Items

• 2020-03-13

  An unforgettable tale

  I remember it like it was yesterday. I was a junior in high school, walking home with my friends. But prior to this, my government professor was very adamant about this new virus spreading around known as COVID-19. I had no idea what it was or why he was so obsessed with this virus. I didint think much of it until I saw the news that there was going to be no school. Later did I know, my life was going to take a drastic turn. Remote learning was a new concept for me. I didint complain since all I had to do was wake up and walk to my desk and turn my computer on for my first period class. It was the best thing ever. I passed my classes with ease and had no trouble learning or understanding material. This “paradise” was going to end when I would reach college. Learning through remote learning was so difficult. I was initially a biology major, which requires a lot of attention and understanding of the material in order to pass but I couldn’t. Being stuck at home was finally taking a toll on me. I wanted to get out of my house and be free. Walk around without a mask and be social with people. That’s when I realized that I was lacking social skills. It was sophomore year when schools were opening up. I was excited. Arriving at my first class and I was stunned. Seeing so many faces. I was scared. I didint know what to do. I wanted to leave as soon as possible. This “fear” would stretch until senior year of college when I started becoming more comfortable with my peers around me. Using the resources available for me. I can safely say I’m finally growing out of this craze known as COVID-19
• 2020-03-13

  An unforgettable experience

  I remember coming out of school, walking home to celebrate my moms birthday. Prior to this, my teacher was, once again, talking about this new virus called COVID-19. He was very adamant of this soon to be pandemic. He was always informing us to stay safe and education might take a drastic turn in the future if the cases keep increasing. I did not think much of it and honestly thought he was going crazy. Later did I know, he was right all along. I was one of the unfortunate ones that graduated high school online which I was not bummed out at first but later on realized that It was missed out on of my biggest milestones. Speaking education wise, it was really fun since all I had to do was get up and turn on my computer for class. It felt effortless and assumed that school from now on is going to be the easiest thing in the world, until I got to college. Remote learning in college was, by far, the worst experience in the world. When it came to concentrating and understanding the concepts, it was really hard. I was not doing well in any of my classes. I hit a roadblock. I was fortunate enough to manage and pass my classes with the help of my sister but I would soon hit another roadblock in my life. In my sophomore year of college, we were allowed to take in person class which I jumped to the opportunity but I struggled with on of the basic necessities every human being should have. Be social. I was always a shy person who kept everything to himself but the pandemic reinforced it to another level. I was not able to participate, or even join any clubs because all I wanted to do was rush home. I did not want to interact with anyone. It would take a toll on me since I started to go down a path of deep sadness and lack of energy to do anything. I missed a lot of my assignments. Skipped school. I did not want to associate myself to school. I, once again, was fortunate enough to find help and escape this reality I was creating in my head. That the outside world offers so much and I started to enjoy school. It is the 23 of September and I can safely say that I am reaching a level where I found impossible when I just started college. I found a rhythm that fits me and my needs and I am not stopping.
• 2020-04

  Getting Our Time Back

  The Covid-19 Pandemic was a hard time for everyone. People were sick, out of work, losing loved ones, and going through several other mental and physical health problems. However, we also had a lot of time on our hands during the pandemic, and my family took the as the perfect opportunity to bond. During the pandemic, we spent a lot of time together, we would paint, talk, watch movies, play games, basically anything we could do get together. This gave me the chance to grow closer with my family during a hard time and I really cherish the time we spend together. .
• 
  2020-08-05

  Only Student on Campus: My First and Second Year at College

  The item that I am submitting describes my life as a student throughout my senior year of high school toward my first year of college. I emphasized the feeling of being alone and dealing with the college on a fully virtual level. As months passed it was important to validate the experience and the growth from being in an online setting to an in-person setting.
• 
  2020-04

  Saved

  The pandemic has not only been a devastating experience but a time of reflection.
• 
  2020-10-20

  How covid affected NYC?

  Covid has affected everyone by the way you live your everyday life. Covid has affected New york city in many different ways , For example covid affected business to close down months including schools . Schools having to go remote . Another way New york city has been affected by the transit , The transit systems like the trains ,buses and commuter rail and ferries as a result to this the transportation has plummeted . For the subways in New York City it went down 90 percent and the buses went down 75 percent. The reason for this happening is people in quarantine and not going to work since some are working from home . Covid has affected health care workers. For example health care workers like doctors and nurses are around people who have it so they are more prone to get it. .This pandemic caused a lot of changes in the world. It caused everyone to be less social and not go out as much as it caused us to wear masks everywhere. It also caused a lot of people mental and emotional health to go down. For example there’s been a lot of social isolation which caused families to not be able to see each other as often. COVID-19 has impacted social mobility on child care cost and for families school dropout rate has increased due to fear of getting Covid. COVID-19 especially affected families due to not having jobs or working from home or being put on unemployment there’s been a big impact of Covid on families and family relationships creating a lot of tension and feeling depressed or not being united together. These pandemic parts of the population in different situations continue to affect people living in poverty situations with older people and disabilities. A lot of people have been put on unemployment and not being able to pay the rent. Covid has caused a lot of deaths and people could not be able to bury their loved ones. During The beginning of the year when the Pandemic was occurring depending on the situation of others some people were probably affected mentally Health care was provided to those who really needed it due to people not being able to pay for it and The state of new york lost money as well , It affected relationships and people got help by going therapy and staying connected to people . This pandemic affected many people personally. Covid has affected everyone's plan including travel because there's been travel bans and going to the airport has a lot of restrictions. A Lot of businesses are closing down to this pandemic by not giving income . Due to health care a lot of pregnant women had very high dress levels that affected their pregnancy . Which caused health care workers to be very aware of what was going on . Their risking their own lives to help us and young teens and kids were not able to fully able to enjoy the success of completing in graduating either high school such as prom or etc.it affected everyone's life and still is . This has caused a lot of stress and tension but has allowed people to be stronger in a sense and to appreciate the little things in life . Covid 19 has caused many hardships including loss of jobs . Some questions that still remain on this subject would be , When are things going back to normal ?, When is the vaccine coming out to prevent this ? When will this end ?. A message of hope i would say is everything will get better with time. The productivity has been slow due to employment going down ,People losing jobs . my personal experience with covid has become a learning experience . For example this pandemic has showed me to not take things for granted .
• 
  2022-03

  Yesteryear

  Yesteryear is the product of pent up anxiety, confusion, loss, depression and hopelessness, painted in 2022. It is how I would describe life before and after Covid-19. Separated into two pieces the anterior canvas is multicolored, to represent the carefree state of life. It can represents the high points in my life pre-pandemic, inclusive of freedom and family. The oil protrudes in some parts and is flat in others signifying the highs and lows of everyday life. The posterior canvas is quite the opposite if viewed closely, some of the colors used in the painting above have been covered in dark colors. It is smooth to the touch. No high points in this instance. All lows. Dreary. Dark. The red bordering both , represents the vitality of human nature. At the top it was uncontrolled, bleeding into all other aspects of life pre-Covid. As it travels south, it becomes thinner, more rigid, more linear. It then starts to completely disappear and despair has taken its place.
• 
  2022-05-18

  Coming back from covid

  Coming into the pandemic my friend group thought of the pandemic as early vacation like many other high schoolers at the start of the pandemic phase. As many kids in the city and country it's hard to focus when you have so many distractions around you, that's what me and my got accustomed to going to the park or texting in an Instagram group chat. The reason I bring this up is many parents felt like there was much more of a burden on them as well as students feeling unmotivated to sit down in front of a computer leading to an inferior education. That transition period back into the school building gave me much more appreciation for being in school. My journey went from struggling at the end of high school to beginning of college too little by little finding a rhythm on how to study. To sum up my story is about me going from being anxious and lazy to realizing to take school more seriously and don't worry about others and do what you need to do first before helping others. Essentially don't neglect your important work to hang out.
• 
  2022-02-27

  The Covid-19 Pandemic

  This is a essay explaining my life throughout the pandemic.
• 
  2020-03-17

  First time.

  I remember exactly the day before they shut down workplaces and college on Tuesday St Patrick's day I went out to go eat dinner with my friends at Outback Steakhouse and we were all saying how everything will be shutting down and how this will be a one month thing, like in a joking manner, I even went to cancel my gym membership and all that just incase without knowing what was to come after. School went online, I got a call from work that they were closing for awhile until they allowed dine-in again and they did not do take out at all, so there was no work at all for my coworkers or myself. School then was shut down for 2-3 weeks while they transitioned online which was a weird thing for both professors and students to get adjusted to. Then walking outside in Bay Ridge and not seeing 86st full of people and just looking like a ghost town area which was just a scary sight to see. All of this was just weird and kind of stressful, because there was no work at that moment, no hanging out with friends as much as you would want to or seeing family and then seeing your neighborhood go from busy to empty was a weird sight to see. Not being able to see friends or family for a long time really affected me seeing them online games or on social media helped, but it was not the same as seeing them in person. I did not have that many bills to pay off at that time, but not having a job worried me a bit when it came to paying phone bill and other items.
• 
  2020-06-16

  An Important Era In History

  My experience during the covid19 pandemic was very difficult. My life shifted so quickly from being outside every day and being active to being stuck at home every day and attending classes through zoom. The most difficult was shifting classes through zoom because I would not interact with my classmates and would sometimes get lost in my assignments. Something that was difficult was being home alone and not being able to visit my mom and brother because I did not want to risk my mom on catching covid.
• 
  0000-04-14

  The Start of the Pandemic for Me

  The file I am submitting is of a journal I kept for the first six weeks of the pandemic sharing the different events that occurred and how they impacted me and my family.
• 2020

  More Time

  I am submitting some personal thoughts that I’ve had while sitting at home during the pandemic. Before my life was constantly moving with school and work and friends and being out and about and when the pandemic hit it slowed everything down. With less time commuting between school I had more time at home to complete assignments to complete housework and still have time left over. I had time to think. I myself am an over thinker so when the pandemic hit and I found myself with all of this time all I could do his thing over and over and over again and play one scenario in my head 1000 times. And then I will go to sleep and I would wake up and think about the next thing over and over again. This pandemic gave me time to really dig within myself and find the things I don’t want to change because I had the time to think and organize. This also brought me into a bit of a dark place because with all this time to think I then began to look back at my experiences and even though they are lessons some of them are filled with regret and fear and anger and that brought me to a dark place. It also allowed me to grow and show me what I can do better, what I can incorporate in my daily life and how to be a better person for me. Even though it was as if the world was on pause my life said play. With all this time I could reorganize and re-prioritize myself and list out my goals and accomplish things that I haven’t had a chance to. It also allowed me to take an extra minute to look at how I’m treating myself and I thought let’s take some more time for personal care let’s take some more time for mental care to make sure that I am OK. Because I was granted more time.
• 2020-03-11

  A week of Change

  March 2020 came to change everyones lives, March 11th 2020 was our last normal day on campus. Everyone on campus was so confused whether professors were going to cancel class or move it to an online class, some professors had already moved it online and most continued with their normal schedule. Wednesday March 11th, 2020 after my class ended I went back home and as soon as I sat down in my living room I went on my instagram and saw that cuny had posted that all classes were going online for the rest of the semester. For me that day was the beginning of a lot of changes. My dad was already coughing but we didn't think it was covid. That next Monday he stopped working because he didn't feel well, both my brother and I stopped going to school and my mom stopped going to work as well. That week was crazy for us, we went to our Costco near by and bought so many things, canned food to be specific, and toilet paper let's not even go there (toilet paper madness is a whole different story). My mother and I went to our local Mexican supermarket and stocked up on everything we thought we needed, we made like 2 trips with each carrying 3 heavy bags. We had bottled water, 32 toilet paper rolls, 48 eggs, 4 gallons of milk, canned tuna, canned fruit (we didn't get fresh fruit because my parents had heard them say in the news how "the virus can get on the fruit" and if we did get we soaked the fruit and deep washed it after). That week was when our sleep schedule changed, that week we started having zoom meeting instead of in person meetings, that week my dad started getting worse and we couldn't sleep knowing he couldn't breathe properly. That week I still remember clearly. We went to my cousins birthday on Sunday not knowing that was the last time we were going to have a family gathering in a while.
• 
  2020-04-24

  My story is about the pandemic crisis when it started in 2020 I based it particularly on my area where I live.

  The pandemic crisis about COVID-19 and how it affected everyone.
• 2020-03-21

  Life in Quarantine

  During this corona virus pandemic I have learned how important simple hygiene was. Me and my family took the corona virus very seriously from the beginning of the pandemic. My little brother and I would always get yelled at if we forgot to disinfect ourselves with disinfectant spray and wash our hands the moment we get home from school. This was a huge issue in my family because of our limited living space, if one of us got exposed to the corona virus the rest of us would inevitably get it too. This is why simple hygiene is important especially during times like these where it can affect not just you but your family as well.
• 2020-04-30

  Adventure Behind Uncertainties

  Different life circumstances bring different versions of us, sometimes it is how we approach it that determines the type of adventure that we are going to have. The pandemic has brought a lot of uncertainties of what our usual lives would be like. For me, it was the repeated days of not knowing what to do next which led me to start reflecting on what I can do now. My first goal in this journey was to reach out to family and friends. During my time of reflection, I realized that I was losing touch with those close to me. Rather than calling once in a while or during birthdays and holidays, I call and text more often than before. My second goal was working on my health. I began making healthier lifestyle choices such as exercising more often, eating healthier food and drinking more water. I also added a skincare routine which I enjoy doing and continue to improve as needed. Prior to the pandemic, I had a passion for painting though I have not really put my skills to use like I should. But recently I started drawing again to bring my paintings to life. Hoping before the end of the year, I can have some paintings to share with family and friends. One of my happiest moment during the pandemic was creating small humanitarian projects such as donating food. It taught me that I can still be involved in my community regardless of the distance. As the pandemic continues, I am still adapting , learning about new ways to improve my health and wellness and continue to find ways to contribute to my community.
• 2020-03-28

  Five years took for granted

  Five. This was the number of years that I was able to spend with one of the most important people in my life, my uncle. From the moment I moved here in Brooklyn, he was one of the few that made me feel welcomed. He loved me, took care of me and supported me as if we'd know each other our entire lives. He stood as a second father figure to me, and he truly always managed to put a smile on everyone's face. But, on March 28th, 2020 COVID-19 got the best of him and unfortunately passed away. I was devastated and so heartbroken. Despite how painful his death was, it taught me many valuable lessons. But, I believe the most important one is to not take each day we get to spend with our families for granted.
• 
  2020-03-28

  Life During A Pandemic

  Personal experience during the Covid-19