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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. -
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. -
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. -
2020-03-10
A "Not So Funny" Joke
When Covid-19 hit I was a senior in high school and had a few months till I graduated. Through the beginning of March 2020, everyone was making jokes about "corona time" and fake coughing, leading to many memes and tiktok jokes about it. It was funny when it wasn't serious and didn't seem like such a threat, but over the next week it became a lot more serious. My school emailed us saying there is no more school, in person, on March 11, 2020. We had to switch to online learning through zoom, and were forced to end off our senior year just like that. Through all my high school years I watched seniors have their fun by doing senior pranks, winning school color war, going to prom and having sun senior activities and trips! I was looking forward to this so much, and when these events were so close to happening, they were now not able to. We had to stay home for months with a city wide curfew and everywhere you went you had to wear a mask and gloves because you didn't know how easily this virus spread. Every time I would go food shopping for my mother, my father made me put all my clothing that I wore to the store straight into the laundry, and I had to take a shower. My mom also enforced wiping down every item bought with a Clorox wipe so that it was sanitized. The world was becoming scary. This quickly became a reality and it was a shock to everyone because it was all just a joke and nobody took it serious in the beginning. -
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. -
2020-04-08
Life as a full-time students and full-time worker
Some students who were doing online learning were able to manage their work/life balance more easier -
2020-04-25
Dear Diary.. What's going on?
This diary entry explains my emotions and thoughts about what's going on in the world right now. This piece of work is important to me because it's me being in my most vulnerable state. I'm honest, open, and true about what I'm feeling during this pandemic and how it effects me mentally, physically, and emotionally. Enjoy. -
2022-02-22
The Re-emergence of Anxiety
Story describing the impact high school Model U.N. had on me and how difficult it was to readjust to life after quarantine -
2020-08-01
THE PANDEMIC
The Pandemic change my life for better. -
2020
Finding Time
Over the last five or so years, I've been dreaming about some event that would stir up some excitement in New York City, preferably some good event, but an event nonetheless. Never did I dream that it would actually come true, unfortunately in the form of a worldwide pandemic. Why couldn't it be something more fun, like aliens (although it seems like we might be getting there)? While the pandemic didn't bring anything exciting per se, it brought some change with it. When it began to be taken more seriously last year (2020), when all the shutdowns began to occur, I saw a major change in my day to day life. From being laid off of work, not being able to go to classes in-person anymore, and not being able to see any friends in person either, the normal, repetitive life that I had gotten so used to had disintegrated within just a couple weeks, if not shorter. It forced me to look at things in a different light, and as I was forced to be by myself for most of it, as we all were, I felt as if I needed to find some positivity and motivation in the few things I could do and had control over. I finally had time to focus on myself and made sure things like my physical/mental health and education were a priority. I took up cycling, as it was one way for me to be active and remain safe because it's not really something you need to do with others, and that opened the world up to me, especially with how empty the city was. Even my quiet pocket of Queens got quieter as barely anyone was outside, so while it did feel a bit post-apocalyptic out sometimes, it also gave me a sense of peace and freedom. Also, with having so much more time at home and not having to commute, I took advantage of online-learning to really give myself as much time as I needed, instead of the previous sense of rush and urgency I used to feel when it came to assignments, and actually turned my grades around pretty drastically. While the pandemic has been horrific on most fronts, by working my hardest to make the best of it, I've been able to better myself as it's given me time to enact real self-care. Something I've never taken the time to do before. -
2020-03-20
The blurry year
I just started at Brooklyn College as a transfer student from Citytech. The semester was only like 5 weeks in when we started seeing reports of the Covid 19. Then the school closed for a day and we were told it only be for a short amount of time, we all know how that went. I haven't been on campus since that last day. There was so much unknown at the time with everything. How long we were going to be away from school, what was the deal with Covid 19, how dangerous was it, and how we were going to survive. At that point, everything closed, and the city was so quiet for the first time in my life. I came out a different person after the lockdown. It was a scary time for a lot of people. It felt like everyone was struggling with something. My biggest thing was just trying to make the best of the situation. and that's what I still do to this day. -
2020-02-14
COVID-19: From Italy To New York
In February of 2020, from the 14th to the 22nd, I was on a school trip in Italy. It's safe to say I was having the best time of my life, until I became ill towards the end of the trip. I felt extremely lethargic and fatigued, my nose and throat were as stuffed as could be, my voice was gone, and my body was consistently hot. It wasn't until I got home from my trip that I suspected my illness was COVID-19, because I was informed that the exact day I returned home from Italy, Venice went on lockdown. I had been in Venice at the beginning of my trip. My suspicions heightened once my mother, father, and sister all got COVID-19 several days later, yet I was healthy as a horse again. In the weeks I had been quarantined with them, I hadn't gotten sick again. Now, this is my earliest memory from quarantine, and quite frankly one of the only memories since the days began to mesh together. I remember time no longer felt real, and I tried to pass it with as many activities as possible. The family began solving puzzles and playing more board games. I was playing more of my instruments, including piano and ukulele. I listened to countless albums and new artists. But, in all of the good, there still remained some low points such as overeating and inactiveness. I'm sure everybody can find pros and cons in their quarantine experience, definitely more cons for some. But, I just wanted to share what I remembered from my own experience. It's the story we always told people when they asked if we ever got infected; I'd say I'm pretty sure I came home from the best trip in the world only to infect my family and almost immediately go into lockdown. -
2020-12-09
Life in the Pandemic
My life in the pandemic was tough. I couldn't work so I was not able to pay my bills, I like the rest of the world during lockdown had to sit at home bored out of my mind because nobody could leave. I was very scared for my mom when she got covid because she had oxygen issues and also heart issues. Going to school during the pandemic really bothered me because I lost a lot of focus and became very lazy when it came to handing in assignments. I would rather physically go onto campus because when I am actually listening to the professors' talk, it makes it so much easier to understand and to focus. -
2020-06-11
Taking Charge
COVID has definitely impacted all of our lives. Despite all the damage it has caused, the virus had some positive consequences. Some of us developed closer relationships with our families. Many of us found new hobbies and developed new passions. For myself, I found a passion for healthcare. Hearing stories and watching news reports on the chaos occurring in our hospitals, made me feel impotent. So, after 3 semesters away from school, I decided to come back and focus on finishing my bachelors so i can enroll in a nursing program. -
2019-03-19
Beaten But Not Broken
This year has been really challenging for me and my family especially my kids who had to resort to online learning. As I started the spring semester with confident and some excitement as I was entering my last year at Brooklyn College, anxiety ,fear, and some what nervous because this is a crucial part of completing my degree. Some may think why are you so worried you should be happy you made it this far, but coming thus far and failing a class can mean one more semester and you not been able to graduate on time can get you pretty worked up. However while al this was going on in my mind the news break that COVID 19 has taken control of our lives and we have to resort to online learning. This was not the news I want to hear, when I have never taken online classes before ,and I must say its because online I hate. Not only that, I will now become my children teacher while in school myself and this was something that I have been concern about from the beginning of the pandemic until present. Though I have manage to pass my classes it is no secret that I have been overwhelmed, sometimes thinking that its too much to for one person to do in any given day. COVID 19 has bring mores worries and stress in my life than anything I ever experience, but I am determine to overcome COVID 19 and all its challenges. -
2020-03-15
A very COVID year.
My nightmare began in March when the government announced that most businesses would be closed due to the pandemic. The day before, I went to a party and I enjoyed myself. Little did I know that things would begin to change drastically. I heard very few things about COVID-19 before the lockdown, all I knew was that it was a respiratory illness and that the first case was found in China. I never thought that it would’ve made its way to America so quickly. As time went on, the days got even more scary. Schools, malls, stores and even supermarkets were closed. Reality hit when I saw how the cases were spiking in NYC. My job was temporarily closed so I was at home whilst doing my remote learning studies for nearly 3 months. I was so overwhelmed and exhausted mentally. Even though I did not leave my house, my mother and sister did everyday because they were essential workers. Every morning they left, I would panic, I was scared that they would catch the virus in the hospital and bring it home to me. My thoughts began to consume me, especially being home alone all day and watching the news. Hundreds of people were dying and the hospitals were full. Nurses and doctors were also dying. I remember watching the news and hearing about how many bodies there were. The morgues were full and they had to use freezer trucks to temporarily store the bodies. Watching the news every day made me anxious and sick to my stomach. Every night I would pray that the cases would decrease so that we could return to normal life. This pandemic is simply the most mind-racking experience of my life. I learned to appreciate life. Even though we are technically still in a pandemic, the cases are dropping and businesses are slowly opening. I just hope that we can soon resume life without masks and worry.