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Collected Item: “COVID-Safe Birthday Parties”

Give your story a title.

COVID-Safe Birthday Parties

What sort of object is this: text story, photograph, video, audio interview, screenshot, drawing, meme, etc.?

Photographs

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 attached collage of photos displays the COVID-19 birthday parties that have become so well-known in my family over the past year and a half. After a few birthdays were skipped over due to uncertainty at the beginning of the pandemic, my family decided to do birthdays that would be distanced, outdoors, and masked. Unlike the passing of the months, which was meaningless when we were stuck indoors, the changing colors of the “Happy Birthday” sign added a sense of progress and individuality to each celebration. However, these photos, identical aside from the color scheme, are a reminder of the restrictions of the pandemic. While the decorations changed, the masks, socially distant tables, and disposable plates did not. Outdoor family gatherings at my house had once been a choice. However, during this pandemic, we did not have the option to eat indoors on a hot day or go to my uncle’s backyard where social distancing was more challenging.
This collage of photos is relevant not just to illustrate ways in which our lives have changed during the pandemic, but also how we have adapted and maintained our values. These photos reflect what my life has centered around during the pandemic: attempting to engage in my normal activities in a safe manner. This is surely a sentiment that many can relate to. Thus, I feel that, in the future, these photos can demonstrate the adjustments that were made in order to maintain family values and a semblance of normal life.

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?

#ENGL1260, #VanderbiltU

Who originally created this object? (If you created this object, such as photo, then put "self" here.)

Brandon Lipper

Give this story a date.

2020
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