mandates on public transport had been in effect for a while now when this happened: There are always the inevitable idiots who refuse to wear their masks (or just wear them below their nose, which in addition to being stupid also looks stupid) and usually people will just roll their eyes but say nothing - that one morning went differently. The train was neither particularly crowded nor empty, for each 4-seater there'd be 2-3 seats occupied. We rolled into a station, people got on, among them a young woman who sat down on the first available seat. Directly behind her, some middle-aged guy, in possession of a mask but having it bunched up beneath his chin like a face-diaper. Upon seeing the woman sit down, he suddenly started ranting at her because apparently he'd wanted to sit in that seat (note that there were plenty of seats left), insulting her with a barrage of sexist and racist terms I don't care to repeat. She ignored him. Another passenger, however, didn't, and told the mask-less idiot to stop making an ass of himself and put on his mask before speaking and 'spreading his aerosols' indoors, which drew the idiot's ire on him. After realising that neither the woman nor the other passengers would offer their seat to him in response to his insults, the idiot moved on to the next 4-seater - only to find that the people there used their bags and jackets to occupy the empty seats there to prevent him from sitting down there, responding to his cussing by telling him to just put on his fucking mask again. He moved on, everyone on the next row of seats blocked him as well, again and again. One woman, lacking a bag, went as far as full-on man-spreading in the middle of two seats to occupy them both. In the end, the idiot had to move to a whole other train car to find a seat. The rest of us was left with smug smiles and a sense of petty satisfaction for the rest of the ride! -
2022-02-01
Indeterminate
Stress is associated with the past two years. This incident was one of my most stressful contact with Covid-19 testing. You'd win the bet if you guessed there is a happy ending. -
2020-04-14
Reflections of a Grocery Worker
This photograph is a selfie photo from my time working at my local grocery store in Wakefield, Rhode Island, USA. I don't have many photos from this period that reflect the pandemic and my memories of it, but this photo represents the early days as the USA first began to adopt masking after the CDC realized that non-symptomatic spread was happening. Experiencing the pandemic through the lens of a grocery store was very interesting. It was a unique perspective for understanding different people's anxieties and doubts around the pandemic. It was also a strenuous place to be during the pandemic, having to constantly adapt to supply chain issues, worker shortages, and the mental strain of working in a likely unsafe environment. About a month into the pandemic I was asked to move from my home department of prepared foods, and help the grocery-stocking staff catch up with the unpredictable shipments coming in. Shortly after that, I was moved over to the front of the store to help keep count of the people in the store and encourage customers to use masks/hand sanitizer. I remember being met with a wide variety of gratitude, skepticism, resistance, and more--even including a lecture on covid as a conspiracy! At times, this role brought me anxiety as I saw news stories of door-people and security guards being killed or harmed for asking visiting customers to wear a mask. In a weird way, when I left my job to attend grad school at UMass Boston, I felt a bit of suvivor's guilt. Whenever I come home to Rhode Island, I hear that the folks at my old store continue to struggle even over a year deeper into the pandemic. -
2022-02-08
Pink disposable mask trash
A pink disposable mask on ASU’s campus near Coor. -
2021-02-07
At-home test
We ordered and received our free at-home COVID-19 test this Monday. My husband complained about not feeling well so I made him take one. He’s sick, but it’s not COVID. -
2022-02-06
Lost Basketball Season
What I was able to do when my ability to play basketball was limited during the pandemic. -
2021-02-09
A loss within a loss
My grandma, a 95-year-old woman, had a decline in her health. She had to go to the hospital multiple times, and we were all told that her muscles were deteriorating. The first time she was in the hospital for a couple of weeks this past year she wasn’t able to walk so she was recommended to go to a nursing home to receive rehab. She was in the nursing home where my mom worked, she was the only one actually able to visit her. I went and visited through the window so that I could at least see her and talk to her as I didn’t know how many more times, we would be able to talk. I would call her every other day just to talk and see how she was feeling. She then went to the hospital again because she was having issues breathing on her own. We found out that she had fluid in her lungs which caused her breathing problems. We were then told that she wouldn’t make it through the night, so we went and visited her to make sure we said our goodbyes without actually saying the word goodbye. She said “I’m not ready to leave” to my mom which she proved to be true. She ended up feeling a lot better after the oxygen started working. She still needed a lot of care to help her survive. We then found out that she had covid and that she wouldn’t make it through because of the already preexisting circumstances. Her old age and her body falling apart really didn’t help her to fight off something so bad. She lost her ability to eat anything. She couldn’t swallow at all, so she lost a bunch of weight. We were then told again that she wouldn’t make it through the night, so we rushed there to see her because we believed this to be true this time. We went into the hospital with a priest and some family members with only three people allowed in the room we had to alternate. We also had masks on and then told we had to put on gloves, and an isolation gown. I left after an hour because it hurt too bad to see her suffering with two forms of oxygen on and barely being able to talk. My mom and uncle stayed till they told them visiting hours were over. The next morning my mom gets a call saying that she had passed, and she came into my brother and I’s rooms in tears to tell us. On February 9th, 2021, at 8:03, my grandma passed away. -
2020-03
Suffering from Anxiety
As most young adults my age, I suffer from severe anxiety. Dealing with anxiety daily, can be very challenging at times, especially during a pandemic. I have been fighting a battle with anxiety most of my life. At this point, I am really used to the extra thoughts in my head. I have learned to help manage it, but not completely get rid of it. I believe that anxiety has made me who I am, in a way, because I do not remember a time where I was not struggling. In 2020, a pandemic instantly flooded the world. This completely impacted my entire life. I was not able to experience my last year in high school, I was not able to be around the one person that helped me with my anxiety, etc. I was forced to wear a mask that I could barely breathe in. I lost touch with most of my friends that I developed over my lifetime. This instant wave of depression suddenly hit me. I was so nervous on what would happen next, and how long will this last. People were dying from this pandemic. I constantly worried about if the sickness would hurt one of my family members or someone important to me. Over the time of being in quarantine, I thought to myself ways on how I could relax and not worry so much about the pandemic. I told myself every day, “Everything happens for a reason”. This is what I truly believe and for some reason it really does calm me down. I am Catholic. I am a very deep believer in God. To me, trusting in the Lord is the best anxiety reliever around. Covid-19 is still around today. Without Covid-19, I would not be where I am today. Although this pandemic has an abundance of negative impacts on my life, it also had some positive ones, too. I would not have attended Duquesne University, met so many amazing people, and made a plethora of memories that I would not trade in for. I believe talking about my anxiety, especially during the pandemic, is very critical because I am not the only one who is suffering, too. Everyone is nervous about what is going to happen next. To me, this is HUGE on helping me with my anxiety. I can finally think to myself that I am not alone. I believe that people who suffer from anxiety, especially from the pandemic started in 2020, can have a place to go if they are nervous. When I was struggling, I felt alone, and I was the only person who felt this way. My story will allow people to realize that they are not alone. Everyone is dealing with this stress and anxiety that I suffered from. My story tells people that I have worries and doubts, too. The pandemic not only had negative impacts, but they also had positive impacts. Focusing on the positives, will distract you from the anxiety and worrying. My story should help prove that. My story should allow people to see and find new ways to cope with the stress. I hope my story leaves a positive impact on people who did or are struggling. Everyone is in this together, and nobody will be alone in this major impact on the world. -
2020-03-20
Improvised workout during quarantine
When the quarantine lockdown mandate was first instated, and all gyms were closed, I quickly became nervous figuring out how I would be able to work out every day efficiently. As a child, I was always overweight until one summer when I obtained a gym membership and trainer to help me lose 45 pounds. However, when all gyms closed, I feared that not going consistently would lead me to gain weight again as I sat stagnant at home. Fortunately, I was able to make the most out of my situation at home and create an at-home workout routine to stay healthy. Daily, I would wake up and run 2 miles outside, followed by 100 pushups, 50 situps, and 5 one-minute planks. Although this workout was not as strenuous as if I was able to go to the gym, it was still very effective in keeping me in shape and helped me stay active. Most importantly, these at-home workouts kept me occupied during quarantine and helped relieve my stress of not seeing or hanging out with my friends and other family members. -
2021-09-13
Mental Health in the Eyes of a Pandemic
For years, I believed there was something wrong with me that wasn’t similar to anyone else. This “something” wasn’t easy to figure out. The pandemic consisted of trends, exercise, masks, and heavy cleaning. In high school, girls consistently made fun of me for my body, weight, and the way I looked. The bullying wouldn’t stop- I was fifteen. My mom took everything to the police. Things were dealt with. Things were okay, until they weren’t. On April 5th, 2020, while doing a heavy clean of some junk drawers, I found the red folder of printed screenshots. Sorrow began to creep up my spine as I began to cry. I couldn’t understand why people ever thought this was okay. I stopped eating. How does this happen? By choice? No, not really. By coincidence? Not that either. I kept my eating disorder hidden. I never told the doctors, friends, employers, and most regretfully, I hid it from my family. Beginning from April 5th, 2020, to approximately September of 2021, I was not okay. Within the duration of starving myself out, burning 800 calories a day at the gym, making myself throw up after every time I ate, and weighing myself four times a day, I didn’t see anything wrong with my lifestyle. It was June 11th, 2021, when I was at the doctor’s office. She asks, “Do you have any questions or concerns?” I didn’t. Well, I did. Words of anger went in and throughout my brain. I had been battling an eating disorder for well over a year and I wasn’t ready to admit it. I was always the perfect, angelic, do-no-wrong child in my family- I couldn’t let them know about this but, I also couldn’t stand to hate myself for another day. It came out… “I think I have an eating disorder”, I said as tears ran down my face. For the next few months, I was monitored. It was the hardest battle I’ve had to face. I came face to face with my parents and explained everything. They sobbed as they couldn’t understand why their first-born child refused to understand how beautiful she is. My heart shattered into a million pieces. Soon after that doctor’s appointment, I was on the road to recovery. Many people hate covid because they felt robbed of love, opportunity, and most importantly, time. If anything, Covid-19 saved my life. I finally ridded of those demon in which lived inside my precious thoughts. There’s no more “I look fat” or “I can’t eat that”. This wasn’t something that was wrong with just me- it affects millions. Covid taught me that there is no room for negativity in this world. Time moves too fast. The presence of eating disorders during the pandemic can help historians understand the impact of cyberbullying, food scarcity due to supply chain issues, etc. I don’t believe that researchers realize how many adults and children were affected by mental illness due to persistent lockdowns, isolation periods, restricted visitation, and new introductions to a virtual society. My experience offers intel to how mental and physical illnesses were underestimated throughout the entirety of the pandemic. Whether it be an eating disorder or a cancer patient, it’s difficult to watch because it seems like covid-19 patients are prioritized everywhere even if they choose not to be vaccinated. It’s a hard thing to watch in terms of priority because cancer patients, heart disease patients, etc. have less room in hospitals because people choose to not be vaccinated. With that being said, being vaccinated has no 100% guarantee of not being hospitalized but it lowers the rates substantially. -
2020-06-01
You Never Know What You’ve Got ’Til it’s Gone
As a senior in high school, I did not realize how important it was to experience milestones. I thought graduation was just an event that people dreaded and sat through for hours and hours until it was over. I thought prom was just another dance. I thought senior night for lacrosse was just a short walk across the field. I did not realize the true meaning and importance of these events until they were taken away from me. My whole life, I watched my friends and brothers experience their “senior night” for their sports teams respectively. 2020 was finally my year to experience my senior night. I joined my mandatory Zoom call to discuss the options for the upcoming season, only for it to turn out in the cancellation of the entire season. I was heartbroken. At this moment, I realized that I would never play the sport I loved with my teammates ever again. I realized I would never be able to walk across the field with my family and be honored for all of the time I spent devoted to the sport of lacrosse. I would never be able to experience the feeling of walking off of the field for the last time in my career. The only experience I got was a drive thru of cars in a parking lot. Nothing could ever make up for the memories that I missed out on when my season was cancelled. Another event that impacted me was my graduation. I had just spent thirteen years in my school district and it was finally my year to walk across the stage in my cap and gown while my family members cheered for me. Instead, because of the pandemic, I simply got to watch a slideshow from my computer with my name typed on a slide. That is all that was done by my school for my graduation. I was lucky enough that my family wanted to make this milestone special for me, so they gave me my own graduation. They set up a stage and a private graduation in my backyard with all of my family members which helped make up for the graduation that I missed out on. But, I never got to experience graduating from high school, and that is something that I know I will never get to experience due to COVID. COVID has had an impact on my life in ways that I did not expect it to. COVID took away experiences and emotions from me that I didn't even know meant anything to me. This pandemic has taught me to take advantage of and appreciate any milestone in life, no matter how trivial it can seem. I felt and experienced the true meaning of the phrase, “You never know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone,” and if I could sum up my experience of the COVID-19 pandemic in one phrase, it would be that. -
2020-03-12
Class of 2020
On March 12th, 2020, the Community College of Allegheny County emailed out a letter in response to the COVID - 19 global pandemic. The college had suspended credited classes for five days until faculty and administration had figured out how to stop the spread of COVID – 19 by having a smooth transition from in-person learning to online learning. I was aware that COVID - 19 was starting to become a large problem in the U.S. and other countries, but I did not think that we were at the magnitude that we would need to go online learning. Nonetheless, I was fine with it. I would rather be safe than sorry because I wasn’t sure of the seriousness of the virus and the online learning period was only supposed to last from March 18th to April 19th. And then on April 1st, 2020, the whole state of Pennsylvania had gone on lockdown for COVID – 19, I had then selfishly started to become worried about what the future would hold for me. I was in the last year of my two-year degree program and extremely excited that I was finally eligible to graduate and walk across the stage and graduate with my family cheering for me like every other graduating class before me. I figured there would have to be some type of celebration for the graduating class because, before the year 2020, I and many other students had never even imagined what alternate graduation would look like or how it would even work. I think I and any other student who was a part of the graduating class of 2020 in hindsight are glad that we didn’t have the traditional graduation because we did celebrate our achievements and kept our family and friends safe while doing it. -
2020-02-01
Essential Business
During my undergraduate studies at the University of Oregon, I lived in an apartment in Eugene, Oregon. The apartment complex had a mixture of college students and non-college students, in other words, it was not specifically for college students as many in the area were. Being that Eugene is a college town and the legalization of marijuana, the scent of marijuana was common. Walking my dog in the evenings without smelling or seeing people smoke would have been odd. The COVID-19 breakout and subsequent lockdown would alter my apartment complex's scent. As mentioned before, the smell of marijuana was extremely common. However, the intensity and frequency were increased. The scent of weed became almost as common as the smell of rain or grass in the morning. People began to smoke much earlier in the mornings, whereas before it was usually reserved for the afternoon or evening times. COVID-19 forced people to stay home, which altered their work and college schedules which resulted in more leisure time. Interestingly, or perhaps rather expected, the State of Oregon deemed marijuana dispensaries an "Essential Business". The State would curtail one's ability to go to campus and the library, places of study, and personal development were shut down for health and safety purposes. But people were still allowed to go to a dispensary spend their money on a recreational drug. So I decided to go one, for investigational purposes of course, and after having a conversation with the local budtender, she informed me that people were being much higher qualities than before. She speculated it was either out of fear of the pandemic or the fear of the dispensaries being shut down in the near future. Thus it brought me to wonder, was marijuana deemed "Essential" for economic or psychological purposes? -
2020-03-13
The Tragedy of the Covid-19 Pandemic
I was in my senior year of High School when covid happened. That year that was going so well ended so badly. Once covid hit I lost all my friends and my girlfriend at the time. Everything changed and I worked at a grocery store. Ive never seen so many people at like such animals. while working at the store there would be about 4-5 fights a day and people were just fighting and emptying the shelves. It was scary to see that this is what was happening to our world and all I could really do was just sit there and watch and still hope that we would have enough product for me to still have a job. And that's not even the worst of it. I lost all of the fun things that happen senior year. I never got to go to prom, I never had a graduation ceremony, I lost everything. my girlfriend started lying and saying she couldn't see me because of coiled and I eventually found out she was cheating. I lost all my friends as well. The worst part of it is with everyone being quarantined, if you walked outside it looked like an abandoned waste land. little to no human life for months. You'd only see people at the stores and even then they aren't acting like the same people you once knew. But covid has done worse to me. Its ruined my football career and taken my dream away. It is what it is and I'm doing what I can to move on, but this pandemic changed me and everyone else. things are starting to go kinda back how they were but its not the same. Things will never be how they once were. Even when this virus fully passes and ends up just like the flu, the strain it has left on mankind as a whole will always be there. And even when historians in 50 years look back at this, No matter what there will be some part of them that has been effected by this. I honestly don't have much more to say because I feel like I've said what matters. All I have left to say is if you grew up/ are growing up during this I'm so sorry that this is what you also have to live through. -
2020-03-31
Banana Bread Madness
Like a lot of people when the pandemic hit, there was a great deal of uncertainty. I didn't know how to function really, not teaching school, so like a lot of people, while thinking about my kids shortened year, I turned to baking. I tried Banoffee Pie and that was a huge faliure, but then , I stumbled on this Banana Bread recipe. I made upwards of 25 loafs in the months that follow. Every time I taste that sweet banana goodness, I think of how much I both enjoyed having that time (I mean, daily naps, what is there not to love) and how much uncertainty there was. -
2020-05
How COVID-19 Altered Some of Life’s Most Memorable Times
The COVID-19 lockdown began in March 2020 of my senior year of high school. At first, it was just a two-week vacation break, then it soon became unknown what the rest of senior year would be. I was extremely devastated when the pandemic took away my senior year because the last year of high school is one of the most memorable times of your life. Although it was a rough time, my friends, family, and I did what we could to make the best of every big moment. The first monumental moment taken away from me was my 18th birthday on April 20, 2020. My friends and I have always gone all out for each other’s birthdays such as concerts, dinners, gifts, and big celebrations. My family always went out to our favorite restaurants or had extended family come over to celebrate as well. For my 18th birthday, we made the best of it by my mom making my favorite dinner, and my friends planned a drive-by parade past my house with signs, balloons, and cards. Although it ended up being a nice day, it was still hard to enjoy it with wondering what the day could have been. Senior prom is an exciting moment that you look forward to your entire senior year. My childhood best friend and I planned to go together. My friends and I had bought our dresses back in January, so we were all ready for the big day. Due to school being shut down and social distancing guidelines, a senior prom was not possible. To make the day the best it possibly could be, my friends and I put on our makeup, did our hair, and put our dresses on to have our own prom. We took pictures together and had a little party at my friend’s house. The best part is that our version of a mini prom ended up being more fun than an actual prom. However, it is still bittersweet that we never got to experience the last dance with our senior class. Missing out on a graduation ceremony was the hardest part for me. It was the final closure to have with your classmates and teachers before heading off to college to begin a new life. I did not get to see any of my classmates walk the stage and share such a sentimental moment with them. We did receive our diplomas, but it was not the same as being on the football field with 300 other classmates and the bleachers full of family and friends. Senior banquet occurred after graduation where everyone got together at the school and had a fun night one last time. After a couple months of worrying, tears, and longing for more, it was time to move on. Although senior year did not end the way we wanted it to, the memories of making everything the best with the people I love mean the most to me. -
2022-02
Ripple Affect from COVID 19
My personal experience with COVID 19 -
2022-02-03
Zero attendance sports games
As a lifelong hockey fan, specifically for the New York Rangers, it was highly disappointing to find out that the rest of the 2019-2020 season would continue without the attendance of fans at Madison Square Garden due to lockdown restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Watching every hockey game at home simply did not compare to being able to witness the firsthand action of rocket slapshots, massive hits, and gruesome fights seen up close in person. Although, I am fortunate that the rest of the season continued, and I was able to see the Rangers compete in the playoffs despite them being eliminated in the first round. Yet, the beginning of lockdown was indeed a scary time for most people. There was no anticipated end to quarantine restrictions nor an end in sight to the highly contagious virus itself. Writing this excerpt two years later, thankfully, the vaccine and the use of masks has allowed for regular attendance to return to most sports arenas and stadiums nationwide. Hopefully, we will find a permanent solution to the virus itself in the future and continue normal sports activities restriction-free! -
2020-03-13
An odd senior year
On Friday, March 13, 2020, I attended my high school for the last time. I heard people remarking that students would be sent home for a few weeks, a month at most. As students emptied out lockers and said their goodbyes to teachers, I was a little stunned by the whole process. I've never experienced something of this sort, so it was a bit difficult to adjust. Sure enough, around a week later, we got the email that we would be completing our academic year through Zoom. I couldn't believe it! I was so upset that I wouldn't be able to see my teachers or friends before leaving for college! A few weeks after that, I received a message that senior prom would be canceled, and this was really a bummer. It was really upsetting because I pictured the night over a hundred times, taking inspiration from movies and shows, but of course, it would remain in my imagination. This story details an unconventional end to high school. Typically, one's senior year is complete with great anticipation, however, the outbreak of the pandemic resulted in panic, fear, and disappointment. This is just one example of how the pandemic adversely affected life for students, especially those leaving high school. -
2022-02-02
Warmth
As we spend more time at home we need to find happiness in the little things. One of those little things for me has been sunbathing with my dog. We hang out on the balcony or go on a picnic and just enjoy each other's company. We feel the sun warm us, we lay in the grass and enjoy a snack. This has been my stress relief during this hectic time. -
2020-09-27
My First Pie and Other Sensory Snapshots
I gave birth to my first child two months into the COVID-19 pandemic, and so to me, memories of this time are centered around life as a new parent. Because we live in a different state than most of our family, and because we had a newborn (whose immune systems are not well-developed the first several weeks of life) in a global pandemic, we did not go anywhere. I had a few months off of work and school to care for my son, so my experience of COVID-19 to that point was time spent just with my son. As any parent knows, those first few weeks are an exhausting blur consisting of the never-ending cycle of feeding your baby, changing them, and helping them sleep. But the sensory memories from this time of my life that have stuck with me the most involve the feeling of holding my baby; feeling his head on my shoulder, hearing his tiny little breaths and occasional squeaky coos in my ear, noticing the sweet smell of his baby shampoo on his head, feeling him stretch and reposition from time to time. Though it seemed like the days when he would sleep independently would never come, little did I know how quickly they would, and how much I would miss these quiet moments. When he started getting the hang of napping, I suddenly had these open stretches of time in my day, which I was not used to. What to do to fill this time, especially in the midst of a pandemic and with a baby to boot? Like many people, I developed a baking hobby while my little one napped. Now I associated his nap time with the sticky feel of flour and butter on my hands as I kneaded dough for soda bread, the smell of buttery, sugary deliciousness coming from the oven as scones were baking. On my husband’s birthday, I produced my most time-consuming bake so far: a strawberry rhubarb pie. This one required some cooperation on the part of my little guy, whose giggles I heard as he batted at toys in his baby swing while I chopped and prepped the filling and made the pie crust. The finished product wasn’t necessarily perfect, but I was proud of it, and the memory of making it will always stick with me since it is a representative snapshot of that moment in time, a few months into a global pandemic with my young son. -
2020-04-01
Worst April Fool’s Day
My employer ended every person's contract in a zoom call, somewhere around 100 of us. We were all students. The ending of our contracts meant we all lost our housing since we worked for a university (this was before I was attending ASU). We were given until Sunday to have all of our belongings moved out and our keys returned, or we could pay the multiple thousands of dollars that on-campus housing would cost. Hardly any of us could afford that, some of my friends suddenly had to grapple with the idea that they would be in debt, broke, or homeless in a matter of four days. I was one of the lucky ones as I had a place to go. 1 sleepless night. 4 days. 4 trips back and forth. 11 ½ hours driving in silence. $20 spent on one final dinner with my friends and coworkers. $25 spent on moving supplies. $52 spent on gas. 506 miles. 11 ½ hours driving in silence. I drove in silence, I couldn’t handle trying to listen to anything. I couldn’t allow myself to hear a sad song and get caught up in it, or worse hear something happy and get upset that I wasn’t feeling that way. The sound of my tires on the poorly maintained interstate for what felt like truly endless hours is something I will never forget and is something that will never leave me. Rattling over pot holes, turn signals, avoiding other drivers, sitting in traffic, the sound of my new tires being worn in very quickly. This story is not unique. Countless people lost their jobs, lost their homes, lost their livelihoods during the initial shutdown. I was simply one of so many, but I was privileged enough to have a place to land. The sound of driving, the action of having to move, and the feeling of sadness, frustration, or loss due to a sudden change in life is something that I think is relatable for a lot of people during the pandemic. Audio description: Recording of the sound of my car taking the last exit off the highway into my town -
2022-02-01
Bagged Snack
This helps understand the history of the pandemic and the situation within elementary schools and that uneasy feeling is one that everyone throughout the school feels. As covid coutines to hit elementary schools hard. Teachers and staff are doing all they can to keep students safe as well as teach and help them learn. While at snacktime, we are reminded of our current times with our students pulling masks down just so that they could enjoy snacktime. We have to be aware that this pandemic is and will effect the younger generations in ways we can't understand right now. -
2021-02-08
Tweets that reflected life during online school
These tweets reflect how I felt while doing my senior year from behind a computer screen in my room. I would put my zoom class on and then spend time on my phone. Life was really boring, I had school everyday and couldn't see many of my friends. My school used Microsoft Teams for class, and it was really bad compared to Zoom. -
2021-06-20
My Story of How COVID-19 Changed My Life
When the pandemic first hit, I was one of those people who believed it was just like the flu and that it wasn't going to be as bad as people said it was going to be. Over time I came to realize that this was no ordinary illness and that the world had changed drastically. Streets were empty, school was online, and it had felt like a zombie apocalypse had gripped the world. One thing the pandemic taught me was to appreciate the time you have because you never know when it may come to an end. Spending time with friends and family helped me realize the joys they bring to my life and how important they really are to me. -
2022-01-28
Unpleasant Sounds
Before the pandemic the sound of a harmless cough or sneeze did not bother me. After two years into the pandemic those same sounds make me cringe. For me, the sound of a stranger’s cough or sneeze triggers the feeling of disgust. I am repulsed and immediately want to leave the environment I am in. When at work and I hear a cough or sneeze I stop, and wonder is it the cold dry New Mexico air that caused it or is it the virus? I try not to get worked up about it and carry on. The pandemic has changed a lot of once “normal” things for me, and has made me hyper aware of things I might not have noticed before. -
2022-01-26
Jalneti: The outlier for COVID-19 Prevention
Jalneti, an ancient technique as preventive measure for COVID-19. -
2021-09-06
The Party Doesn't Stop
Celebrating our organizations on campus. Showing that we will still make college an amazing time for everyone, safely. -
2021-10-09
The Downfall of Us All
Safely going to our first concert together. Lots of fun and memories. -
2020-10-25
My Life with Covid 19
In 2020, The week of my 22th birthday I tested positive for covid-19. I had no signs that I had even feel sick or had covid. I tested three times before that due to my family friend having covid but I was not really in direct contact but wanted to test anyway. Negative all three time that day. I don't know why they tested me three times but whatever. When I was at home resting and trying to "do my time" I felt totally normal. It was like any other day to me. However, when I got my shots I when I had all the side effects and was out for a good two days at school. I felt like I was gonna die. I had to wait the two days out and nothing felt good to me,I could not get comfortable, and I was sore all over. It even felt like that when I got my booster. Overall, covid sucks! -
2020
A New Yorker's Perspective on Life During the Pandemic
I wrote because I felt compelled to, to chronicle what was happening to try and make sense of it and help me process it.