Items

• 
  2021-02-06

  Model UN in the time of a Pandemic

  I uploaded a screenshot of my Model UN conference that had to be conducted over Zoom during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a normal year, a Model UN conference would take place at a large event space, usually a university or a hotel. Model UN teams from high schools across the globe participate in the conferences that my school attends. Unfortunately, I did not get to have this unique experience during the pandemic year. Instead, my school took part in an online form of the conference via zoom and discord, through Boston University. Although it was not the same, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to meet plenty of interesting people from all over the world! This screenshot shows the "bloc" (or alliance) that I had formed with students representing countries such as Mexico, Nigeria, and Russia. I can be seen in the middle box on the right, representing the nation of Afghanistan!
• 
  2021-05-10

  Discord Friends

  I became very close to my friends at the time of second wave of covid in India. I was studying in Chicago at the time and keeping in touch with my Indian friends was difficult until covid hit. It seemed like the whole world was online, and I could not see anyone in person. I started going on discord a lot more. I and my friends played GTA 5alot and I remember distinctly recognizing that Covid had helped me get closer to them in a weird way.
• 
  2020-01-23

  A January 2020 Discord Group Chat

  During January, my friends and I heard about the new virus and were fascinated. We joked and memed and speculated about it, however we never expected it to blow up this fast.
• 
  2020-05-26

  Lo_Emerson_

  C19OH
• 
  2021-05-18

  Staying Connected

  For my primary source, I selected a video/ photo that shows my discord community watching a movie together. As for the movie we were watching Justice League Snyder Cut. A movie that caused a lot of problems and controversy back in 2017. Due to Zack Snyder having to step down from the movie and Joss Whedon not a lot of people liked Whedon version. Years later Snyder released his version on HBO MAX. I created the discord server due to the COVID-19 pandemic when it started. The community has over 300 members from all over the world. With discord friends can connect directly through many ways such as voice call, video call, or text on Discord, and they can also enter servers where wider groups can connect. Discord is free to download and use just like you would use zoom or skype, but it has more to offer. Discord for me is a home. Discord allows you to establish your own sense of belonging. A discord server is your personal space, shared only with the individuals you want to invite. When I created my community on discord it was so bring people together. I started with around 10 or so friends. Anyone who joined with in the discord and wanted to invite a friend or a family member was welcomed to due so. It felt like every day we would get more and more people from all over the U.S, the UK, South America, and many places. Within my discord we help people with Homework, assignments, we host game nights as well as movies night and if some need to talk we always have people on to connect and talk to if they want someone to just listen. AS well we have text channels for memes, a place to introduce yourself when people join for everyone to read. Common games that people play and want to talk about or even just chill with some music together. With my discord community I decided to make the community because I had some free time on with school and with not working, I wanted a way to connect with my friends and family while still being under lockdown. Discord seems the best option. Anyone can connect via phone, laptop, or any web browser. I honestly did not think it would last this long or even grow this big. But then again, we did not think about that with covid-19 we thought the lock down was going to be two weeks, four weeks tops.
• 
  2020-03-13

  My Experience with Online School and Quarantine

  Hi! My name is Wendy! Right after a normal weekend in March, I never expected that we would switch to online learning. I was shocked to see the email in the picture on March 13th, saying that we would no longer go back to normal school. This screenshot is very important to me since it made me realize that Covid-19 was a bigger issue than I thought. There was talk of a new illness (Covid-19), but I honestly didn’t feel like it would turn into a whole pandemic. I was kind of thankful since I had a dentist appointment on Monday that would’ve made me be absent from class, but all the cons of Covid-19 outweighed the benefits. The first few weeks were awful- it was hard to adapt to the constant isolation, and being with my family all day was tiring. Also, school wasn’t as engaging or fun anymore. We weren’t able to connect with our teachers or talk to our friends in class. Furthermore, seeing the news and how thousands of people were dying was very frightening. But it's been more than a year of online school, and I found out that what helped me cope was the small things like texting my friends on Discord, hanging out (with masks and 6 feet apart obviously), and exploring things that I couldn’t do before quarantine like drawing or playing the piano. Of course, there were days where I was fed up with being inside or when I felt depressed, but making the most out of this situation gave me the drive to keep social distancing. So remember to keep wearing masks, keeping 6 feet apart, and get vaccinated! This lack of social interaction and not being able to go to school or public places normally is unfortunate but we must stay away from each other to stay together. When it gets hard, find ways to connect with others through safe means like social media and use all that free time to improve and discover things about yourself.
• 
  2020-03-13

  My Experience with Online School and Quarantine

  Hi! My name is Wendy! Right after a normal weekend in March, I never expected that we would switch to online learning. I was shocked to see the email in the picture on March 13th, saying that we would no longer go back to normal school. This screenshot is very important to me since it made me realize that Covid-19 was a bigger issue than I thought. There was talk of a new illness (Covid-19), but I honestly didn’t feel like it would turn into a whole pandemic. I was kind of thankful since I had a dentist appointment on Monday that would’ve made me be absent from class, but all the cons of Covid-19 outweighed the benefits. The first few weeks were awful- it was hard to adapt to the constant isolation, and being with my family all day was tiring. Also, school wasn’t as engaging or fun anymore. We weren’t able to connect with our teachers or talk to our friends in class. Furthermore, seeing the news and how thousands of people were dying was very frightening. But it's been more than a year of online school, and I found out that what helped me cope was the small things like texting my friends on Discord, hanging out (with masks and 6 feet apart obviously), and exploring things that I couldn’t do before quarantine like drawing or playing the piano. Of course, there were days where I was fed up with being inside or when I felt depressed, but making the most out of this situation gave me the drive to keep social distancing. So remember to keep wearing masks, keeping 6 feet apart, and get vaccinated! This lack of social interaction and not being able to go to school or public places normally is unfortunate but we must stay away from each other to stay together. When it gets hard, find ways to connect with others through safe means like social media and use all that free time to improve and discover things about yourself.
• 
  2020-05

  Weekly Planner

  Attached is a picture of my planner from May of last year. I have always tried to keep a journal of some sort but over the past few years entries in my actual journal have become more sporadic, and I sometimes feel bad that I'm not documenting my life better. But I have found that I keep my memories and experiences in different ways. I keep post-its and planners and notes from past classes, all of which contain some view into a different time of my life. This page in my planner was probably drawn during class, or while waiting for another class to start. The goldfish stickers were there before I wrote the words around them, I'm pretty sure. Looking back now I could say maybe the goldfish and the misconception about their memory is a comment on the way isolation and lack of enrichment affects memory, but really I just had them nearby and thought they were cool. At this point the monotony of quarantine and online school and being out of work made a planner feel kind of superfluous and each page was less like an organized look at my week and more like a dumping ground for my thoughts. The speech bubbles near the fish read: "(I love you guys)" "What?" "I said let's count down so we can all sign off together!" Since moving back to my parent's house in March I haven't seen any of my friends in person. It's been nearly a year of movie nights over discord, all of us counting down and trying to press play at the same time despite the latency. There's a certain intimacy of talking to someone late into the night from my bedroom, surrounded by artifacts of my high school life. I'm afraid for myself and afraid for my friends but we don't talk about the big scary thing looming over all of us. It's been nearly a year and the space in between now and February feels both infinite and microscopic. I am still, but time goes on. I remember that I wrote "One day I will be disappointed (spelled incorrectly) I did not document history better" later in the week. Memory is fragile and I want to preserve it the best I can but lately I'm too tired to take down the details of each day. Maybe this vague collection of my thoughts will be valuable to future me, but I won't know until then so I'll hold onto it anyway.
• 
  2021-01-20

  Distant Relationships

  Throughout the whole COVID ordeal I have been seperated physically from my friends and family. To compensate the lack of physical interactions with other during this pandemic, we've used Discord an online voice group chat to keep ourselves social. Discord has helped us remember that we aren't alone during this pandemic. We're able to play games, watch videos, and talk to one another one this service. Discord I feel what I feel helped me currently get through this whole ordeal.
• 
  2021-01-21

  Just Here.

  My computer is important to me because it's the one thing getting me through school and quarantine. Without this computer, I wouldn't be able to go to school, I wouldn't be able to see or talk to my friends on Discord and I wouldn't be able to do any of the hobbies I enjoy. This computer gives me the opportunity to see and talk to my friends during a time where doing so could cost me. This computer allows me to finish assignments and join zoom classes but also gives me a chance to get away from school and play video games when I need to. So until the pandemic reaches an end, I'll just be here, at my computer.
• 2021-01-19

  Procedure during COVID-19

  During COVID-19, there are many procedures you have to follow. We had to stay inside our houses. It has been about a year-long process. At first, it was fun adapting to a new lifestyle, but after a while, I wanted to go to places and it was starting to get boring. However, I was able to talk to my friends over the phone and through a chatting application called discord. Another procedure was staying six feet apart. With friends, this was not so bad of a rule, but with family, it is always nice to be able to hug your loved ones. However, we would use air hugs and it was kind of fun. Overall, COVID-19 procedures were fun at the start, but over time, they would get boring and we had to find new ways to get around it.
• 2020-09-16

  How I Stayed Connected With Friends Using Discord

  When the lockdown started, my friends and I had no way to hang out in person. Luckily we can hang out over the internet by using Discord, the best online voice and video call program. We can play video games like, Apex Legends, Overwatch, and Rocket League. It's great that we can still be together while separated.
• 
  2020-11-14

  What if the worms dated?

  Me and my friend Sebastian have been watching films over Discord video share to ease our tension surrounding the pandemic. We have watched classics such as Tremors and Return of the Living Dead as well as obscure, terrible movies like Uninvited and Love on a Leash. One day while I was talking about the atrocity that is the author of Ready Player One after watching Tremors, I mentioned how it'd be funny if the worm from Dune was gay and kissed the worm from Betelgeuse and the only way to do it would be in the sequel of Ready Player One, Ready Player Two. So my friend, naturally, had to draw gay worms.
• 
  2020-10-28

  Be Sure To Wash Your Hands

  This meme depicts a Hindu deity with multiple arms, expressing his annoyance at having to wash all of his hands in order to avoid getting sick or spreading the virus.
• 2020-10-24

  Discord Dodgers Fumble

  After multiple games on CS:GO Sam, Will, Mateo, Elias, and I decided to watch the stream of the 2020 World Series game 4. Will projected the game in the call on discord. Many of us including me dislike the Dodgers and therefore rooted for the Rays. When Brett Phillips went up with runners on 1st and 2nd we were thinking it was the end because of Philip’s poor stats. I remember distinctly not being able to hear anything in my headset because we were all screaming so loud into our microphones on the call when Brett singled into center. The center fielder fumbled the ball wasting time and on the throw the catcher dropped the ball scoring 2 and giving the Rays the win. It makes me sad that we can’t meet and see each other to watch the game but, it was nice to play and listen to my friends.
• 
  2020-04-12

  An app that’s like Discord but made by a Chinese company

  Due to quarantine, the Chinese government have pretty much shut down the borders. In order to stay in touch with family and friends, this app is the only source to communicate with them. Although there are apps that are accessible for Chinese International students to get in touch with their friends, there are many harsh requirements in order to use it. Due to the relationship between China and the U.S., the app is no longer available for people in the U.S to use. You must have a VPN to bypass your ip address back to China in order to use it. During times like this, I hope both countries can put down any conflict they have and provide a better source for their citizens to access.
• 2020-05-19

  Reid’s reflection on the pandemic 19 May 2020

• 
  2020-04-15

  A Virus That Hits All Faiths Tests Religion's Tie to Science

  This article talks about how many places still are continuing their religious gatherings despite everything going on because of the relief it can provide. It mentions how some places are following their religious belief and going to their religious sites because the virus can be combated with belief and if something were to happen that would be the best place to die. While places like the U.S. have transferred their religious services to online ones or just stoped them many people in other places are still meeting up like nothing is going on and the virus won't get them becasue they are in a safe place.
• 
  2020-04-07

  Mideastern burial traditions clash with fears of contagion

  The article is about how Covid-19 has affected the religious burial practices of those who died from infection in the Middle East. Attention focuses on the contrasting differences between how the infected bodies were handled, where they were layed to rest, and traditional preparational practices that were foregone during the early stages of the Pandemic due to the lack of knowledge and fear about the virus itself, resulting in discord between deeply religious family members of the deceased and government/health officials.