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2020-03-13
This video was taken on March 13, 2020 on my way home from my last day of in-person work at my gallery where I was employed at the time. I sent this video to my family who lived outside the city and the severity of the situation had not yet hit the town where they lived. Waiting on an empty subway platform after my workplace had shuttered its doors was surreal. I think many of us had a personal experience that we could identify as the moment when we were hit by the realization of how serious the pandemic was (and is).
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2021-10-12
This is a personal reflection on a challenge I faced with Covid-19 as an 8th grade teacher. Unfortunately, because I got Covid-19, I had to miss my students' promotion--a moment I had been looking forward to all year. I was so proud of my students, and I only wish I could have been there to congratulate them and wish them a final goodbye.
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2021-10-12
This is a personal reflection about how fear is an unavoidable consequence of pandemics.
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2021-10-12
This is a personal reflection on current issues regarding Covid-19 and social media censorship.
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2020-10-02
Back to school is always a scary day for kids, but it can be for teachers too--especially after getting used to remote learning for so long. 2020 was my first year as a teacher. I started teaching online, and we eventually transitioned back into the classroom. For me, it was my first time in the classroom. I was super nervous about teaching and about all of the risks involved with school reopening. Thankfully, my school administration helped make everyone feel comfortable, and we had a lot of fun celebrating the start of school! This is a picture with a coworker of mine, my "classroom neighbor."
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2021-09-07
As someone who has studied the history of disease and epidemics, I know that disease causes widespread fear and panic. The uncertainties and unknowns of disease cause people to question themselves, others, and even medical professionals. Sometimes, questioning and being skeptical is what saves lives. For example, questioning Dr. Rush's treatment methods in the yellow fever epidemic of Philadelphia or questioning miasma theory during the outbreaks of cholera in London. Recently, there have been cases of blood clots as a result of the Covid-19 vaccine. This is a screenshot of what WHO has to say about the blood clots and a comment from myself. While I would love to get the vaccine, and I was originally hopeful about getting it, I'm too scared and unsure what to do. Although WHO says cases of blood clots are rare, there are still many people like myself who are skeptical and only want to make the right decision for their own health and life. With talk of possible mandated vaccines, I am uncertain about what the future will look like for me and others like me.
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2021-09-07
As someone who has studied the history of disease and epidemics, I know that disease causes widespread fear and panic. The uncertainties and unknowns of disease cause people to question themselves, others, and even medical professionals. Sometimes, questioning and being skeptical is what saved lives. For example, questioning Dr. Rush's treatment methods in the yellow fever epidemic of Philadelphia or questioning miasma theory during the outbreaks of cholera in London. Recently, there have been cases of blood clots as a result of the Covid-19 vaccine. This is a screenshot of what WHO has to say about the blood clots and a comment from myself. While I would love to get the vaccine, and I was originally hopeful about getting it, I'm not too scared and unsure what to do. Although WHO says cases of blood clots are rare, there are still many people like myself who are skeptical and only want to make the right decision for their own health and life. With talk of possible mandated vaccines, I am uncertain about what the future will look like for me and others like me.
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2020-03-12
I am submitting a small glimpse of what life was life for me during Covid 19 and quarantine
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2021-07-29
After a year as subeditor, I was lucky enough to be appointed the 2021 editor of Chariot, the undergraduate history journal at the University of Melbourne. As an initiative to raise student engagement and make history more interesting, I worked with the university staff and one of our previous contributors of the journal in turning her essay into an exhibition in the university's Arts West building. Unfortunately, due to the lockdown, I was unable to see the exhibition in person myself, but the experience of putting it together from start to finish was a hugely rewarding one.
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2021-06-30
Before Melbourne went back to its fifth round of lockdowns, a friend and I bought tickets for an exhibition on French Impressionism at the National Gallery of Victoria. It was an absolutely amazing feeling, not only just being out of the house but also being able to see these famous paintings which I've only seen images of online previously up close. While nowhere near an expert on art or art history myself, my experience in working in a museum and putting together a small exhibition earlier in the year made me appreciate the carefully curated exhibition.
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2021-08-23
Due to the pandemic, I had to scrap my original plans of travelling after finishing my degree and to apply for jobs instead. I have always dreamed of working in economic policy, so I applied to the graduate economist program at the Australian Treasury in Canberra, my dream job. Going through the entire recruitment process remotely was a peculiar experience, and was, in some ways, even more daunting than doing in person interviews. When I finally received an offer, I felt that I was dreaming. In some ways, the lockdown was a blessing in disguise for me, as I would not have applied for the role if it was not for the pandemic disrupting my original plans.
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2021-06-23
Despite the lockdowns, there were a few brief periods throughout the year where Victorians were able to safely venture beyond a five kilometre radius of our homes. On the day I finished my semester one exams, I met up with a group of friends and together went bowling at Melbourne Central. While I received a rather embarrassingly low score, we all hugely enjoyed the feeling of being able to meet up and have fun in person to celebrate the end of exams. None of us would expect another round of lockdowns only a few weeks later, and looking back, I certainly wish I was able to cherish that night more.
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2020-12-27
Despite most activities being cancelled due to restrictions, I was lucky enough to score four free tickets to the Boxing Day Test cricket match in Melbourne at the MCG, and I brought three of my friends to the match. It was actually my first time at a live sporting event, so it was particularly memorable for me. Rather scarily, we soon found out a few days later that one of the spectators on that day would later test positive for COVID-19, leading me to take a COVID test myself, which thankfully turned out to be negative.
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2020-03-26
As an introvert, I never felt affected by a lot of the changes that took place when Covid struck. I stay at home most of the time if I am not at work, and I don't often go out in large social gatherings. I love my personal space, and I prefer the anonymity of wearing a mask. Sometimes, Covid felt like an excuse to stay home and do the things I love. This is not to underestimate the challenges that everyone faced; I just faced the challenges through my health and job, not social distancing or quarantining. These memes reflect a lighthearted view of what it was like to experience Covid as an introvert.
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2021-09-06
When COVID hit and schools were forced to shut down, education had to transform in many ways. Students began remote learning through video conferences and online tools like Google Classroom. Moving online not only took away a lot of the personal interaction and connection between students, but it made learning the content even more difficult. Students were less motivated, it was more difficult for them to ask questions and get their questions answered, and many students began to fall behind. Transitioning back into the classrooms has helped students begin to pick back up from where they left off with their class content, but there are still so many absences daily in classrooms all across the country. This article discusses the issue of how future generations will be impacted by the COVID education crisis.
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2021-01-25
Teachers all over the world had their entire profession change when Covid-19 struck. They had to take on more roles and wear new hats. This article shares the story of three teachers and their experience with remote learning and thoughts on returning to school.
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2020-05-11
The day I had worked so hard for had finally come, and I sat on my couch to celebrate. Years of dedication, essays, long lectures, early morning lectures, scholarship hunting, and finals stress had all amounted to me celebrating my graduation in my pajamas. It didn't feel real. I cried for a while, and I think it was okay to cry. COVID-19 took away special things from everyone. It has taken away special loved ones, special plans, and special events/celebrations. For me and so many other college students, it took away a very special moment--the pride, sense of accomplishment, the payoff. Colleges around the country tried to imitate graduation the best they could with virtual ceremonies. Some ceremonies featured pictures and quotes from students, and most colleges provided an online commencement. I was too sad and frustrated to watch my commencement on the day of my graduation but watching it back has made me realize how much more my degree means to me.
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2020-07-01
A blog post from Banner Health about risks associated with gathering.
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2020-06-22
A blog post from Banner Health about the long-term effects Covid-19 can have on the lungs.
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2020-06-08
A blog post from Banner Health about risks associated with gathering.
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2020-06-05
A blog post form Banner Health about safety risks.
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2020-06-04
A blog post from Banner Health discussing guidelines about outside activities.
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2020-05-27
A blog post from Banner Health on how to safely dispose of and store medications.
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2020-05-26
A blog post from Banner Health on managing the urge to emotionally eat.
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2020-05-18
A blog post from Banner Health discussing the importance of well-child visits, even during COVID restrictions.
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2020-05-15
A blog post from Banner Health on how to take charge of your own healthcare.
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2020-05-13
A blog post from Banner Health discussing the benefits of telehealth visits.
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2020-03-28T19:52
The photo I am submitting is a screenshot of a Facebook video call with a few of my family members. My family has always been very close. We are a loud and very big Puerto Rican family that enjoys our get togethers as much as possible. Over the last few years, people have scattered about the country, making it harder for all of us to get together. One things this pandemic enabled us to do was to communicate and gather together via online video platforms. As my aunts and uncle turned to facetime and facebook video calling in order to check in on my cousins and I, it actually gave us room to gather more than we had been pre-covid. When the world move to technology and zooms to bridge the gap of human face-to-face interaction, people got closer while being further apart.
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2021-10-10
This is Mr. Mark Madrona, a writer and educator from the Philippines. I own the blog The Filipino Scribe.
I am submitting for your consideration my article "Ten lessons I learned after surviving COVID-19" which I hope you can consider for publication.
In the article, I talked about my experience when I and everyone else I was living with had COVID-19 last March. I am sure that your readers will find this story relevant especially given that the pandemic is still ongoing.
I am looking forward to getting your feedback. Thank you very much!
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2021-10-09
This is a short audio file that talks about what challenges I faced during the pandemic, including a performing arts that was shut down the day before opening night and then a successful fundraiser that raised $25,000.
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2021-10-09
Since the pandemic began, I was not able to see any family members that lived out of state. One of which is that no one was wanting to travel to see anyone for a family gathering. Instead, there have been a couple of times we would be together in a zoom video call meeting to see how everyone was doing. It is not the same as being able to hug a family member that you haven’t seen in over a year since they live out of state.
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2021-10-09
As everything started to open back up, I had to wear a mask to church. Having to wear a mask to church was not easy when singing along with the worship service. Especially when you attend a service with loved ones for the holidays.
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2021-10-09
Back in April of 2021, I had the opportunity to fly out to Hawaii for a quick vacation to see my fiance. In order to do so, my fiance’s parents and I were required to sign up with Hawaii’s Safe Travels Program and have a negative test about 72 hours prior to the trip. While flying, we were required to wear a mask during the whole length of the flight. Even out there, there were some parts of the island where we were even required to wear masks outdoors and in a spacious area.
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2021-10-09
For my graduation ceremony in the summer of 2020, my school only allowed the students to attend the ceremony without bringing friends or family to watch the ceremony. Instead, my school decided to do a LIVE broadcast of the ceremony through their page on Facebook and their channel on YouTube. With that being said, my graduation party was kept small since this was midsummer. Through this, I was not able to bring my friends and family to campus for the ceremony in order to share with them that experience.
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2021-10-09
Over the holidays, it was a good way to reflect on how the year turned out. When my fiance flew home for the holidays, we had to wear a mask to go pick him up from the airport. There were even some family members that came to visit over the holidays asking us to wear a mask around them as we opened up presents. The only time we took our masks off was for family pictures.
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2021-10-09
When the pandemic started a year ago, I was a residential student at my college. The news that we had to move out of the dorms was hard since we would have to pack everything up. The second half of the semester was all virtual with zoom meetings and not having that in person experience for the classes. Having to do that means not being able to see the friends that we have made on campus daily or being able to have study sessions together in small groups.
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2021-10-09
Recently, I have lost a beloved aunt due to Covid-19. The loss has greatly impacted my family and I during the pandemic.
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2020-03-30
I had a friend that kept telling me that the pandemic was fake. I told her that we needed to take it serious. When I took my daughter to the local urgent care for a doctors appointment, this was the parking lot scene. I just remember being blown away at the seriousness of the situation. The urgent care separated even those that came in for covid testing from the other patients, just to keep things extra safe.
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2020-12-16
Distance Learning was not for the faint of heart. My very social daughter struggled with distance learning because she needs people. This picture I posted on Instagram. Her teacher was a saint to be able to reach the kids even though he knew full well they were going a bit crazy at home.
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2020-06-05
High School graduation 2020 was one for the books for sure. My daughter was a part of the class that had to deal with all of the concerns about what graduation would look like. Our high school decided to have a graduation parade. For my daughter, this was the best possible way to have a graduation. My daughter, dressed in her graduation regalia and her brother, two sisters, and myself crammed into my little car and in a procession, joined a hundred other cars for Lassen High's graduation parade. We decorated the car and honked the horn as we drove by community members lined up on the streets. Teachers were stationed all along the parade route and waved at the students, they had not seen in months. The enthusiasm was contagious. Having a girl that has social anxiety, for her, sitting by mom in the car was the best feeling. As she got out of the car to walk up the stage, she was able to thank the school counselor who invested hours to help her graduate. It was certainly a graduation to remember, and hands down, my favorite graduation to attend.
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2021-10-04
One of the examples of bigger issues coming to light during the pandemic. Not only were people in prisons fighting covid, but they're also continually dealing with a lack of resources such as basic air conditioning/ heat.
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2020-03-13
When the global pandemic hit, we were just a day away from putting on a theater production that we had worked on for a year and over 10 weeks of rehearsal. As a board, we thought of every possible way to keep a show, so that it wasn't shut down. I went and measured the venue, the local Veterans Hall to see how many seats we could have in the hall, if they were six-feet apart. We looked at requiring mask or limiting to just family. We met with local public health officials with different options on how to keep our show. But, the final decision was that it was in our best interest to cancel the show. The concern was that with family coming in from other areas, that Best of Broadway could be responsible for bringing Covid-19 to Susanville, and we were not willing to take that risk. When we cancelled, we figured we just needed to reschedule the show a couple of weeks. That, in and of itself was challenging. But the idea of a possible lawsuit or worse causing harm to others was a real possibility. As the Board President, I had to announce via Facebook and Instagram that the show was cancelled. It was terrible. A very sad day for our Broadway family. This post was from one of the husbands of our performers. His words of encouragement was reassuring. Most people responded in a sympathetic and understanding way.
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2021-10-07
While some believed the pandemic aid solved food insecurity, that couldn't be further from the truth in black neighborhoods.
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2020
Essential workers were publically praised but still got the short end of the stick.
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2020-03-22
In the early days of the pandemic, life was very scary. There was a lot of uncertainty as to how long things would last, who would get sick, and how to adjust to all of the rapid changes taking place. It often felt a lot like a looming apocalypse. This meme just struck a cord with me. In a moment of stress it caused laughter. I only wish we did end up wearing some form of apocalyptic wear. I am disappointed that didn't happen.
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2020-03-28
My boyfriend and I found this church's billboard during the first week of shutdown in March 2020. We were driving around with nothing to do since everything was closed and found this sign too funny to not stop and take a picture.
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2020-03-22
When the pandemic first took place, I was working as an Executive Assistant at a Domestic Violence Agency. Our agency was initially sent home, which prompted a mad dash to learn how to hold Zoom meetings, how to securely set up working from home, getting laptops and printers to workers, and all of the other craziness associated with a rush to work from home. The first day we were sent home, I spent the day learning Zoom, checking emails and answers phone calls and texts. That was a Friday. On the following Monday, I was back in the office. No one else was there, so I could do a lot work without interruption. It was determined that our work as a domestic violence agency was essential. At the time, that was a major relief for this single mom of three girls. I remember feeling panicked about the possibility of needing to go on government aid or unemployment. So, it was a total relief to me to find out we were essential. I worked hard during that time to. It took more effort and energy to help others work from home. I was glad that I could work from my work office, but it still required a lot of extra work. After things settled a bit, I would hear about how much more people on unemployment received. It was frustrating to hear about honestly. But, at the time, this meme was exactly how I felt. I felt a lot of pride to be considered essential even if it meant more work (for less pay).
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2020-03-23
I am an extrovert. I get my energy from people. I love people. I surround myself with a lot of people. The three months leading up to the pandemic lock down I had been surrounded almost every day by almost 200 of my closest friends, people I call my family because we worked together on a theater production called Susanville Best of Broadway. When the pandemic hit, the show was cancelled and then even my work sent everyone home. I was home with my kids. And it was very quiet. We are a very active family involved in many local community projects. I have meetings every week and they have sports. All of sudden, we were home. And if I saw someone I knew while out in public (the grocery store) it was weird. I didn't know if I could hug them (I didn't) and would just awkwardly wave from a distance. It was terrible. In fact, my girls struggled and would still have friends over. I made them limit it to just one friend, but even then, we struggled. This meme really got to me. I remember hearing friends say how their life didn't change at all because they were already homebodies. The idea of being home was actually very stressful. I ended up working at my work, because being home all day to work was not very much fun. I learned a lot about myself during that time. Most importantly, I need people in my life.
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2020-03-18
After Susanville's Best of Broadway show was cancelled just a day before its opening night, Susanville's local online news editor Jeremy Couso reached out to the Best of Board members to see if he could publish an article about our show, the show that never happened. He and his wife attends the performance for a media night and he happened to have a video of the show. For a small production, the youtube video of the performance has had just under 900 views as of October 9th, 2021. I directed Wizard of Oz with a dear friend of mine, in a one year shot to direct. Watching the video of the show that didn't happen is honestly very sad and hard to do. We become family with the cast and to not reach the finale is painful. But the show must go on, and in 2022, Best of Broadway will take the stage again.
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2020-10-20
For the last few years, I have coordinated an event called, Dancing for a Brand New Me. It is a fundraiser event that is designed to not only bring about awareness to domestic violence in Lassen County, but it is a fundraiser to help pay for the the mortgage of the shelter for victims. Last year was the 7th year that local "Susanville Stars" were partnered with local professional choreographers to dance three dances before judges similar to NBC's Dancing with the Stars. Our local stars are usually very active community members who spend about 5-6 months learning the dances, but they also fundraiser to get sponsors. It becomes a fun, healthy competition to see who can out dance and out raise funds with each other. Most of the choreographers have participated in the event for many years. It has become a community favorite, selling out tickets both nights the third weekend in October. In 2020, we had to come up with four different plans on how we would perform, because of the pandemic. Our plans included only performing a livestreamed show to relocating our event outdoors. Normally, the event is performed in the local Veterans Hall that is equipped with stage, lights, and sound. In September 2020, I wrote a proposal to public health outlining in detail how we would manage the event. It took weeks for public health to get back to us. But what they approved was that our event could be held at the local High School football stadium, we had to mark off 6-foot distance, require mask, and have screenings at the gate. We had hand sanitizer stations and we were instructed two things: limited seats (200 people) and whatever we did, when we live streamed to not show the audience. The article that I attached talks more about the event than the obstacle it took to put on the event. It is incredibly difficult to move sound equipment in and out of a football stadium every day for a week. It is hard to do a staged performance when you are surrounded by a dirt track. It is hard to have your dressing room be the football locker room. It was very difficult to make all of the modifications and changes that we did. But we did it. And it was an amazing event. Even though we weren't supposed to, we have about 400 people in the audience each night. Most did not wear mask and most were sitting very close to each other. Even one of the public health officials sat in the audience not following the "rules". The event raised over $25,000! Just two weeks after our event, many of the Halloweeen events led to a Covid-19 outbreak in our community and the cases rose rapidly. Prior to Dancing for a Brand New Me 2020, we had zero cases. After Halloween 2020 our cases skyrocketed for a small town. I saw that we happened to just squeeze in one performing arts event just in time before things got bad. I feel like we were lucky and it was probably why the event was so well attended. I have the newspaper article and my proposal attached.