After being sent home during Spring 2020 the Office of Residence Life changed the way it functioned. With that, student staff like resident assistants also had to change how they did their jobs. Creating community, health and safety checks, and engagement opportunities were all completed virtually. As many discovered, going to college via zoom came with many difficulties. What about when campuses were opening back up? What about the uncertainties regarding the growing pandemic after Spring 2020? In preparation for Fall 2020 and anticipation of re-opening residence halls, policy changes were made. Students were also asked to join the "Protect St. Mary's Pledge", a commitment to holding ourselves and our community accountable, ensuring we take the necessary precautions and follow policy. The Office of Residence Life and resident assistants were at the forefront of enforcing these new policies and keeping dorm halls safe. Resident assistants played a significant role in trying to make campus and residence life a bit normal again by creating community and engaging with residents, this time while taking covid-19 precautions. In a time of great transition and uncertainty, resident assistants served as student health ambassadors and vessels for the University's mission and policies.

This is an image from the Anzac Day match at the MCG on the 25th of April 2021. Returning to the MCG for AFL matches was one the more ‘normal’ things we could do at the start of the year. When this game was held, it was the largest crowd recorded at a sporting event in the world. The Anzac round is my favourite round of the year and it felt amazing that footy was back and Melbourne was covid free. A couple weeks later the AFL team I support - the Collingwood Magpies - saw its lowest ever recorded attendance at the MCG since 1940, as AFL returned, many of their supporters chose not to attend games, this may be due to how our team was performing or the capacity limits. Just looking back at this photo in lockdown makes me question how we thought we were ‘back to normal’ at the start of the year, when we were so far from it.

This is a card my siblings and I wrote for our dad. In September my father was sent into emergency as he had to have a quadruple bypass. It was rather scary as no one could visit him whilst he was recovering. We are extremely lucky that his surgery got pushed forward by his cardiologist as now our public healthcare system is now struggling and surgeries like what my dad had are being postponed. His surgery was even postponed as another cardiology ward in a nearby hospital had a covid outbreak so the nurses and doctors at his hospital had to work over there. My dad came home a couple days after Father’s Day (it was the first Father’s Day we didn’t spend with him in our lives) and is now feeling so much better. The first thing he told me when he came home was that he “never wants to get covid” because he was on a ventilator, and it was “the worst part” of the whole experience. I genuinely thought he was on the ventilator for a day or multiple days as he didn’t stop complaining about how bad it was - turns out he was only conscious with the ventilator in him for just under an hour.

This image I took down the St. Kilda pier. Someone had left various stickers that spread misinformation about covid, lockdowns and the vaccine. My friends and I decided it was best to remove these stickers as they are quite harmful. Living in Melbourne it has been so tiring watching ‘freedom protestors’ and people from far-right groups constantly spread misinformation and attend protests during stage 4 lockdowns (where we can only leave the house for the essentials). The fear-mongering these groups do its quite upsetting as I’ve seen my friends and some distant family members share their information on social media. The ‘anti-vaxxers’ and covid deniers even compare wearing a mask, getting vaccinated and being in lockdown to the Holocaust, which is so harmful and upsetting

This is an image of my younger siblings on their first day back at school! My sister started her first year of school last year, so her entire schooling experience has been broken up into periods of online learning. Everyone in her grade 1 class is struggling a bit as they haven’t had a proper experience of going to school. It is not mandatory for grades prep to 2 to be wearing face masks in class; however, my brother has been admitted to the hospital a couple of times when he has a bad asthma attack so we’re trying to be as careful as we can. As you can see there are mixed feelings attached to going back to class, both were excited to see their friends and teachers, but will miss spending the whole day at home with dad and me.

This is an image I took on the first night out of the last Melbourne lockdown! I went to my favourite pasta place in Melbourne for dinner and this was their way of making sure everyone they served was fully vaccinated and checked in. Once checking in the server gave us this little laminated slip we gave to the waiter in return for the menu, this ensured no one had sat down without checking in. In Melbourne, it is mandatory for all hospitality venues to have their staff and customers fully vaccinated.

This photo was taken on my 18th birthday, during my senior year of high school. I should have been in school, however the entire world was in quarantine due to the Coronavirus. I had no way of being able to have a normal birthday, so my parents decided to organize a drive through birthday party for me where my friends and family came through in my driveway and waved to me and left gifts. While very unexpected from what I thought my 18th birthday was going to be, I think it shows that despite the conditions, people were loving and passionate enough to participate in something like this for me.

This is a pdf of the resident assistant job description when St. Mary's University decided to go virtual. The described duties of the resident assistant showcase how St. Mary's Residence life was trying to serve students regardless of being off-campus. The job description really shows the sense of community that exists on campus and persevered virtually. As a freshman during Spring 2020, I along with many others, never expected to be sent home. I also never expected an institution to care so much about the well-being of its students especially when the whole world was in chaos at the time. However, as seen here, even student staff like resident assistants reached out and made themselves available to their peers. Resident assistants had 1:1 conversations with residents at home designed to check-in and share resources. Even the resident assistants themselves were required to have one-on-one meetings with their supervisors also to check-in. While student staff was trying to facilitate community and safety virtually, they too were being taken care of by residence life.

Time can only tell what the future holds in front of us. Two years into this pandemic and time had drained, some having more in the hour glass than others. Cherish the times where you are able to do your favorite things with family. When the time strikes, the unpredictable occurs without a warning in sight. Never take advantage of items in your possession. Never make complaints. Never compare your life to others. The human body is unpredictable to even the highest honor of physicians, be attentive towards loved ones. Most importantly, cherish your own circumstances; there will be days of sorrow and days of joy. Live life to the fullest before your time has reached the gotten of the hole.

Continuing the Heritage is a wonderful event that St. Mary’s puts on for its students and staff. It allows all members of the university to participate in a day of service, offering over 30 volunteer opportunities to join on that day. CTH not only brings the student community together but also connects the students to the city of San Antonio and its community. Even with Covid, when everything went remote, St. Mary’s still found ways to make CTH happen and found opportunities for students to volunteer remotely. This year was my second time participating in CTH and I really enjoyed it. The first time I did it was freshman year and I worked with No Graffiti SA and this year I helped in the library at Locke Hill Elementary School. Both times were very fun and rewarding as I got to not only volunteer with friends but also be able to spend some time giving back to my community even during a pandemic.

The text story would be about my feelings toward COVID-19. It is sad that I don't remember much of what life was like before the pandemic hit. The masks, the social distancing, the looks you get when you have a runny nose. There are so many theories in regards to COVID-19 and much like anything else, everyone has their own opinion. Some revolve their lives around it, others don't care about. Personally, I'm not scared of the pandemic, I'm not vaccinated, nor do I get worried when people around me test positive for it. It is important to me because it has significantly changed our lives for the worse. We miss out on extremely important events and experiences. In my opinion, much of this should be a choice. If you want to wear a mask, wear one. If you want to social distance, do it. If you want to get vaccinated, get vaccinated.

A blog post from Banner Health about helping children take a Covid-19 test

A blog post from Banner Health about helping children during Covid-19.

A blog post from Banner Health about managing stress and anxiety during Covid-19.

A screenshot of when my college announced that our basketball arena would house the first mass vaccination center in our state. I sent this to my family because I thought it was so cold my college got this opportunity. Most of my family got vaccinated here and it was so well run and easy!

These two photographs were taken in April 2020 during Easter. My neighbourhood decided to come together and do something special for the kids - many families participated and placed teddy bears on their windows facing the footpath. This created a 'Bear Hunt' trail for children and their families to participate in. I decided to take a walk around my neighbourhood to experience this for myself and it has become one of my most memorable moments during the COVID-19 lockdown. Many children and their families were walking around socially distanced, and strangers I had never seen before would wave at me across the streets and exchange greetings. The sense of community was really strong and it felt like everyone was together, in solidarity, even amidst the toughest of times.

Supalonley by BENEE is a song that rose to prominence on social media platform Tik Tok. In 2020 when millions of people were in lockdown with little to do, sites like Tok Tok saw their userbases skyrocket. This had a colossal effect on the music industry, as songs that became trends on Tik Tok could easily transfer that success to the charts. This was the experience of Supalonley. The song's snarky self-depreciation appealed to the young generation on Tik Tok who used it as a catharsis for the youth they were losing, and this popularity propelled it to mainstream success. The music video, set mostly in a suburban house, was also a familiar setting for people in lockdown. HIST30060

HIST30060: This photo of the back of my work uniform shows how workplaces were affected by the restrictions of the pandemic. Hardware stores were able to stay open to trade customers and for "click and collect" purchases during Melbourne's lockdowns, which meant a change to our normal work routines. Staff were charged with the responsibility of making sure customers wore masks, checked in with the QR codes and practiced social distancing throughout the store. These necessary rules were challenging to enforce sometimes and customers could often be disgruntled and unhappy with these changes. This message on the back of the uniform was in keeping with the atmosphere of working during this period and symbolises our adjustment to "covid normal" practices.

(HIST30060) This photo is of a drawing by one of my housemates of part of a postcard that we received during the first lockdown in 2020. Conspiracy theories surrounding the virus and 5G had just begun to spread during Melbourne's first lockdown, yet my housemates and I felt quite removed from this phenomenon as our social circle mainly consisted of other young, progressive students who were very against these sorts of theories. Receiving this postcard in the mail however, was quite a shock, knowing that people close to us in our area of Melbourne shared these beliefs. Whilst we initially found the image of a man with a hole cut out of his mask humorous, hence the drawing, we were also astounded at the intensity of the covid-scam propaganda. This also marked my first taste of the bitter divide that was to come between pro and anti vaxxers in 2021.

HIST30060: This screenshot of my auntie's birthday celebration on zoom would be a familiar scene to many. This is one of the many ways my family had to adjust to "covid normal". Birthdays always involve a big gathering and a way for everyone to catch up; losing this was really disheartening . However, this photo also represents the resilience of my family in still being able to find a way to be together, even if zoom felt like a poor substitute. Zoom was and still is a crucial part of many people's lives in the pandemic, yet can create a barrier for those who find the interface challenging to use. Elderly members of my family often found zoom quite tiring and hard to use, creating a further barrier to connecting in lockdown.

This poem was written in May of 2020 during Melbourne's first official lockdown. This poem was written for a University assignment and was published in an anthology in September 2021. I wasn't deliberately trying to write about the pandemic in this piece, however the long days at home spent with housemates, playing board games and watching reality tv, crept into the piece. This medication on the beauty of domestic mundanity reflects how people had to adjust their perspectives on constantly being home. Unless there was a way to find joy and beauty in the everyday it would have been impossible to get through the tough, lengthy restrictions.

(HIST30060) Like the people that learnt to bake sourdough, completed dozens of puzzles or took up running; I decided that learning to knit would serve to occupy the time between work and study that didn't involve Netflix. This represents how I benefitted in part from Melbourne's lengthy lockdowns, as opposed to people who may have struggled with added responsibilities like guiding children through schooling on zoom or working in healthcare on the frontlines of the pandemic. Knitting also acted as something I could mark my time with; this picture was taken on my birthday when I decided to make my first jumper. Instead of remembering this time as purely disheartening, with the news of a re instating of lockdown in late August 2020, I also remember it as an exciting period where I really honed in on my new craft.

In a year that saw tens of thousands of live performances cancelled across the world, the music industry grappled with how to adapt to the covid cimate. The 2020 MTV VMAs (Video Music Awards) showcased the innovations undertaken by performers in order to continue their work. Masks were a particularly big theme, used not only for protection but also as part of costuming in Lady Gaga and Doja Cat's performances. The lack of a designated stage also allowed for creative set pieces, such as The Weeknd performing on a rooftop filmed by helicopter, the ultimate social distance filming. Watching the VMAs and these live performances was incredibly uplifting for music fans who had missed out on concerts, and although the pandemic was far from over when this was recorded, it was a needed semblance of hope for the arts community. HIST30060

During Melbourne’s first lockdown in 2020, movements to bring joy to the few remaining active public spaces were organised over social media and among local communities. One trend was pavement art that encouraged the walker to “laugh”, “pick up some rubbish” and “strike a pose” on their permitted hour of exercise. These minor artworks expressed an optimism in community strength at the early stages of the pandemic; they expressed, too, a resilience in Melbourne’s identity as a city of art and culture. By the second lockdown in August 2020 the chalk had been washed away and there was little to replace it. Creating community from inside our own homes, it turned out, was much harder to sustain than anyone had imagined. Submitted for University of Melbourne HIST30060, Semester 2 2021.

Melbourne Cup Day, 2021. My family has always made time for good food and good drink during the races. Today, though, started with a barbecued sausage in white bread from Bunnings. The return of the community fundraiser sausage sizzle at Bunnings hardware stores has been the subject of memes and jokes throughout yet another long winter lockdown: it is, so the joke goes, the best symbol of freedom we have. The sausage sizzle has a peculiar cultural import in Australia. In recent years, the election day tradition of fundraising has been called the “democracy sausage”, a signifier of the national democratic culture. The “freedom sausage” seems to be in the same category. After months at home, it is the simple things like browsing pot plants and lumber that are most appealing. Only select Bunnings, apparently, were approved to resume sizzles this weekend, so I was glad to take advantage of it. Submitted for University of Melbourne HIST30060, Semester 2 2021.

In 2020, the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Melbourne posted a tiny bag of cement to each second-year engineering student to create a miniature concrete column for their final assessment. In ordinary times, these students would have visited one of the city’s megaprojects to watch a concrete pour, but with construction barely operating and site visits banned, this was how the theory of the concrete mix was put into practice. There was a “slump test” to gauge the pliability of the mix and then the finished product could be assessed for its strength. My slump was good; my column, I suspect, would have failed at its base due to an overabundance of aggregate. For me, it was the highlight of a year of online study, and perhaps even more rewarding than it might have been in ordinary times. Now, I have a treasured (and very heavy) paperweight by which to remember my experience. Submitted for University of Melbourne HIST30060, Semester 2 2021.

As Melbourne moved out of its second winter in lockdown, my Irish dancing classes moved from Zoom to South Melbourne Beach to take advantage of the rules allowing outdoor sport training in small groups. Having to contend with the sun, wind and rain was a new experience for a very indoor activity; so was training in full view of the fascinated public. It was a spectacular chance to post on social media in the setting sun, however. The beach was packed every weeknight with people like us enjoying their outdoor exercise, more than it had ever been before the pandemic. At the rules eased and allowed more indoor activities, people disappeared from the courts and walking paths. Eventually, we returned to indoor activities too. Submitted for University of Melbourne HIST30060, Semester 2 2021.

If there is one song that defined the 2020 experience, it was Blinding Lights by the Weeknd. It was the most-streamed song of the year and achieved widespread commercial and critical success. Despite being released at the end of January before Covid had shut down North America, the imagery of empty Las Vegas streets and abandoned roads in the music video became an iconic part of lockdown life- the feeling of being alone and disoriented in a place that feels almost familiar. The frantic pace general insanity of the video was also a key part of this song's success as the world spiralled into the pandemic at a breakneck speed.

As Melbourne’s second wave crested and fell in mid-2020, “the presser” was appointment viewing; “the number” could bring hope or despair. Sometime in the dreary days of lockdown, my family started guessing how many cases would be reported each day. Keeping a running tally of who was closest to the pin. Perhaps it was a way of taking control of the uncontrollable. Dealing with the apparent randomness of the numbers that controlled every aspect of our lives. Some of the scraps of paper we used to write on were time capsules of a vanished world: a rough sketch of enrolments for the second half of my BA; an invoice from a tradesman; a reminder note to pick someone up from hospital. Plans, visitors, outings – all overwritten by inexorable quotidian sameness. Submitted for University of Melbourne HIST30060, Semester 2 2021.

As the number one song in Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2020, Heat Waves is a song that is irrevocably linked to the Covid 19 pandemic. While its lyrics about loss and longing and the inability to fix anything aren't specifically about the pandemic, its themes resonated with audiences as they mourned the loss of their old lives and lamented over their helplessness. Although it was released in 2020, its popularity continues to grow in 2021, proving the song's staying power. The music video is incredibly unique and truly representative of the time, capturing how neighbours and strangers struggled to connect despite lockdowns and physical barriers. In a comment under the YouTube music video, Glass Animals wrote: "this video is a love letter to live music and the culture and togetherness surrounding it. It was filmed at the peak of the lockdown in my neighbourhood in East London by the lovely people who live around me, just using their phones. These are people who are usually out at shows, in galleries, going to cinemas etc. These venues are left empty now, and many of them will not survive. The song is about loss and longing, and ultimately realizing you are unable to save something...and this video is about that but for art, being together, and human contact. Huge love and thank you’s to everyone who got involved and helped out. When everyone was leaning out of their windows filming, I felt that same sense of togetherness and spine-tingling energy that happened at live shows. It made the coldness of performing to an empty room with the band stuck on screens feel even more heart-breaking." HIST30060

Taylor Swift was a defining artist in the 2010s. As her following grew, she ventured further into pop and spectacle, but with the sudden onset of Covid and its subsequent lockdowns, Swift changed her music style to a minimalist folk aesthetic. The song "exile" featuring Bon Iver captured the melancholic and rundown emotions of the general public by the end of 2020 and was a cathartic experience. "Exile" and its accompanying album "Folklore" were widely praised and "Folklore" went on to become the best-selling album of 2020. The music video for "exile" shows how music production changed during the pandemic. In the video, Swift and Bon Iver's Justin Vernon are seen sitting in separate home studios, as they never met in person to record the song due to travel restrictions. All the musicians featured are socially distanced and Vernon is wearing a face covering. There are also no special effects, a small budget, and a simple editing style, which stands in contrast to Swift's pre-pandemic music videos. HIST30060

This is a photograph from my first journal entry after lockdown began. It shows what I think was a fairly common welcomed feeling to the lockdown, before we knew how serious things would get. I recall being excited to have some time to focus on writing and exercise without the distractions of work. How quickly those feelings changed...

This is a text message I received from the manager of the bar that I work at. It shows the frustration of beleaguered hospitality workers with the difficulties of enforcing government rules such as mask mandates and vaccination certificates as a condition of entry.

This screenshot of a pub's 'freedom menu' captures the way that people's opinions lockdown measures have been expressed in strange ways. It also highlights the unusual propensity for anti-lockdown opinions to elevate their struggle to that of great civil rights movements of history with their persistent use of terminology like segregation.

This pamphlet was dropped into my letter box during the height of Melbourne's anti-lockdown protests. It speaks to the religious aspects of the anti-lockdown movement.

The screenshot for a post lockdown birthday shows the enthusiasm for reopening and recommencing social life, but is tempered by the restrictions still in place.

The 'Mir Kumen On' Yiddish Choir, affiliated with the Jewish Labour Bund Melbourne, migrated to Zoom at the beginning of the pandemic and returned there at each lockdown and, depending on the how restrictions affected singing indoors, during non-lockdown periods. Holding choir sessions over the internet isn't easy, for example, participants are required to be on mute during songs so that there isn't lag, overlap, and interruption issues. Therefore while singing, one can only hear the pianist, Tomi Kalinski, who runs the sessions. But it's still an absolutely enjoyable time, seeing everyone and singing the soulful Yiddish songs, even if it's only to yourself. There have been some benefits too: with the online platform, Yiddish lovers from around the world have been able to join our little Melbourne choir, including from France and Scotland. The weekly zoom choir sessions have definitely lightened some of the darkest periods of my lockdown experience.

During the lockdowns and COVID restrictions in Melbourne, Jewish communities found ways to connect. Especially important are the Friday evening services for Shabbat. Kehilat Kolenu, a Humanistic Jewish organisation held zoom meetings in place of their usual Kabbalat Shabbat services. Especially during the loneliest, most isolating periods in my lockdown experience, these zoom meetings where I could hear the songs of my culture helped me feel spiritually and socially reconnected. HIST30060

My story happened precisely a month after our national lockdown in Saudi Arabia, which was in March 2020, at that time I was applying for a scholarship to continue my higher education degree anywhere in the West, either in The UK or The United States, so my dream began to almost vanish after applying for one of the UK universities and they asked for an IELTS score, though I told them IELTS centers were shut down in Saudi Arabia at that time, unfortunately, they just assumed I had no other alternative rather than sticking with that condition! no exceptions! no mercy in another word you could say! though I have provided them with a very recent IELTS score very close to the overall score they asked for, I even begged them and asked them for any alternative test they could provide me since I explained to them the situation that no IELTS / TOFEL venues were open! , they just put me down and made me search for another option, which was Pitt one of the top PA or even nationwide universities to provide with accredited graduate Master of Library and Information Science. luckily when I applied they pre-accepted my application and they gave me an option which I never thought about it as a way of such a good university as Pitt would accept it, since that kind of online test was newly launched. so I fought a lot to get that offer letter to provide it to the scholarship provider as I had little hope to meet that condition of having the offer letter on that particular short notice deadline and the very deadly period of the peak of the global disaster of covid19. I THANK YOU VERY MUCH FROM THE DEPTH OF MY HEART, 1- PITT ADMISSIONS STAFF FOR PROVIDING ME THAT ALTERNATIVE OPTION OF PROVIDING THEM WITH AN ACCEPTABLE ONLINE ENGLISH TEST. 2- DUOLINGO FOR BEING THERE FOR US AT THAT HARD TIME! 3-MY SCHOLARSHIP PROVIDER FOR ALLOWING ME TO CONTINUE MY FURTHER STUDIES IN ONE OF THE TOP UNIVERSITIES OF THE UNITED STATES.

In the wake of the anti-lockdown riots that gripped Melbourne in September 2021, the Campaign Against Fascism movement disseminated the phrase Pro-Vax, Pro-Union, Anti-Fascist. Inspired by this, Link/לינק, a zine associated with the Jewish Labour Bund in Melbourne, posted a poster to their Instagram account, of their take on this messaging, including the shouting man from early twentieth-century Bund posters. The poster was also physically published in the zine's second edition in October 2021. HIST30060

"Be a Mench, Wear a Mask." Sounds like a Jewish superhero slogan! This poster, using the Yiddish word 'mench' or 'mentsh,' "a person of integrity and honor," published in the Australian Jewish News has been cut out and stuck onto the door of the Jewish Studies (ייִדישע שטודיעס) office, alongside a sign expressing the limit of people inside the room. There has been unclear government mandates on mask wearing inside schools, mainly when it comes to standing at the head of a classroom, but this poster has reminded all walking past the JS office of the mask's importance throughout the pandemic.

Melbourne's state of rolling lockdowns through the second half of 2021 played havoc with the performing arts industry. 'Durkh A Modnem Gloz' ('Through A Strange Lens'), staged by the Kadimah Jewish Cultural Centre in Elsternwick, a Yiddish cabaret performed by Galit Klas (with English translation surtitles created and operated by me) was an event that had to be rescheduled multiple times. As seen in the first image, the original performance dates were listed June 23-27, but was postponed to July 21-25 due to insufficient rehearsal time, thanks to the lockdown ending 10th June. With a new lockdown coming into effect on Thursday 15th of July, new dates were again required. In the Facebook post on the 21st of July (screenshotted and posted here), the Kadimah Jewish Cultural Centre officially announced the postponement. These new dates were set for August 4-8, but the opening night was the only show performed as Lockdown 6 was announced and came into effect on Thursday 5th. Now with that lockdown finally over, will ‘Durkh A Modne Gloz’ finally get the full season it deserves? (Uploaded as a part of my university studies: HIST30060)

Pictured here is the 2021 Ormond College Scholar’s Dinner. This event has a long history at the College as a celebration of academic excellence. Yet in 2021 it looked a little different than in previous years. In this image you can see the hallmarks of the COVID-19 pandemic – mask wearing, seated social distancing and individual, single serve drinks. Nevertheless, many of the rich traditions of the College can still be seen – a formal hall, the use of the original dining hall and the wearing of academic gowns. There is both continuity and change within this image. In this, it gives insight into a tension felt by many during the pandemic – the desire to hold onto the past, but the need to be adaptive. HIST30060

Pictured here is the Melbourne Royal Exhibition Building during its time as a COVID-19 Vaccination Centre. This building has had a plethora of purposes throughout its history. For me, it was once my university exam hall, and now in August 2021 it was the site of my first Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination. In this, one is given a glimpse into the transformations that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to life in Melbourne. The city itself still exists, almost entirely unchanged, but the way we live our lives within it has been radically re-shaped by this pandemic. HIST30060

Pictured here is my Victorian border entry permit, issued in January 2021. At this time, due to Australian state and territory border closures, all people entering the state of Victoria were required to hold a government-issued border entry permit. To be eligible for this permit, one had to have spent the previous fourteen days in a so-called ‘green zone’, that is, an area deemed by the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services to be of low COVID risk. Embodied then within this permit is the impact of COVID-19 on the daily lives of Australians. While once able to freely travel, government permission was now required for movement across state and territory borders. These restrictions placed immense financial and emotional strain on many Australians throughout 2020 and 2021, including myself. Note: For privacy reasons, personal information has been redacted from this document HIST30060

This here is the journal entry I wrote on my first night in 14-day mandatory hotel quarantine at the Northern Territory’s Howard Springs Quarantine Facility in January 2021. At this time, in an effort to control the spread of covid, movement between many Australian states and territories required mandatory hotel quarantine upon arrival. For many, including myself, this process was filled with anxiety and uncertainty. Yet simultaneously, a sense of excitement and adventure. This journal entry gives insight into the complexities of emotions associated with the Australian Covid-19 Hotel Quarantine System. HIST30060

This is a beautiful contraption that sprung up on my street during the lockdowns in Naarm/Melbourne. It’s also a startling localised act of care, likely by a child, and it gave me lots of joy walking past it to the shops everyday.

The local basketball courts near my house were closed due to risk of contamination with COVID-19, much to the dismay of my sweet young neighbours.

During the lockdowns in Naarm/Melbourne I was lucky enough to have access to a lot of musical instruments through my partner, who is a musician. I channelled a lot of my fear and worry into learning to play piano again, I had learnt as a child. I found this incredibly rewarding. It carried me through. Here’s me masked up with my portable synthesiser.

I am a radio presenter and producer and during the lockdowns in Naarm/Melbourne I had to learn how to remote record and broadcast my content. I found myself hushing my housemates in order to record hour-long content from my headphone mic, very solo and DIY. It felt good to be part of a greater community project, broadcasting punk, DIY, and political chat to our regular listeners through the lockdowns.