Collected Item: “A Slow Year”
Give your story a title.
A Slow Year
What sort of object is this: text story, photograph, video, audio interview, screenshot, drawing, meme, etc.?
Text Story
Tell us a story; share your experience. Describe what the object or story you've uploaded says about the pandemic, and/or why what you've submitted is important to you.
The year of 2020, was slow, thought-provoking, frustrating, frightening and overall, quite overwhelming. The year began normally, with news of the Coronavirus across the world picking up steam. My family and friends were not concerned about immediately, it just seemed like another scary news story. It was not clear early on, that the world would come to a screeching halt. I often think about those last few weeks before everything changed. That would mark the last time I ate in a restaurant, saw a movie at the theater, enjoyed the unity and magic of a crowded concert, and I saw my friends. None of this was possible for almost an entire year and nothing could have prepared anyone for what this would feel like. Personally, I had been to Europe for the first time, the year prior, in 2019. This led me to have a unique outlook on the pandemic, and what it could mean for future travel. I could no longer pleasantly think about the crowded streets, museums and metros, without thinking about the germs. All of the sudden, I was acutely aware of germs, and the spread of them. I could not imagine being on a plane for an extended period of time or sitting that close to so many people. So much of the good feelings in life come from being with other people and experiencing how the world runs. It was honestly terrifying knowing that life was stopped and going to the grocery was now an operation of how not to catch this deadly virus. All plans of the future seemed ludicrous; how could we plan for anything? While the world is getting back to a place that looks familiar, its easy to forget just how scary it had gotten. Many people lost loved ones and were very ill themselves. People could not see their dying family members, for fear of dying themselves. People could not mourn probably, as funerals and usual death procedures were postponed. These are the affects of the pandemic that cannot ever feel normal again. We need to remember this time as a reflection of how lucky most of us are.
Use one-word hashtags (separated by commas) to describe your story. For example: Where did it originate? How does this object make you feel? How does this object relate to the pandemic?
#REL101
Who originally created this object? (If you created this object, such as photo, then put "self" here.)
Lauren Allen
Give this story a date.
2021-10-06