Items

• 
  2021-05-20

  A Potentially "Deadly" Decision

  The vaccination was a crossroads decision in my life. I hated that people trusted a vaccine that was rushed into existence, forced on the people by exploiting their fears. Although, I did see the benefits of having this on my record, I still had fear that the vaccine would have unwanted effects on my body, but my fears weren't worth putting my fellow man in danger of contracting a disease that could potentially kill others. I had to make a decision in order for my life to get back on track. I was tired of being stuck in a confined space without social interaction. Being away from friends and family wasn't worth it. So I got my vaccine. Thinking about it now, I am thankful that I was able to overcome my anxiety about the covid vaccine, but I hope in the future there will be a better alternative for the current options we have now.
• 
  2021-12-28

  COVID-19 Infectious Snowballs

  COVID-19 gave us a tough time, and many of us haven’t had a chance to stop and check in with ourselves about what has actually been happening around us. Coming to New York was a new beginning for me that came with additional responsibilities. I had to balance my personal and academic life, family’s financial needs, extracurricular activities, and work. Just when I felt that everything was going smoothly, I was shattered to hear that it had been three months since my I-20 was terminated because of an academic document transfer issue. I could not go back to my country as I was part of “Hizmet,” a faith-inspired civil society movement, which at that time was facing oppression and persecution due to the bogus allegations of orchestrating a failed coup in Turkey. Therefore, I had to apply for asylum, which caused me a lot of stress, and it affected my academic career as I had to focus on court procedures. Even though due to the pandemic, the scheduled hearings got canceled, prolonging this challenging period, and I lost my job which was the only source for me to pay for my college tuition and support my family, still I tried to engage rather than focus on the negative side of the situation and depress myself. I put all of my efforts into being academically productive and doing something one day I could be proud of by boosting my academic performance leading me get several scholarships, involving myself in research programs, and focusing on advocacy as a student leader. As the responsibilities got heavier and more stressful, I just kept telling myself: "The harder the battle, the sweeter the victory." Life goes on... This funny story comes to my mind when the topic is about COVID-19. This past winter, the weather got really cold and snowy, and the lake behind a rental Pocono house froze over. With all the snow around us, we inevitably enjoyed a good-old fashioned snowball fight where the snowballs were called the "COVID-19" infected snowballs. Once you get hit, you get the virus. However, we soon found ourselves chasing one of our friends on top of the lake due to the ferocity he threw the snowballs with. One by one, we raced our way towards the middle of the lake. It may be obvious what happened next, but it took us all by surprise at the moment. The ice that once was had cracked, and I found my body submerged in the ice-cold water. As I tried to make myself back to solid ground, the image of my other friends frantically trying to stay calm caught my attention. When we finally did make it to safety, I couldn’t help but laugh at the events that just transpired.
• 
  2022-03-02

  My life living through the pandemic

  It all started back in March 2020, when we were informed that we were going into lockdown. Schools were going to be remote for two weeks and then we would go back, or so we thought. My initial thoughts were “YAY break” since I commuted to school and it takes me about an hour and a half to two hours to reach school. With the commute being cut off my schedule I was able to sleep in more and spend more time with my dog. Having school at the beginning of the pandemic with it being online was easy and professors were understanding as we were all learning to adjust. My attention span at the time was still good but as the next semester approached it was getting worse, it was difficult to concentrate and it took a lot for me to focus. At the same time, we would see a lot of people getting sick and dying on the news. Although we all took the precautions needed, it always worried me about my family and close family friends that had to continue working. Life was “good” as days went on until April 2020 came around when I lost two family members. It was a tough time for not just me but also for some of my younger family members. We all dealt in our own ways but one was of course being with family and keeping the happy memories alive until this day. It was also hard being isolated because I was used to seeing my friends but we learned to adjust and Facetime became more frequent, but of course, it wasn't the same. Now as we move forward two years later, March 2022, for the most part, classes are back to being in person and we were no longer staring at a screen but once again it was difficult because my body was not prepared to have to commute again. As the days go by it has gotten easier and felt worth going since my concentration is better now that it's in person. Interacting again is also better. It's nostalgic to be able to interact with others again and we are all appreciative to have the chance to share moments face to face with our family and friends again.
• 
  2020-03

  Everyday Life During Lockdown

  March 2020 when the lockdown first started I was not aware of how big this pandemic was going to be. It was the second half of my senior year of high school and I remember we all thought that the school wasn’t going to close. Our principal was telling us a few days before everything was shut down that the school will not be closing and to not be worried. Next thing you know Spring 2022 is the first time back in person for most of my classes. It was a big change having school online in the beginning, it was difficult to fully concentrate in classes and harder to stay motivated. It is a weird thing to be slightly removed from the fact that I graduated high school and started college because I wasn’t able to do certain things in person. There was at least one positive experience throughout the pandemic though. My family and I would have dinner together every night then go into the living room and watch whatever show we were binge watching at the time. It was a time where we got really close and it was a nice routine to have. It was a way for us all to be together and bring some happiness in that sad time.
• 
  2022-03-02

  burnout

  I think these are the years of burnout. I felt so isolated during quarantine. I worked so hard to occupy myself while I heard sirens blaring from ambulances rushing. I worked so hard when things started to 'go back to normal' but people were still dying. It's years later and it's still not over. I'm so tired. Don't want to work when the world feels like it is still ending.
• 
  2021-04-07

  A Mother's Anxiety

  My mom worked in a nursing home. For a while, she did her job and came home with gloves and disinfectant. We all kept distance in our small home. One day, she came home with COVID-19. Burnt out by incompetent managers, menopause, and long-standing mental issues, they became tenfold. They all consumed her while she was sick. When she recovered from COVID-19, everything else stayed. She was severely mentally fragile. She would cry every day and wanted to be in the same room with everyone, all the time. She could not be left alone for months. My father did not remain compassionate and sympathetic. My sister struggled to be my mom's friend. I used all my energy to keep her head above tears. The emotional toll on everyone in my family was the worst we have have ever faced. We all struggled to help her. She eventually recovered and not goes on walks everyday, by herself.
• 
  2021-02-13

  My Life Changed during the Pandemic

  I've consistently been an extremely outgoing, positive, and optimistic person. There was never a moment when I wasn't socializing and beaming. However, it put me in a depressive condition during the pandemic, where I was downright isolated. Sure I was able to spend time with my family in the consolation of our home; I felt secluded from the universe. I went from someone that was frequently out to be confined to the safety of my residence. From my enthusiasm for learning to gazing at a screen and calling it my daily interaction, the pandemic took away my motivation to learn and my passion for academics. I noticed a transformation in who I was when I hardly woke up and found no inspiration for anything. I couldn't contact the support I needed because a global pandemic seized the world by storm. Most therapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists weren't established for online sessions. I attempted suicide in 2021, and I was diagnosed with major depressive disorder. I was admitted into a suicide prevention program and was provided daily antidepressants to suppress the desire to commit suicide. Now that the world is gradually yielding to what seems ordinary, I'm attaining my life back. However, the person I was before the pandemic is gone, and I'm still attempting to discover myself every day.
• 
  2021-01-11

  My sisters gift from the hospital: a baby and COVID-19

  Beginning of 2021, my sister went into the hospital to give birth. In this time, COVID was at an all-time high, when everyone was afraid to leave their own home. Three days after she has given birth, she left the hospital. A few days later, she started feeling really under the weather. She thought it was postpartum pains but got tested just in case. Turns out she had contracted COVID from the hospital in the time she was giving birth. The pandemic was around, and no one was able to get away from it. As careful as you were, you never know what is going to happen. Just do your best. That is what my sisters story tells me about the pandemic.
• 
  2021-04-20

  My Story Reflecting The Impact of COVID-19 on My Life

  I personally never thought for a second that the COVID-19 pandemic would have had the power to take someone close from my life. I remember waking up that one morning, thinking that it was just going to be an ordinary day. My father's phone starts ringing in his room, and he picks it up. In the living room, I remember seeing him proceed to listen and nod his head. He finally hangs up and slowly makes his way towards me. He tells me that his boss passed away alone in his sleep the night before from complications associated with heart disease as he had also been infected with COVID-19 several days before. Eddie had always been there for my dad the past four decades. He watched me grow into an adult from day one and also gave me these large birthday gifts every year. For the first time in a long time, I remember seeing pain in my father's eyes, and it was definitely something that I'll never forget. This memory of losing someone close to me will always be something that I'll always associate with the COVID-19 pandemic. I also think that losing someone close or a loved one to the pandemic says a lot about the impact a pandemic can have on both mental health and physical health.
• 
  2020-04-15

  Financial Hardship due to covid 19

  When Covid 19 hit the USA in March 2020. The biggest impact me and my family faced was income. Both I and my spouse were working before the pandemic but the places where we worked closed resulting in us being unemployed. We tried to file unemployment so that we could have some sort of income but our applications were not accepted by the system for a long period of time. In just a few weeks all our savings were almost finished and it was a very stressful period for both me and my father. we were forced to find something to work even though covid cases were still surging at that particular time. working under such conditions was very hard and stressful but, luckily things got better with time and our situation got much better with the passage of time.
• 
  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

  My Time During Quarantine

  During quarantine I had to get used to not being able to get up get fully dressed for school, get on the train, sit in a classroom and learn from a teacher talking right in front of you. Quarantine made me lazy and tired but I learned how to keep myself busy. I got into painting, learning how to do nails, and taking better care of my hair and skin. I was devastated sometimes when I was feeling like hanging out with my friends but could not because we all had to stay home for months. I spent a lot of time with my mom and we did a lot of things together like watch movies, cook and go on walks when I wanted to go outside. I spent a lot of time laying down and in front of screens that I had to get glasses that block the harsh lights because I get headaches. If we had to do quarantine again I would not mind because I know I can stop myself from being bored and help stop the spread.
• 
  2020-05

  My COVID-19 Experience

  My experience during the peak of COVID-19 was just a ball of anxiety, nerves, some good moments, and some bad moments. The transition from always going out, being on campus, hanging out with friends, eating out to suddenly being stuffed into staying home every day for 3 months was very tough. Especially, with the mass amount of misinformation being spread about COVID-19 at the time- it was just scary. No one really knew what this virus was, new information was being released everyday, you had people who suddenly became doctors overnight and try to tell you what to do, and so on. Going to the supermarket became like this crazy mission where every inch of skin and orifice of your body had to be covered and every single little thing had to be sanitized before it was brought back into the house. There was even a point where my family wouldn't even open the windows. It was very extreme but, I don't blame them for having that fear. I was afraid too. I was home for three months straight with very little to do besides mulling over my own stressful thoughts. The news gave me anxiety. Having all my family members suddenly be home all the time led to us stepping on each other toes more often than usual. Things began to lighten up after a while, thankfully. I was given the opportunity after three months of strict quarantine to work in a food pantry for a non profit organization in my community. To finally be able to go out, see a friend or two, and give back to my community? It was a definite yes. Working in the food pantry was an extremely rewarding experience. We served almost 300 to 400 people daily, giving them free meals, groceries, and essentials. It took my mind off of a lot, especially after a rough three months. I was also glad I was able to maintain social distancing and safe mask practices throughout my time there because it was essential that I did not bring anything home to my family. Overall, my COVID-19 experience during the peak of the pandemic was just a rollercoaster of emotions.
• 
  2022-02-27

  The Covid-19 Pandemic

  Covid -19 has changed how many people lived their lives. It was a hard time for everyone that lasted quite long. From being unemployed, remote learning was difficult for families. I was in my senior year of highschool when the pandemic first hit. I went from being social with my friends everyday to being home quarantined with family for months. Not only was this hard but I had to learn how to adapt to remote learning. This was not an easy task due to the fact your teacher wasn't there to give you a real classroom vibe. We did not even meet on zoom til graduation. This was very upsetting because I never had a real prom and was looking forward to it for my senior year. Being a student during the pandemic was not easy. There were times I wanted to just give up because the teachers would assign a load of work sometimes with no explanation on how to go about it. I can say I made the best out of it. Though we were not able to celebrate graduation the traditional way my highschool stool did their best and it was greatly appreciated. Throughout this whole pandemic my family lost some friends. This was heartbreaking because we could not even go visit them in the hospital or anything. My family made sure every morning my sibling and I were taking our vitamins and these natural remedies to make our immune systems stronger. We changed what we usually eat to more healthy types of foods that will benefit our body. This was a hard experience for my family but we made the best out of it. We spent months together everyday because we did not want to go out and risk anything. Lysol and Bleach became our best friends over time. Food supplies became short when you went to the supermarket and many people were losing money because they couldn't go to work. This was a hard time for many families because a lot of people suffered due to these reasons. It wasn't till a couple weeks after being in quarantine for months til the government decided to give out unemployment. This was a benefit for some familie and hard for others because they still couldn't feed their families. Our lives changed from walking everyone and seeing people's faces to seeing everyone in a mask. Many people till this day don’t feel like it's safe to leave their homes. It's been two years since the pandemic first started and now we have a vaccine that's out here. This may seem like a benefit but even if you do take the vaccine you can still contract Covid-19. This is a main reason as to why many people don’t see the point of taking the vaccine. In the beginning of the pandemic the main people who were getting the virus were older people and those who had weak immune systems. Hospitals were packed with many cases and nurses even became short staff. That was a very scary time to witness the pain in the nurses and patients faces. Overall this was a time to remember. It was many hardships but we made a huge progress to where we are today. I am glad to say I am fully vaccinated so I am doing what's best for myself. I am in college now and finally in a inperson classroom. They soon will drop the mask mandate which will be a complete change when you see people’s faces again. I am glad we are getting back to our normal lives.
• 
  2020-03-17

  A dream with a twist

  Growing up, everyones dream is for school to be permanently closed. If you are not in school then your dream going to bed every night is for your work-place to be closed. Just hanging out at home watching movies and playing video games or painting or doing nothing but your favorite hobbies seems like the perfect life. This is what everyone had thought until it actually happened, but with a very, very negative twist. Even though it was not too long ago, to this exact date and for the rest of my life I will remember when this "dream lifestyle" became a horrible reality. After hearing my professors say that class might be moved onto zoom for 2 weeks and hearing my boss say that the catering hall might be closing for approximately the same amount of time, it hit me that this was going to be very, very bad. I remember being 16 years old in the heart of New York City with my friends saying that never could I imagine times square empty at any costs. Without having a hint, this was coming to an unfortunate fruition. Everyday life had become class or assignments on my laptop in the morning, then going for a long walk, then playing video games or watching tv the rest of the day. No physical contact with any other humans outside of my household. Groceries were being delivered straight from the store and it seemed this was an endless repeating cycle, simply sitting there waiting for positive news and updates. I will say that with my personal experience, I am extremely fortunate that I did not have nearly the negative time that a high percentage of people had. I believe that the reason why it was so strange was because of the sudden halt of our routines and lifestyle. During this time, I took time to reflect on everything but also to embrace and make the most of the situation. As I previously stated, I am very fortunate to go through this time with not much tragedy. I was going for long walks with the family members in my household and also bonding with friends through video games. I was learning more about stocks, cooking, fitness/health as a whole, and more. However, I do remember my father coming home everyday from 16 hour shifts for weeks being exhausted because he is a funeral director. He would come home and tell us how he was seeing first-hand something he has never seen before and what he was seeing in terms of the deaths from COVID19. This story is important to me because while I was finding positives through this tough time, it put into perspective how many, many people were going through the complete opposite with extremely tough times. A big life lesson that I learned is that even if you are finding positives in something and doing well personally, it is essential to take a step back and try to do more for the people going through tough times. This applies through every single day of life and every aspect.
• 
  2021-02-17

  The Beach

  Many people consider the beach as a memorable place regardless if it was a positive or negative experience. Going to the beach had me radiating positivity; something I had not felt in a while. It was chilly day where barely anyone was there because of the weather but also the pandemic was still arise. It was a perfect place to escape your problems, yet escaping reality eventually became inevitable. Soon the funs from the New York Aquarium , Coney Island Beach, IHOP and even the Q train came to an end when what it seems like thousands of people came to my house. And soon enough my mother did too with an event that quickly changed my life and my family as a whole. This story that I have told indicates the possible outcomes of the pandemic: death. This story is important to me because it really changed me as a person and who I am today. The loss of someone you were close to is big event in your life you can never forget. It is also important to me because it made me realize that people really underestimate diseases because of how it is perceived. For COVID-19, no one would expect anyone to die unless they were old or were immunocompromised, yet it happened. It was and is still treated as something that can pass over you but it does not. It can either affect your from first hand or second hand whether you get it or not. This outcome from the pandemic is an event that you will never forget.
• 
  2020-03-16

  My Covid-19 Home Quarantine

  Since the outbreak of Covid-19 until it affected our personal, family, and friends' lives. It has not only affected only our health aspects, it has also become a factor in the outbreak of our family conflicts. In March-April of 2020, when almost everyone was in home quarantine. My family was no exception, almost all of us stayed at home because we were afraid of the virus. It never occurred to me that having a family in one house, staying together from morning to night every day, would lead to so many conflicts. It was unbearable from personal routine, living habits, etc. I feel that home isolation will make people understand one thing, even though we are a close family, everyone needs to have their own space or there will be conflicts. During that time, my family basically argued very frequently. This eventually led to, as a result, the separation of my parents from each other. During that time it was hard for us, we filed for unemployment because no one in the family was working. Prices were very expensive, especially for masks, alcohol and other epidemic protection supplies. I still remember that at the beginning a box of medical masks cost only 6 dollars for a box of 50 pieces, however, later when there was a lack of material a box was sold for tens of dollars. A series of problems, financial, spiritual, interpersonal and physical, were affected by the arrival of the epidemic. All in all, I just hope the epidemic passes quickly and life goes back to normal. I believe this is what everyone affected by the epidemic would like to see.
• 
  2020-08-27

  Returning back to school

  In the past year, I have experienced more stress and fatigue while attending virtual school, especially as I began my freshman year of college in 2020. Freshman year of college is a brand-new experience for all students, and going to school during a pandemic has changed what I thought college would be for me. I remember the exact moment when schools closed in 2020 because I was a senior in high school when the Department of Education announced that all schools need to close because the pandemic had just started making society nervous. I used to participate in my school’s music program, but when my high school sent an email that all classes had been shifted to online classes, it was a shock to everyone, including the teachers. When the online school first started, we were all unsure of how it would work, and my friends and I began questioning how we could take classes online and submit our homework. When I was a first-year college student, it has been difficult to connect to other students, because many of my high school friends went to a different colleges,s and making friends in online classes can be difficult. Unfortunately, I did not have the chance to say goodbye in person to my high school friends because our graduation ceremony was canceled. I have only gotten to know my fellow peers briefly in online classes; I learned that making friends in classes has been different, because we are only connecting on social media outside of class, and not getting to interact with one another on campus, in study groups, or at the library. Finally, most of the classes go back in person and we are able to build social relationships with others and experience real college life as a college student.
• 
  2021-03-01

  First Job

  So I had never had a job before, which made it hard to find a job while in a pandemic. After months of trying to find a job, I found a place that took a chance with me. Getting that job helped me get out of my sad state of people telling me that I'm doing nothing with my life since I still didn't figure out what I wanted to get my bachelor's in. Also, getting that job required me to work with people, so I had improved my communication skills. Now, I feel more comfortable introducing myself to people.
• 
  2020-03

  My experience with Covid-19

  The beginning of my story takes place at my old highschool which is Union Square Academy for Health sciences. The rest takes place at neighborhood which is Queens, Ridgewood.
• 
  2020-03-15

  Working the ENTIRE Pandemic & not reaping any REAL BENEFITS.

  COVID-19 in my opinion came out of nowhere and our former president didn't take it serious enough hence why we had to quarantine in the first place. I worked various jobs throughout the pandemic. I worked at Burger King & I was a Home Attendant during quarantine. My favorite part with working two jobs and going to school was getting off early, not having to clean after people and school was FULLY ONLINE. That had to be my favorite part. I'm not a fan of Brooklyn College AT ALL, so being online mad it easier to like school. At the time I was a BIO major and the Biology Department was not attentive.. Its like people became lazy and didn't want to do the job THEY GET PAID TO DO. Anywho, Around May I left Burger King and went to Amazon & was still a Home Attendant. Left Amazon & went to PLS a Check Cashing company by far my favorite job thus far. There were various job opportunities around, everyone should've been making money in the pandemic. Not to mention stimulus checks. Lots of people definitely reaped the benefits from the pandemic and unfortunately some lost families to the pandemic.
• 
  2021-12-07

  YES! I am a COVID-19 Survivor.

  Next day after Covid-19 booster shot, I woke up with body aches. First, I thought it was booster reaction, but later on I Was detected by Covid-19 positive. At the same day my leg sprained, wow what a coincidence! It was really an unpleasant day for me. I knew I have to be strong enough to fight with this situation. I received IV to treat Covid at the same day. My Covid symptoms were coughing a lot and loss of food tase and smell. I continued to pray and read the Quran. Initially, I had to stay in quarantine for 14 days. These 14 days were like 14 months to me. I will never forget these isolated period of Covid-19. I was trying to continue my household chores. After 19 days later my Covid result came negative. At that time, I felt like a free hummingbird. I believe that Allah gives us burdens according to our endurance. I probably wouldn't survived if I had Covid early in the pandemic. I am sincerely for those who were died in this Corona period. I thank Allah for giving me a new life as well as modern science and medical fields.