Item
Leana Fraifer Oral History, 2020/09/18
Media
Title (Dublin Core)
Leana Fraifer Oral History, 2020/09/18
Description (Dublin Core)
Leana Fraifer is an incoming college freshman for Northeastern University. Her experiences this past half year embodies the struggles and uncertainties so many students like her face.
Recording Date (Dublin Core)
09/18/2020
Creator (Dublin Core)
Sean Wenzel
Leana Fraifer
Partner (Dublin Core)
Northeastern University
Type (Dublin Core)
Audio Interview
Controlled Vocabulary (Dublin Core)
English
Education--K12
English
Education--Universities
English
Home & Family Life
Curator's Tags (Omeka Classic)
quarantine
mask
college
high school
anxious
summer
senior year
Boston
Collection (Dublin Core)
K-12
Lost Graduations
Date Submitted (Dublin Core)
09/20/2020
Date Modified (Dublin Core)
11/17/2020
11/19/2020
04/14/2021
05/24/2022
Date Created (Dublin Core)
09/18/2020
Interviewer (Bibliographic Ontology)
Sean Wenzel
Interviewee (Bibliographic Ontology)
Leana Fraifer
Location (Omeka Classic)
Northeastern University
Boston
Massachusetts
02115
United States of America
Format (Dublin Core)
audio
Language (Dublin Core)
english
Duration (Omeka Classic)
00:07:34
abstract (Bibliographic Ontology)
Leana Fraifer is an incoming college freshman for Northeastern University. Her experiences this past half year embodies the struggles and uncertainties so many students like her face.
Transcription (Omeka Classic)
Sean Wenzel 00:00
It is currently September 18, at 2:30pm. Leana Fraifer lived in Tampa, Florida with her one older and one younger brother, as well as her one sister, and she's an incoming freshman at Northeastern University. Leanna. Do you consented to being this interview and any information which might be said?
Leana Fraifer 00:21
I do.
SW 00:23
Thank you. Being a high school senior during the beginning of pandemic sounds like a unique experience, could you tell us a little bit more on how going into quarantine affected your school life academically and socially as well?
LF 00:37
I would say that towards the beginning, it was like, I didn't quite believe it. I remember the day before spring break. Like some kids were worried about not going back. And to me, that didn't really seem like a possibility. I guess I didn't quite have as much information. But also then it wasn't a widely known thing. So I would say towards the beginning, I didn't believe it. But as like the end of spring break came, it wasn't looking like we were coming back anytime soon. And I think I definitely still have hope, even towards like the end of May, that maybe we would come back for at least a little bit. But that hope definitely disappeared pretty quickly.
LF 01:22
Yeah.
SW 01:23
Yeah, no, that makes sense. But like, how did your relationship with your family changed at all?
LF 01:30
I would say that, like in the summer, it was nice to know that I had my older brother came back from college. And then two of my cousins came back from college and stayed with us over the summer, because they weren't able to go back home to Lebanon. And they, it was nice to have like all eight of us in one one house. And there was a lot of like family bonding time, which we definitely wouldn't have had. And that's, I think, a positive that I have from the pandemic. Because without that we wouldn't have all been together this summer. Like even my brother wouldn't have come back to the summer to work at college. And I think it was nice that we were all able to be together. And we were all able to have that time to distinctly like get to bond again, just like get to know each other.
SW 02:24
Yea. Sounds nice.
SW 02:29
Did the quarantine make you feel like anxious about the present? Or the future? Or did you like learn new things about yourself and find a chance to work at your own pace and relax?
LF 02:38
I think towards the beginning, it was relaxing to know that I had just a little bit of a break. But I think as it seemed to keep getting longer, I felt like I needed to be doing something. I felt like there was something I should be doing with all this free time. And I just wasn't making the most of it, which I think created some anxious anxiety. But I think also the fact that we didn't know when it was going to end was a big part of my anxiety towards it. And just not knowing how long it's gonna last. When everything's going to get back to normal or if it's going to get back to normal. Yeah, it was a little stressful.
SW 03:18
During the like, beginning of the pandemic, were you more worried about the spread of the virus than you were in latter months, despite the overall risk of contracting the virus increasing?
LF 03:27
I don't think so. I think for me, it was more like at the beginning. I didn't know anyone who had it. And I didn't know like, it didn't seem quite as real because it was just on the news. And I wasn't really experiencing it in my daily life. Sure, everyone was like wearing masks and staying at home. But I didn't like really think about it until the later months where it was like bigger numbers and where I lived in Florida. And they actually started to know people that were getting it and people that were getting being affected by it. So I think that's when it got a lot scarier in terms of like, I should stay safe. And I should feel a little bit more careful with who I'm interacting with and where I'm going.
SW 04:15
Yeah. Was COVID-19 something that was talked about a lot in your household. And it's so did ever become like, exhausting here.
LF 04:23
Yeah, it was definitely the main topic of conversation every night during dinner. I feel like even just with my friends, like that was the only thing that was being talked about. It felt like there was nothing else important that warranted the conversation. So that kind of got frustrating quickly, especially when, like, I was just tired of hearing about it.
SW 04:46
Did you ever feel somewhat cheated that you never got the senior or college freshmen experience? If so, do you blame it like anyone or anything or did the fact that everyone was everyone was undergoing the same thing make you feel more at ease?
LF 04:59
I think towards Beginning, like my natural response was to feel bad for myself because I knew I was really looking forward to like finally relaxing my senior year, like, once I actually knew where I was going to college and like, have that senior year to say goodbye to all my friends. So I was in the same school for 14 years. So it was like, definitely a big thing to go somewhere new. But I think as like time went on, I like thought more about like, other people in this pandemic, and I thought more about how, even if it wasn't, like, quite as monumental, everyone was losing something because of this pandemic. So it's hard for me to like, still feel bad about myself and bad. For my experience, when people are going through a lot more difficult times, especially those that like, their home life wasn't as good, or they like I didn't ever have to worry about like, if I was going to be able to get food. Or if I could stay with a roof over my head, or like access to internet or anything like that, like, that was all a given. And I never had to worry about it. But I know other people did. And it was hard for me to still pity myself knowing that other people were struggling a lot more than I was
SW 06:11
Totally, what was like the general consensus near community or school where people angry or you understand in, etc.
LF 06:20
I feel like not everyone was as understanding as they should be. I think some people were very hesitant to, like, always wear masks or wear masks properly, or take the proper measures that needed to like, prevent the spread of the virus, which is kind of frustrating for me, because, like, I know that I'd be willing to do anything to keep the people around me safe. But for other people that wasn't as important as being comfortable or keeping themselves safe. So it was frustrating that some people in my community were not as willing to wear their masks or abide by these requirements.
SW 06:58
Did the attention you receive being in a unique position as a as a high school senior during the pandemic ever feel annoying or unwarranted?
LF 07:07
Yeah, I think also just because, for me, my situation wasn't as bad as everyone else's. Because I did get a graduation and my school did try its best to make an interesting and to the year, like the attention wasn't needed on me as it was on other people.
SW 07:28
Well, thank you so much. This has really been great.
LF 07:31
Thank you.
It is currently September 18, at 2:30pm. Leana Fraifer lived in Tampa, Florida with her one older and one younger brother, as well as her one sister, and she's an incoming freshman at Northeastern University. Leanna. Do you consented to being this interview and any information which might be said?
Leana Fraifer 00:21
I do.
SW 00:23
Thank you. Being a high school senior during the beginning of pandemic sounds like a unique experience, could you tell us a little bit more on how going into quarantine affected your school life academically and socially as well?
LF 00:37
I would say that towards the beginning, it was like, I didn't quite believe it. I remember the day before spring break. Like some kids were worried about not going back. And to me, that didn't really seem like a possibility. I guess I didn't quite have as much information. But also then it wasn't a widely known thing. So I would say towards the beginning, I didn't believe it. But as like the end of spring break came, it wasn't looking like we were coming back anytime soon. And I think I definitely still have hope, even towards like the end of May, that maybe we would come back for at least a little bit. But that hope definitely disappeared pretty quickly.
LF 01:22
Yeah.
SW 01:23
Yeah, no, that makes sense. But like, how did your relationship with your family changed at all?
LF 01:30
I would say that, like in the summer, it was nice to know that I had my older brother came back from college. And then two of my cousins came back from college and stayed with us over the summer, because they weren't able to go back home to Lebanon. And they, it was nice to have like all eight of us in one one house. And there was a lot of like family bonding time, which we definitely wouldn't have had. And that's, I think, a positive that I have from the pandemic. Because without that we wouldn't have all been together this summer. Like even my brother wouldn't have come back to the summer to work at college. And I think it was nice that we were all able to be together. And we were all able to have that time to distinctly like get to bond again, just like get to know each other.
SW 02:24
Yea. Sounds nice.
SW 02:29
Did the quarantine make you feel like anxious about the present? Or the future? Or did you like learn new things about yourself and find a chance to work at your own pace and relax?
LF 02:38
I think towards the beginning, it was relaxing to know that I had just a little bit of a break. But I think as it seemed to keep getting longer, I felt like I needed to be doing something. I felt like there was something I should be doing with all this free time. And I just wasn't making the most of it, which I think created some anxious anxiety. But I think also the fact that we didn't know when it was going to end was a big part of my anxiety towards it. And just not knowing how long it's gonna last. When everything's going to get back to normal or if it's going to get back to normal. Yeah, it was a little stressful.
SW 03:18
During the like, beginning of the pandemic, were you more worried about the spread of the virus than you were in latter months, despite the overall risk of contracting the virus increasing?
LF 03:27
I don't think so. I think for me, it was more like at the beginning. I didn't know anyone who had it. And I didn't know like, it didn't seem quite as real because it was just on the news. And I wasn't really experiencing it in my daily life. Sure, everyone was like wearing masks and staying at home. But I didn't like really think about it until the later months where it was like bigger numbers and where I lived in Florida. And they actually started to know people that were getting it and people that were getting being affected by it. So I think that's when it got a lot scarier in terms of like, I should stay safe. And I should feel a little bit more careful with who I'm interacting with and where I'm going.
SW 04:15
Yeah. Was COVID-19 something that was talked about a lot in your household. And it's so did ever become like, exhausting here.
LF 04:23
Yeah, it was definitely the main topic of conversation every night during dinner. I feel like even just with my friends, like that was the only thing that was being talked about. It felt like there was nothing else important that warranted the conversation. So that kind of got frustrating quickly, especially when, like, I was just tired of hearing about it.
SW 04:46
Did you ever feel somewhat cheated that you never got the senior or college freshmen experience? If so, do you blame it like anyone or anything or did the fact that everyone was everyone was undergoing the same thing make you feel more at ease?
LF 04:59
I think towards Beginning, like my natural response was to feel bad for myself because I knew I was really looking forward to like finally relaxing my senior year, like, once I actually knew where I was going to college and like, have that senior year to say goodbye to all my friends. So I was in the same school for 14 years. So it was like, definitely a big thing to go somewhere new. But I think as like time went on, I like thought more about like, other people in this pandemic, and I thought more about how, even if it wasn't, like, quite as monumental, everyone was losing something because of this pandemic. So it's hard for me to like, still feel bad about myself and bad. For my experience, when people are going through a lot more difficult times, especially those that like, their home life wasn't as good, or they like I didn't ever have to worry about like, if I was going to be able to get food. Or if I could stay with a roof over my head, or like access to internet or anything like that, like, that was all a given. And I never had to worry about it. But I know other people did. And it was hard for me to still pity myself knowing that other people were struggling a lot more than I was
SW 06:11
Totally, what was like the general consensus near community or school where people angry or you understand in, etc.
LF 06:20
I feel like not everyone was as understanding as they should be. I think some people were very hesitant to, like, always wear masks or wear masks properly, or take the proper measures that needed to like, prevent the spread of the virus, which is kind of frustrating for me, because, like, I know that I'd be willing to do anything to keep the people around me safe. But for other people that wasn't as important as being comfortable or keeping themselves safe. So it was frustrating that some people in my community were not as willing to wear their masks or abide by these requirements.
SW 06:58
Did the attention you receive being in a unique position as a as a high school senior during the pandemic ever feel annoying or unwarranted?
LF 07:07
Yeah, I think also just because, for me, my situation wasn't as bad as everyone else's. Because I did get a graduation and my school did try its best to make an interesting and to the year, like the attention wasn't needed on me as it was on other people.
SW 07:28
Well, thank you so much. This has really been great.
LF 07:31
Thank you.
This item was submitted on September 20, 2020 by Sean Wenzel using the form “Share Your Story” on the site “A Journal of the Plague Year”: http://mail.covid-19archive.org/s/archive
Click here to view the collected data.