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2020-10-08
A ring of COVID-19 skeptics have targeted Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer in a kidnapping plot.
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2020-10
I started a new job in February 2020. Not even a month later my work life completely changed. I do not know what my workplace is like outside of COVID. Not to mention, I do not know what any of my coworkers look like without a mask on! I sleep all day when I am not at work, which is very unhealthy, and I have little to no human interaction when my work day is over. On the bright side, I did start seeing someone who has changed my life.
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2020-03-09
This object is something that the president of the united states said to his people in response to the start of this pandemic. Telling them that this whole virus is just a hoax and that hardly anyone would contract this virus because it is not strong enough. In the beginning Trump failed to accept this virus is a dangerous thing and that he needs to do something in order to protect his people but instead he did nothing and the United States of America has become the hot spot of this virus and the laughing stock of the world. Throughout the process of the virus only becoming worse he did not suffer it was us the people who had to deal with it the most. What this shows the people of the pandemic is that it was not taken seriously and our national leader lead us to our own demise. The pandemic has lasted nearly a year since today, October 8, 2020, and we are still having people ignore that this is a real issue because our leader does not see it as one. What people failed to seem to understand is that the only reason that we are still in this pandemic is because of the person new have put in office. This is important to me because it shows everyone how much of a joke our president is and how his stubbornness was more important than all of the thousands of lives that have been lost to this pandemic. It is also a showcase of what a joke our president is and how this needs to be changed. This just goes to show how this man has done nothing for the people beside doom us all and lead/ kept us in this pandemic that could have been prevented from getting to where it has gotten.
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2020-10-19
I never really went out and did anything before the pandemic hit, but now that I have no choice whether or not I go out or stay home, I hate it. I feel imprisoned. #REL101
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10/03/2020
Lucy Li speaks on her experience during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the cleaning ritual she has developed, her new recognition of the need for social interaction, remote work and school, and how the economy’s dip will affect her generation. She finds work-life-school balance, feeling stuck in her apartment, and connection with others challenging. She finds that nihilistic memes, social media management strategy, and park walks with friends keep her grounded. Li finds hope in community resilience.
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2020-04-12
Meme of Jesus on a Zoom call with the disciples at the Last Supper.
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2020-08-25
There have been over 8,000 fires in California during 2020, and CalFire has been short staffed due to COVID-19 lockdowns at prison facilities. Inmates and typically make up 40% of the CA's firefighters, and this piece of sidewalk art drew attention to the incarcerated people risking their lives to stop the fires.
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2020-10-08
It has been such a crazy time witnessing how this pandemic has evolved these past couple of months. I clearly remember how queasy I felt once I heard that there was a positive case confirmed at my university. The environment around campus just seemed a bit odd; everyone felt confused, anxious, and even a bit fearful. At that moment, people really didn’t use masks and were downplaying the virus as if it wasn’t anything to worry about. This made me feel a bit hesitant to wear a face mask since I didn’t want people to think I seemed too exaggerating. As the days passed, the number of positive cases drastically increased not only on campus, but around the world as well. At that point I knew it wasn’t a simple virus and that I shouldn’t care about others’ opinions in regard to face masks. I started to be very precautious and wear my face mask everywhere I went.
Eventually, the transition to virtual classes was instituted and I got to stay home for the rest of the school year. Although I felt safe staying inside, the news and social media was very successful at causing anxiety in my household. It was very overwhelming to hear the progression of this virus and how many people were losing their lives because of the pandemic. This made going out to buy groceries such a fearful experience, especially since not everyone used their masks which could have exposed so many people to this deadly virus. I remember asking myself, will wearing a mask become the new norm in this society, will we have to get used to carrying face masks everywhere we go just like our purse or identification card? I remember learning about the bubonic plague, or the Spanish flu in my history classes, but I never imagined I would experience a pandemic myself.
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2020-10-08
SF Public Library has partnered with SFMOMA to provide free art kits at mobile library locations. I live in the city, and thought this was a neat way for the library to engage with people while their branches are closed.
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2020-10-05
The photograph can be interpreted in many ways. How I interpreted it was how the COVID-19 pandemic help to reunite families who their focus on the American dream. Many families consist of 9-5 jobs, after school activities, and so forth. This leaves many children or other family member feel disconnected, but now with many places shutdown, stay at home orders, and virtual learning families how found that joy and bonding among their family. Interacting and bonding with family while living a joyful life is the true American dream not the cookie cut house with the white picket fence.
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2020-10-08
LitCovid is a website created by the NIH to provide free access to all academic papers and studies published to PubMed about COVID-19. The database makes it easy to search for specific types of studies, and is broken down into different categories (such as mechanism, transmission, prevention, and forecasting). It is quite jargon-heavy since it is a collection of academic papers, but can be really useful for learning more about the disease.
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2020-03-11
These series of images are tweets from or about San Antonio mayor Ron Nirenberg and his administration's response throughout initial weeks of the COVID-19 outbreak & shutdown of San Antonio. These images illustrate the way local government mobilized to disperse political, economic, and medical information through social media.
Information such as executive orders, public and private programs, case statistics during the first weeks of the COVD crisis, city closures, how to stay safe, and where to get tested for COVID.
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2015-04-13
This story is important to me because I was raised to always be as well prepared as possible. In this video Bill Gates talks about options the worlds governments can take to help prevent and/or aid in global pandemics. The ideas he presents range in intensity, from increasing the amount of first responders to staging pseudo-war games for attacking the outbreaks most efficiently. The first time I remember a large scale disaster that could have been prevented, saved lives, time and money was the BP oil spill in the gulf of Mexico. The cost of the spill range from about 60 billion, reported by British Petroleum, to an estimated 140 billion. The spill and loss of lives, both human and oceanic, could have been prevented by the company implementing and following global operating policies for deep-water oil drilling.
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2020-10-08
The year of 2020 has been a difficult year for everyone. No matter if your young, old, rich, poor, a new born, or a high school student. Things has been pretty tough. The world introduced to a virus that could kill people known as the Corona Virus. Into the 4th month of the year, children were forced to stay home, and the working class unless they were an essential worker were moved to work from home. Who would have thought that big companies would have majority of their workers take advantage in the work from home program. Many Americans had found themselves taking on new challenges that they didn't think they were ready for. Children are no longer going to school, but instead they are learning through a virtual experience. Their parents are not only working from home, but also taking on a second role as teacher to help their children. This year has been a whirlwind for many, but through meditation and allowing our lungs to be filed with the air that we breath, everything takes a standstill. With this being said, I have found new hobbies and ways to help my well being in this chaotic year. I chose to highlight the Namaste photo because it represents the fact that we need to all take a deep breath and say everything is going to be okay. I hope that you can do the same by breathing in and out, and focusing on the good!
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2020-05-15
The time lapse video shows a little snip-it of how I dealt with quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many businesses were forced to shut down for a few months to ensure everyone's safety was first priority. One of the businesses that were shut down were gyms. I was very saddened by this business shutting down because my physical health is very important to me. Physical health has a lot of affect on mental health as well. To keep my mental health in check during this pandemic, I would workout almost every day so that I didn't let myself go through these months of being quarantined. My best friend came over to my house almost everyday for about an hour to workout in my living room. We worked out together to not only stay in touch during these trying times, but to also keep each other motivated to keep pushing ourselves. The only equipment we had access to were dumbbells and a bench. These two things were all we needed to keep going in our physical strength during these rough couples of months. My friend and I were anxiously waiting for the gym to open back up and while we were working each week still not knowing when the gyms will open again, I kept trying to challenge us. Almost every week I introduced a new workout to our list because sometimes it was so unmotivating to do the same workouts every day. I constantly researched and watched videos of what we can accomplish with just some dumbbells and a bench. We definitely got creative with some of our exercises. Although the pandemic kept us away from the gyms, my friend and I decided early on that our mental and physical health will not deteriorate for these next couple of months and we will give it our all.
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2020-10-08
The experience of the election is changing. As a poll worker, I'm seeing this first-hand.
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2020-10-08
The story behind this image is something I hold true to my creative process, in aspects of the pandemic, what I would like people to know is that even when life seem colorless with no blossom, we have the capacity to make something beautiful out of pain, fatigue and tiredness because humans are relentless and resilient, like a flower growing right through the cracks.
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2020-07-14
I cannot upload personal pictures from work, but I have been managing a Starbucks through COVID-19. This is an official Starbucks Partners Instagram post of some of our safety plexi-glass guards on our bars to reduce contact between our partners, and our mandatory mask policy. I have spent anywhere between 40-60 hours a week at work this whole time and so I thought it most appropriate to speak on my experience as an essential worker. In the beginning of the pandemic, we were changing rapidly and frequently, with so many conference calls I could barely keep up. I was incredibly new in my role as Store Manager, so when we shut the cafe's down across the company it made it very hard for me to create relationships with my regulars, but I got to know my baristas very quickly. My team has become very close and work together more like a family than anything else. During the lockdown portion of the pandemic, we were the only people we saw outside of our families for about three months. This whole experience has made me seek out new hobbies and really appreciate my time with my friends (when I can see them) because you never know how long it may be until you see them again. At my location, we are training our new staff in order to try to get our cafe back open soon. It has been so long now that it will be very strange for the newer staff to see people inside our building for the first time.
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2020
Being a pastor in the time of COVID-19 has been a difficult task, and nothing has been more difficult than leading people through the process of mourning the loss of loved ones. In my church, multiple people have lost husbands, fathers, and friends. Towards the beginning fo the pandemic our church lost one of it’s most recognized members to complications due to surgery. However, because of the coronavirus the standard practice of end-of-life ministry, helping the family with mourning, and leading them through rituals which help the family receive closure with their loss was unavailable. I, as the person’s pastor, was unable to be with him in his last days, and neither was his wife. Any final prayers, family meetings, religious discussions surrounding the topic of death which are standard with pastoral ministry were impossible because of the virus. The funeral was small, less than a dozen people. Many of their friends and family were left without any normal medium to mourn and lament the loss of their friend, husband, father, and brother.
This left many people in spiritual limbo, and drastically changed the way people were able to mourn. Religious funerals, grief care, and even simple things like having people cook meals for them are invaluable to help with the process of mourning loss and accepting death, not just for the immediate family but for all around. A family friend can, perhaps, mourn by bringing the family flowers or food directly. But, under COVID there is too much of a risk. They now have to mourn alone. The same goes for family. Though they had a small graveside burial, they didn’t receive the social benefit of being surrounded by all who loved and were affected by their husband and father, the edification of seeing the sum, value, and product of their life expressed through tears, laughter, and people united to mourn and celebrate life.
The ceremonies themselves, offering a wealth of support during a time of mourning, is enough of a loss, but there is more. After the rituals end, the family is still left without a core member of their life and need further help to manage their grief. Normally, in religion, a pastor can offer a level of grief counseling. But for those technologically behind, who can’t FaceTime or use Zoom, receiving this care becomes both difficult and brings up several ethical issues. How does a pastor, like me, meet with an elderly woman to walk them through grief? How can this be done without risking infection? Is it better to leave them alone to mourn without their religious community and authority? All of these problems have brought light to the importance of religious responses to major life events.
Beyond the topics of faith, belief, dogma, and the supernatural, religion offers a wealth of benefits to people’s basic life needs, be it sociologically, psychologically, or existentially. It helps them put words to the indescribable pain they feel. It gives them a channel to express the loss in their heart. It gives communal space to lament, cry out, laugh, and find meaning through suffering and pain. Religion gets people through the darkness that is inherent to existence. COVID, however, has changed how this is done, and actively harmed people’s ability to mourn in a proper, healthy way. There is now one less way to manage traumatic, scarring life events, and find healing and recovery that comes with the penetrating pain in death. Hopefully, we will find healing from COVID, but not just the virus itself, but all that has been lost because of it. Hopefully, we can find healing from the loss of mourning, the loss of celebration, of community, of sacred expression. The sickness from the virus is only one thing of many which can bring devastation. To fight the virus is only part of the process of restoration. We also need to recover everything else in our lives the virus ripped away.
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2020-10-05
Large portions of the population are struggling economically due to the pandemic but others are secure in their jobs. This is leading to a deepening inequality between groups. This is important to me as it gives those of us who have been lucky during this pandemic with a different viewpoint
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2020-10-04
Liverpool lost 7-2. The biggest in franchise history. Perhaps its the hangover from winning the Leauge? I mean it only did end July 26th. To Aston Villa?... Honestly, only reason this happens is because of COVID-19.
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2020-10-08
This story talks about my experience amidst the pandemic, and how it has impacted my life. This is important to me because this time is so unusual and is definitely going to be a huge part of history.
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2020-06-01
During the pandemic just like many individuals i was unable to see my family for a long time which I was struggling with. My grandpa who I usually take to once a week was especially struggling through the pandemic because he wasn't even aloud to leave the house for 4 months. I was planning to go and see him since he was getting sicker but obviously could not. We ended up on FaceTime almost every day just talking about college and what was happening in Chicago. My grandpa was a huge part of my life and being able to help him through the pandemic made me feel so much better. During the pandemic, I was just feeling sad and more homesick than usual. Since school was online I had a lot more time on my hands which led to me and grandpa talking over FaceTime all the time. He had taught me and my roommates how to play poker which was so much fun and gave us something to do at night. Unfortunately, Grandpa had starting getting really sick and had to go to the hospital and be by himself since no one was allowed to accompany him. He had eventually gotten even sicker in the hospital and passed away. I was thankful that I got to talk to him the day before he went in the hospital because it was the last conversation I go to have with him. Eventually I was able to meet my family in Chicago so that we could bury him but because of the pandemic we could not hold a funeral to honor him which was very sad. While not being able have a funeral us as a family still celebrated his life together . I know many people out loved ones during this pandemic which is terrible, but it reminded me towards the end that even with all that was happening my grandpa found the positives in life until the end. I learned through him that no matter what life or the world throws your way you can always share the love and make each day count.
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2020-10-01
This article is about how New Yorkers will be fined up to $1,000 if they do not wear a face mask in public. I chose this article because i don't like wearing face masks in public, i believe that masks should be optional and not mandatory. Life now during the pandemic reveals that you don't really have a choice, you have to abide by the law even if you don't want to or agree with it. This article informs us what other states are going through, we aren't the only ones unlucky but it also shows us to be grateful that we aren't getting fined for not wearing masks in public places. In this article you won't find too much bias, however whenever they spoke about the mayor of New York they spoke about him as “Democratic Mayor Bill”. The media's responsibility during the COVID-19 pandemic is to inform the general public about what is happening around us in the world, showing us we are not the only ones going through this unfortunate times. The media during the pandemic has not been much an informer but as a source to hear bad things about our country and government.
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2020-03-12
The main point of this article is to inform the reader about the impact covid has had on our economy.
Personally, I chose this article because I am very interested in the stock market and our economy and I feel like this article is right along the lines of that.
This article shows how during this pandemic, the S&P 500 fell 21 percent and how by the end of 2020 we could see another recession. It also shows how if president Trump went through with the Payroll Tax Cut Act then we would have a lesser chance of recession.
This is an important article because the economy is what America runs on and covid played a huge role in its downfall during the pandemic.
There is definitely more of a conservative bias because it is from Fox News and it talks positively about Trump's economic policies.
In my opinion, during a time like this the media should not have a bias because the virus does not care about your political views. What I mean by that is we need to be informed about the virus with facts and not opinions from the left side of the media and the right side. So the medias only responsibility should be to inform the American people with facts.
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2020-10-07
this story is important to me because members who are serving in the armed force, will understand and relate to the struggles that I went through during this pandemic.
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2020-10-07
The New York Times article accurately stated new information and articulated ideas that grasped my attention. The death rate, the number of infected individuals, the number of cases in certain location, and credible data were the main points the news article covered. The main ideas allowed people to fully understand the significance of the pandemic affecting the environments dynamic worldwide. I choose this article because as I was looking through my options, I noticed this specific article has tons of information that is credible. To add, this article focuses on not just one main idea, but lot of facts that intertwine with one another, which gives the full scope of the situation occurring. The article discussed the number of deaths and cases along with specific places that are being impacted the most. To add, New York Times mentioned how the lives of innocent people in America, “has been fundamentally reordered because of the virus. Concerts, parades and high school football games continue to be called off. Countless people have found themselves jobless and struggling to afford housing”. This ties into why the news article is important and what it reveals about the life during the pandemic. Historians can use this article in an archive, which will allow them to compare it to other sources and understand what was going on during this time period. With multiple different sources from different points of views and perspectives it can be very helpful for someone to thoroughly analyze for future reference. The bias in the news article is neutral and not bias, which is significant when focusing on the clear credible data given. I can tell that it is neutral because the article doesn’t lean toward a specific side, which I personally really like. With that being said the media as a whole is responsible for making sure that each and every individual is aware of the circumstances going on. It is important for the media to stay transparent without sharing fake news and a biased standpoint that would persuade people in the wrong direction. As a whole the media needs to be regulated and changed for the future because it plays a huge role in billions of people’s lives.
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2020-06-26
The main point of this news article is getting across the point that it is very important to wear face masks while in the public. It has many pieces of evidence to support the wearing of masks. It also covers a few great points which is does it matter what mask each individual wears, and also does wearing the mask protect you from covid-19, or the people around you from it? This is the reason why I chose this article. I have been questioning both of these points since covid-19 and mask wearing started.
This article reveals just how important it is to wear a mask when you are in the public and around other individuals that are not considered within your “personal bubble”. Many people are struggling with life in the pandemic right now, but also they are not doing their part in slowing the spread by properly masking up in public. The news article is very important because most of the population doesn’t know everything about covid-19 since it is new to all of us. The article provides crucial information on how to stop the spread, and hopefully eliminate the covid-19 virus.
In this article, there is no bias standing out to me. This article is a fact based article that provides scientifically proven information about the virus. All of the claims of this article has stated have been run by tests. For example, a test was run about how many respiratory droplets left one’s mouth when saying a simple phrase. Without a mask, there was a range from 20-500 micrometers generated. With a face mask, nearly all of the droplets were trapped by the face mask.
The responsibility of the media during the covid-19 pandemic is to keep the population up to date and educated about the virus. The more educated the population is, the slower the virus will spread, because a fraction of the population that is informed will follow protocols and safety tips from the media. From this article, I learned that wearing a face mask is much more powerful than I thought it was. After learning this from the article, I will make sure to wear a face mask when I am around my friends or in the public 100% of the time.
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2020-09-22
My partner and I were supposed to be married in September. We spent the better part of a year getting ourselves ready for the big day, but due to the Coronavirus, we were unable to get married. We are planning to get married in March now. It has been a little depressing, but we're pushing through.
We set the date of September 22nd because it was the first day of fall and is typically a beautiful day here in sunny South Florida. During the start of the isolation, we thought that we had gotten lucky and the pandemic would be largely over, we would be able to have it – when the only businesses open were places like Target for groceries, we coordinated with our vendors over the phone and email. My partner had purchased her dress a week before our shut down here, and we waited up until about just a month ago to get the finished product. It was hard for me to even get my tux taken in. When things started opening back up, we were nervous about the date, but hoped for a fast progression towards things getting better.
By the end of July, we knew things were still not on track and we had to make a difficult decision. Not only was it extremely expensive to postpone, it was disappointing. We had put so much energy into getting everything right, but the world had other plans. Ultimately, the safety of our family and friends was not worth the risk, and we decided to postpone until March 10th, which is our five year anniversary. This year has been absolutely crazy! But we both know everything has a purpose, and a reason. We are fortunate for our health (and our corgi).
:)
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2020-10-06
On friday october 3 the president of the united states of america was diagnosed with covid -19. This was a great shock to a lot of the people around me and myself. To me this was a very big moment, as he was one of the first world leaders who had caught the virus.
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2020-10-07
This news is about if the Japanese citizen who have business trips outside of Japan meet certain requirement, the 14-day quarantine will be exempted.
政府は新型コロナウイルス対策で実施している入国者の14日間の待機措置について、ビジネスから帰国した日本人が条件を満たした場合には、免除する方向で調整していることが分かりました。
待機措置の免除には、帰国時に検査をするほか、帰国後14日間の行動計画の提出、公共交通機関を使わないことや移動を自宅と勤務先に限定することなどが条件となります。ビジネス上の妨げとなっていた帰国時の14日間の待機措置だけでも免除することで、海外出張しやすい環境を整え、経済活動の再開を後押しする狙いがあります。政府は引き続き各国と出入国制限の交渉を続け、ビジネス往来の要件緩和を目指す方針です。
As a method to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus by having a 14-day quarantine period, the government is moving in the direction of exemption of this period for Japanese immigrants returning from business if they meet certain conditions.
The conditions include taking the test when returning to Japan, submission of an action plan for 14 days after returning to Japan, not using public transportation, and limiting the traveling to only between home and work. By exempting the 14-day quarantine period when returning to Japan, which has been a hindrance to business, the aim is to create an easier condition that allows overseas business trips and to bring back the economy. The government will continue to negotiate immigration restrictions with different countries, aiming to ease the requirements for business travels.
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2020-10-07
I chose to submit a few tweets that go along with the exhaustive perspective I’ve had on the pandemic since we first were asked to quarantine back in March. As someone who works in customer service and interacts with people all day, I was immediately on board with social distancing, mask wearing, and limiting being in public spaces. However, it became very clear that this was not everyone’s opinion of COVID-19.
Seeing how large majorities of people are so against measures put in place to protect us has been quite frustrating to witness. The lack of empathy toward those who have been negatively affected by the pandemic (such as family deaths, irreversible health issues, loss of jobs, etc.) has done nothing but increased, as people on one side continue to believe all of it is a hoax and being blow out of proportion. How is it dramatic when 200,000 people, and counting, have died? How is it a hoax when it’s still running rampant through our country but other countries managed to get it under control by actually taking steps to do so? Hearing the excuses that we shouldn’t let ourselves be dominated by the virus is incredibly irritating, when we shouldn’t resign ourselves to living with something that could be of great harm to us or others in our lives. We should be trying to eradicate it as much as possible. Alas, my efforts are fruitless.
On top of that, seeing the dichotomy of the pandemic with the protests for BLM and such side by side has been an interesting spectacle. BLM protestors have made sure to protest safely and because of it, they have yet to turn into super-spreader events. In addition, the hypocritical outlook on police brutality is puzzling. They say the black and brown men killed by police should have just complied or else they wouldn’t have been killed, yet these are the same people refusing to wear masks because it is their right? It was those men’s rights to just exist and you think they deserved to die because of it? The privilege of it all is absolutely baffling. Those who don’t want to wear masks believe it is their right to protest it, then turn around and scream profanities and spew hate at those protesting with Black Lives Matter. You can’t demand justice for your minor inconvenience yet hope to tear down the efforts of those fighting for a real cause. Your rights are the same rights as others.
Overall, the past six months have been eye-opening to say the least. Our country has never been more divided: socially, politically, economically, or financially. The fact that we aren’t all on the same page about taking care of each other, having empathy, and wanting everyone to thrive and live is so mind-boggling when these things are basic human decency. My heart hurts reading every news story that comes out each day, knowing that we continue to push farther and farther away from one another, when really we should be striving for a better goal. I can only hope that 2021 holds better times for us, but things appear bleaker than ever. For now, I continue to point out the hypocrisy and indecency of it all so others may understand.
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2020-10-07
This pandemic we are living in is like being in a black whole of the unknown. In some places people are acting as if it doesn’t really exist or that it doesn’t affect them. The truth is, it may not be affecting them right now, but it very well could be. The truth is, we know nothing. This period of time in our history is a different experience for everyone and people do not have any clue about what is to come. My experience of this time has been chaotic and an ongoing feeling of paranoia. My brother and I are both high risk for COVID-19. I have In 2013 at 2 years old he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia; he is a childhood cancer survivor and is now 10 years old but will continue to need to be cautious and always aware of his health. The picture I have provided with this entry is one from a few months after his diagnosis. This is the picture that remain in mine and my family’s heads; our motivation to continue to be hyperaware of our daily routines and who we encounter. I am asthmatic and have continued to have a weak immune system and suffer from respiratory illnesses. Protecting ourselves, our family, and those around us is the highest priority during this time. We are taking precautions and rules from the CDC very seriously. This has been a season of fear, loss, and uncertainty, but it has also been a season of faith, curiosity, and new beginnings. I have also had some family friends and family members lose their jobs during this time. COVID-19 has not just affected people’s health but the livelihood of the normal we once knew. Moving forward people will either embrace that or fight against it. Even while embracing it my family and I will continue to be cautious with our interactions, where we go, who we see, and be empathetic tot those who have lost their lives and their loved ones.
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2020-03-15
This pandemic has been something out of the ordinary for everyone across the world. Unless of course you have already lived through a different pandemic like this one. This pandemic has resulted in many negative effects. Being locked inside everyday, businesses closing, people dying, and everything having to turn completely remote. Everything is just different now. People have to social distance, wear a mask etc. The negatives people can take from this time can be astronomical. It is time to look at this as a positive. At least for me, yes there have been many negatives through this pandemic but I have also used this as an opportunity to better myself physically, mentally, and spiritually. I have worked out and focused more on school in many ways. I have not been perfect but during this pandemic, I have thought about what I wanted to do and what I want to achieve in my life. I want to put my faith in God and my family first. I also wanted to put my health first in every aspect. Everything else to me would come next with my hard work ethic and my drive to be successful. I am in a good place right now during this pandemic and I know there are many people out there that are not. I want to be able to help people out and be there for the people that I care about. I feel like I have done that for the most part during this time. It is time to focus on what matters most and that is taking care of myself and the people I love and care about the most while honoring God along the way. This REL 101 class helped me adopt a new perspective to how other people see this subject and how it can play a factor in their lives. Personally, my faith is the most important thing I have and I will cherish that forever. Without my faith in my God, I am nothing and nothing I have been blessed with could be possible.
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2020-04-29
This photograph is taken in Houston, TX as part of a news conference with Rep. Al Green and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. On 29 April 2020, the city of Houston staged a news conference at a COVID-19 testing site run by the National Guard in Houston, TX. At the end of the conference, LTC English (who is a Nurse Practitioner and Texas Army National Guard Senior Medical Advisor) was interviewed for his opinion on public health and safety during the pandemic.
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2020-09-18
I work at Brooklyn College, but since we have been working remotely, I have been staying in Maine. I have two cats, and perhaps foolishly, I was letting them go out into the great outdoors every day. It wasn't very long before they began hunting and killing little animals-fighting with other cats-even disappearing over night one time. I was getting very stressed out worrying about the cats-this also seemed a ridiculous concern to me in the middle of a terrible time when it has been a struggle to deal with bad news every day; people losing their work, their art, their friends and relatives. Some inspiring news as well, like the #blacklivesmatter #BLM protests, but always the good was in reaction to some atrocity. It seemed as if there was constantly some piece of toxic news as well as some dead animal from the cats every day. I'm not sure how I stood it so long; the whole summer, really. Finally, I woke up on the morning of September 18 to read that Ruth Bader Ginsburg had died. I thought, there is absolutely nothing now to stop all of our civil rights from being curtailed, the environment from being ravaged, the election from being stolen; so many things that the world has had really for a very short time may well soon be taken away, all because RBG has passed before an election could wrest control from the vicious party in power. When I read the headline I think I screamed out, Oh, no! and started crying. I cried all day long; I had to leave my husband by himself and go for a long walk in the woods alone. I came home completely drained, but calm.
The next day, when I let the cats out, they both returned in about 10 minutes, each with a dead animal clamped in their jaws. I thought, I've had enough. I made the decision in that moment not to let my cats out anymore. Since they are now indoor-outdoor cats, that has been very difficult. Yowling, door-dashing, vomiting, even peeing on things: they have done everything they could to make me change my mind. To make it possible for them to enjoy the outdoors, but without killing squirrels, chipmunks, voles, moles, snakes, baby gophers, field mice, and even the occasional bird, also to keep myself from going wild with grief and fear after RBG's death, I took a bunch of scrap lumber from the shed, bought netting and staples, and I built the "Catio" (an outdoor enclosure for cats). While I worked on it, I couldn't hear the miaows of woe from inside the house, and by the time it was finished my heart had poured out some of the bitterness that it holds, for the fact that a new, right wing, anti-liberal supreme court justice can be voted on at any moment. It's just a matter of how soon.
I am no carpenter, so my hands were full of splinters and I was bone-weary when I was done. The cats went into their catio with excitement, and tested every corner of it to see if they could escape. I followed them with my stapler and my zip ties, tightening it up. They are not completely satisfied with the catio, but it is a whole lot better than nothing. I've started to supplement by taking them for walks on leashes in the front yard, and who knows, when the next really toxic news cycle comes around, I may well build a bigger, better catio. I want to be a responsible pet owner, and protect the environment-maybe I can't control the terrible big things that go wrong, but I can do just a little bit that I can in my own way.
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2020-10-06
A friend took this picture of her neighbors’ house. It’s a duplex shared by two families- one that supports Trump and one that supports Biden.
It’s hard to ignore the feeling of impending civil war here in the US these days. The political polarization only continues to get worse. It’s starting to seem like no matter what the result of the Nov 2020 election is, this division will not be remedied.
Perhaps the worst part is that preserving the union doesn’t even seem as important as escaping “the other half.” The only thing that makes me want to work to keep the country together (not that I can make much difference) is the fact that there are vulnerable folks living in Red states who would be made even more vulnerable if the Blue states left the union or joined Canada or whatever other flippant solutions are bandied about.
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2020-05-09
I graduated from Texas A&M with my PhD in Anthropology in May 2020. The graduation was in early May. I had defended my dissertation in late January and was working as a graduate assistant at Texas A&M and as an instructor at Blinn College when the COVID-19 came to Texas in March 2020. My jobs went online for a month, then I was activated with the National Guard on 18April2020. In this photograph from early May, I am attending my remote graduation ceremony from my workspace at the Region 6 COIVD-19 Response headquarters in Houston, TX.
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2020-10-05
The story I chose to upload was my own short story written in the perspective of third person. I wanted to submit something that would be set apart from the other submissions. We focus so much on the pandemic and how if we don't use a mask or follow rules we could die. We have allowed fear to control our thoughts and emotions, allowing fear over facts to control our actions. I am more afraid of those acting out of fear as opposed to the virus itself. I hope the simplicity of my story brings a different perspective to the table of this topic.
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2020-10-07
This is a news in Japan, where mask technology is becoming more advance. A mask now can translate multiple languages. I think this mask was developed in order for Japan to open up borders safely and have visitors from different countries.
マスクの進化が止まりません。感染対策に加え、外国語の翻訳ができるマスクが登場しました。気になるその性能は。 音声を認識するスマートマスクが開発されたと聞き、その機能を試しました。まだ開発段階のものですが、自分のマスクのひもを通して一体化。スイッチを入れて専用アプリでスマホと連動させると、話し言葉が文字に。そして、通訳機能も。さらには、同じアプリを共有している場合は相手のスマートフォンに声を届けることも可能です。まさにコロナ禍のイノベーション。今月末まで、クラウドファンィングで1個4378円で応援購入することができます。
The evolution of the mask does not stop. In addition to infection control, now masks can translate foreign languages has been developed. What is the performance you care about?
I heard that a smart mask that recognizes voice was developed, and tried its function. It's still in the development stage, but it's integrated through the string of my mask. When you turn on the switch and link it with your smartphone with the specific app, the spoken words become letters. And an interpreter function as well. Furthermore, if you share the same app, you can have your voice reach the other party's smartphone. This is exactly the innovation during Corona. Until the end of this month, you can buy one by crowdfunding for 4378 yen.
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2020-10-07
How my life has been impacted by COVID
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2020-10-07
This is a news where on an airplane, a fight happened because a man was wearing a face shield, but not a mask. I would think wearing a face shield is better than nothing, but not enough and for himself and others on the plane, the man should have worn a mask.
マスクの着用を巡ってまた、乱闘騒ぎです。 アメリカのアリゾナ州からユタ州に向かっていたLCC（格安航空）の旅客機の中で2人の乗客がもみ合っています。2人はマスクの着用を巡って口論となり、その後、取っ組み合いのけんかになったということです。たまたま機内に乗り合わせた警察官が仲裁に入ったため、大事には至りませんでした。この航空会社では乗客に常にマスクの着用が義務付けられていますが、騒ぎを起こした乗客はフェースシールドを着用していたもののマスクをしておらず、トラブルになったとみられています。
There is another brawl over wearing a mask. Two passengers had a conflict on an LCC (low-cost carrier) airliner heading from Arizona to Utah in the United States. The two argued over wearing a mask, and then became a brawl. A police officer who happened to be on the airplane came in between and calmed down the matter. The airline requires all passengers to wear masks at all times, but it is believed that the passenger was involved in the fight because he wore face shields but not a mask under the face shield.
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2020-03-31
The Covid-19 Pandemic has changed life but has also taught me some valuable lessons that I will carry into the future.
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2020-10-07
It was the week before spring break and I was gearing up for a three day cruise with friends. I want to preface this by saying I am a teacher and this spring break was much needed after a rough semester. Anyways! The pandemic had started but it was only in China and Italy. We didn’t really know how rapidly it would spread. In past outbreaks of viruses they usually were contained in a few areas and didn’t rapidly spread. It felt like when we got on the boat it was in Europe and when we got off three days later it was in the US. There was over 100 friends there on the boat and I know a total of 70 of us got sick. Everyone was mostly fine and got over it in a couple of days. I was sick for three weeks. All the symptoms except I couldn’t breathe and that was the absolute worst. I don’t have great lungs anyways- I can thank multiple rounds of bronchitis for that. Anyway- there was days when I struggled to breathe. If I didn’t have certain medications to help, I think it would have been worse. Not deadly, but incredibly shallowed breathing. However, a month went by and then I started feeling great. I had residual burning in my lungs from when I was trying to heal and it took my body awhile to get back to where it was. A few short weeks after I was better, I noticed my body was having a really hard time doing anything without feeling I was having a heart attack. I got my blood work done and realized that my thyroid, vitamin D levels, hormones, and vitamin B levels were almost none existent. It’s been months now but after regulating them- I have never felt better. There were news reports that came out recently that attested people’s vitamin d levels that were low had stronger cases of Covid-19. After a lot of studying, I am a believer that if our bodies aren’t well, we can’t fight off viruses and bacteria’s as well as we think we should be able too. Our thyroid is the stabler for everything that functions in our bodies. My immune system was shot when I got covid and I believe whole heartedly that my body couldn’t fight it because it didn’t have the strength too. It is so important that we take a hard look at our health and recognize we can’t be reliant on pills and medicines if we as a people aren’t healthy.
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2020-03-16
Covid 19 has been nothing but the worst ever since it started. The only tiny silver line i found is i was able to rest and heal my body from constantly working out and going to work. But then the situation for work changed as the schedule began to put in more hours for me and although i enjoyed learning new tasks for the job, having nothing but to do those new tasks for months was dreadful. Covid made a big impact on my relationship because it made me dependent and I constantly was on facetime with my girlfriend and now i have separation anxiety where i normal dont. I feel socially awkward as well since i barely was already going out to pretty much nothing at all. I hope i can get my own life back on track and hopefully everything returns to normal.
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2020-10-07
Here we all are stuck having our wings cut for just a LITTLE while. Children are so special. I am always in my room because, of age, health and so on... I have grandchildren that seem to keep multiplying all the time. One of my babies come to my door every other day always happy and full of wonder. Last week he came to my door crying I asked him what was wrong worried at first he had heard something and got scared. No it was simple to me but is was tearing his little heart up. His name is Jr. hes 2.5 years old an has a heart so big. I asked him what are you crying about. His reply was, "I cant sit on your lap and give you a hug." it was what he always did when he wanted something his dad or mom would not let him have. I said back to him you can throw me kiss the you can say it real low so only I can hear. he threw me a kiss and said Grandma would you get me pictures to color I don't have any more and daddy says we cant go to store. I asked him who do you want to color he said stitch, i told him to come back in a few minutes and i would see what could be done. So I got right to printing out pictures off the net of all his favorite cartoons he liked. When he came back I had placed the pictures at my door. He sat down and showed me that picture and said it was his best most one of all. Asked him why he said it has hearts on it. I made my day great to be able to make him happy. Even if we can not be hugging I got to watch him color a couple of the pages. As he left he said Please hurry and get well Granma you have a lot of hugs, cookies for me?and blew me kisses.
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2020-09-21
QUARANTEENS is a collection of art from around the world, but with a heavy focus on the Phoenix scene. And obviously by teens in quarantine. It contains a loose and colorful agglomeration of visual art, text, and ideas that sometimes contradict each other, but always in a good way.
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May 5, 2020 - August 31, 2020
This entry is the second part to capturing what the first six months of my graduate school experience was like. I’m a graduate student in the public history program at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas. I, like many students throughout all levels of education, felt a dramatic shift during or following spring break 2020. As the world began to catch on fire, I was just starting to piece together my final project which would enable me to graduate with my M.A. degree. Despite the chaos, I managed to survive the rest of the semester, and actually get a good head start on my project. I achieved two new job opportunities and reunited with my boyfriend after going two months without seeing each other. Things were going really well for me and I found a sense of confidence I hadn’t felt in three months. A confidence that might’ve crossed the line into arrogance.
This is when I actually got serious about the pandemic. I chose to forget that just because things were going well in my world, didn’t mean things were going well in the real world.
I, along with many of my fellow citizens, gave in to the idea that the south Texas heat would significantly curb the spread of the virus. As Texas began to open up, I began going out–not just for academic purposes but also for my own selfish desires to feel myself again. I returned to my local gym. I ate out (in doors) at restaurants. I went to an outdoor bar with my parents (one that was not abiding by the six feet separation policy). I heard the medical experts’ warnings against the loosening of restrictions; I was aware of the slowly but still increasing COVID cases in the city, but chose to act selfishly.
This selfishness transferred over to my academic goals. I was blinded by my ambition (or anxiety) to hit the ground running with my capstone. Maybe I knew that after a certain point, it would no longer be safe nor socially acceptable to meet with people outside of my immediate community. The second and third photos were taken from the first sets of oral histories I conducted with my community partners, the Ballet Folklórico de San Antonio. This is Bonnie Ramos and Mark Molina, the head creative directors of the Ballet Folklórico de San Antonio. Prior to these interviews, I had to meet with these leaders to plan out these interviews. We were all fully ready to conduct in-person oral histories not only with these two, but also their friends and family members. In the second photo, we were more conscious of the virus as you can see Ms. Ramos is wearing a mask. However, in the following interview with Bonnie and Mark, done just [two] weeks later, you can see that we chose to let our guards down (falling in line with the rest of the San Antonio, and overall Texas, community). In both photos we made sure to keep a distance between us, but we did not measure exactly six feet. Off camera, we also made sure to interact at a distance, however, we all chipped in to set the interview setting.
In between interviews I came down with a case of strep throat. I had to get tested for COVID and the results came two days later, which means my family and I held our breaths for two days. Thankfully I was negative, but strep really kicked my butt. I thought to myself, “If this is what strep feels like, I don’t want to know what COVID feels like.” The doctor was very sure that I only had strep because I had no other symptoms (such as respiratory difficulties). However, COVID is different for everyone – so I heard.
I began to drown myself in COVID statistics which made me feel even worse; but also made me snap and understand that I cannot be my control freak self in the midst of a pandemic. Included are some images of COVID statistics in San Antonio from the point that I contracted strep until the end of August.
I thought about all the times I had gone out, regardless of being aware that I shouldn’t; I thought of all the people I had interacted with and how ashamed I’d me if I would have to call them; I thought of what I could potentially be putting my parents through because they have underlying conditions (diabetes and asthma). After a few days on antibiotics I was alright, but this was a wakeup call and my Ballet Folklórico project came to pause.
Then Fourth of July hit, and San Antonio really milked the reduced restrictions. In the following weeks, San Antonio saw a spike in COVID-19 and the city promptly regressed back to prior restrictions. I cancelled my gym membership, my family cancelled our annual trip to the beach, and abstained from interacting with some friends and family. My household became a little blue; I felt a mixture of shame, fear, and frustration (towards myself and the state of Texas). As a public historian, I felt like I failed the community I serve by acting in my self-interests. Public historians share a larger responsibility to treat out community justly and with respect. However, I chose to contribute to the problem that I knew was still there; I gave in to my selfish desire for “normalcy” and potentially put my community partners at risk. Luckily, neither of us (myself, Bonnie & Mark, nor my camera man) have experienced any COVID-19 symptoms following our interviews nor up until now.
Throughout the rest of the summer, all of the oral histories I conducted for my capstone were done via Zoom. My project was slowly transitioning to become a digital project, but I’ve come to see this as a strength and necessary change. It does not seem like Texas will have this virus completely under control, and many individuals will be hesitant to interact physically or outside their homes. Creating something digital will meet the needs of individuals while still taking precautions, as well as be more accessible to other researchers beyond San Antonio. COVID had made me acquaint myself with advanced-ish technology that will make all my projects throughout my career more accessible and therefore more equitable
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2020-07
During this pandemic, I begin to fall into depression and anxiety which I never faced before. I didn’t want to go to the hospital to see my provider to be put on pills for depression and anxiety because I was nervous due to the virus. I slowly begin to pray asking God to help me overcome this battle. I started to do different types of self-care, but nothing would help. I decided to go walking one morning and I knew right away this would help me. Every morning, I get out of bed to go walk the minimum of 3 miles, the maximum would be 6 miles. I enjoyed watching the sun rise and seen the difference it made while being up. I also enjoyed the different weather changes from being summer to beginning to get cold. It has helped me see another day, by making great healthy choices in my food intake. I enjoy the nature and the environment I am walking in. I love hearing the birds chirp, the quietness at times, the cars go by. When I listen to music and sing it helps me release my depression. As I begin to walk, I begin to pray to God and giving him thanks for another day, another day to see his creation and continuously praying. It's important to me because my health reflects my life. This not only helped me with my better living path in staying healthy but involving my son to my walk. Taking him along with me during the walks. I enjoy his presence as well as implementing games, so he doesn’t get bored during our walk. The thing that also helped me out is a great friend who also runs every morning. She gives me encouragement to have a better healthier lifestyle. In order to have life, we need to take care of our inner self. It has helped me physically, mentally and spiritually.
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2020-09-29
One of the good things that has occurred with the second stay-at-home lockdown in Melbourne, Victoria is that we are all out walking more regularly. This enforced 5km limit from home has meant that we are looking more closely at our environment. These Australasian Swamp Hen chicks were recently hatched and stumbling with their big feet through their reed nest. A couple of days later a big rainfall event swamped the nest but the chicks have survived as I have seen them on the ponds in the wetlands. A beautiful and hopeful reminder that the natural world cycle of birth is going on around us inspite of the Pandemic.
