Tiffany
MY COVID EXPERIENCE:
Life during COVID-19 has certainly been a whirlwind of an experience, the world around me has changed drastically but I have used this time to reflect on myself as an individual, make my connection with those most important to me stronger, and appreciate the day today. The pandemic has encouraged me to challenge my uncertainties but also taught me that too much searching for all the answers can sometimes be harmful to your wellbeing. I'm proud to say that I am learning through this pandemic and will certainly continue to reflect on the world around me today and in the future.
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OBJECT IMAGE: |
OBJECT DESCRIPTION AND RELATIONSHIP TO COVID-19: Initially, when brainstorming objects I could add to this collection, I was having a bit of a hard time connecting to an object that truthfully told a story of my experience with COVID-19. In the midst of my brainstorm, I took a break to attempt packaging up clothing items that I had bought online that unfortunately did not fit and I had to return. I currently work at the post office for my summer job and almost every customer that has come in is sending back some sort of online return and expressing their frustrations with online shopping shipping costs! This got me thinking about the little things COVID has changed that we may have taken for granted in the past, something as silly as shopping. Since we have entered the age of online shopping I now know to always check the return policies when shopping for anything, and calculate shipping costs into my purchases, all things I never thought of before. Waiting on a package to arrive became my new excitement during the pandemic and a great frustration when an item was not exactly what I was expecting. I know lots of people can relate to this and while I am not comparing the inconvenience of online shopping to the more serious effects of COVID-19, I think it would be interesting to incorporate a story about the more light-hearted and simplistic reality of COVID-19. So while I had a few deliveries arriving that week I thought this would be a humorous photo to add for those online shopping addicts to relate to! |
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PRIMARY SOURCE DESCRIPTION: The primary source that I chose is a letter that my family member received during the first lockdown, essentially stating that they were an essential worker. The letter states that telecommunication workers are deemed essential to provide services for many things such as hospitals, police and fire departments. At the beginning of the pandemic, many essential workers were given these letters as proof of authorization for breaking the stay-at-home order. In further context, anyone who was given these letters from their place of employment was to carry it on them and if asked by law enforcement would have to provide the letter as proof. I believe this is a really interesting contribution to the archive and a helpful primary source for future historians because it shows the reality of what lockdown was like during COVID-19. We live in a country that bases itself on the freedoms it provides its citizens, yet in the state of a global pandemic, we can see how flexible those rights can be. It is pretty drastic from what we have come from knowing to being fearful that if you are caught out of your house during a stay-at-home order you could face some serious fines and or consequences.
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PRIMARY SOURCE: Government of Canada Essential/Emergency Services Employment Confirmation Letter |
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NEWSPAPER HEADLINE Adult Industry Media Headline Assisting to Encourage Flattening the COVID Curve |
PERSONAL REACTION TO THIS HEADLINE: When searching for news headlines I was really looking for something that was addressing the "COVID Curve", as this is something that I vividly remember hearing constantly in the media and the news at the beginning of the pandemic. I was surprised to find this image and it actually provoked me to do a little digging on what exactly this meant. The Stayhomehub slogan has become a popular tag used during the pandemic, free premiums and other outlets have been introduced on many sites to provide users with an incentive to stay at home during the lockdown. As many of us know Pornhub is a well-known adult film site that has well over millions of users, making it a rather unexpected outlet for media sourcing regarding the pandemic. Their hope was to encourage people around the world to stay home by giving them a reason to do so. Whatever your feelings are towards the site it's hard not to acknowledge that this incentive for keeping people at home is not only an interesting thought but a relatively clever one. The pandemic and the adult film industry seem like opposite topics, but due to their large following, I would argue that this is a brilliant way to reach out to all audiences and spread awareness on keeping our communities safe during these precedented times. While I do believe that this is a clever way to spread awareness and encourage individuals to stay home during the pandemic, I am also discouraged that we have to essentially bribe individuals to follow rules that are set in place to help them, and most importantly those who are most vulnerable within our communities. It seems almost like a double-edged sword, yes we are getting people to stay inside and help flatten the COVID cases, but then there is also the advertising and profit that are involved. It is also almost impossible to ensure that people are staying put as a result of these incentives just because they have signed some sort of non-binding agreement on a website. Nonetheless, this has shown that even unexpected companions of companies and individuals that are working to connect our communities during these times have come forth to do their part, and it is important to look at the overall objective of keeping our communities safe in whichever way possible.
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VISUALIZING COVID-19: This visualization is one that touches on a topic that I believe is super interesting in terms of the pandemic. As we all know social media and technology, in general, have been a huge component of the world we live in today, even more so during the pandemic. I personally have begun to really rely on social media and other apps to keep me connected with my friends, family, and community during these times. Not only have I become reliant on technology in terms of my social life but it has become many of our outlets for school, work, food, entertainment, and the list goes on. Taking a closer look at the visualization above you will be able to get a sense of how the pandemic has changed many of our lives by analyzing some of the apps that have increased/decreased in popularity over the last year. This specific visualization was sourced by pulling data from a new report by MoEngage and Apptopia that is based on the number of active users and downloads in North America. The Quadrants indicate which apps have increased in growth (active users), explosion (spike in demand for new user downloads), slowdowns (decline in active users and downloads), and emergence (potential of new users but not downloads). The most notable active user increases come as no surprise, with social media and food delivery apps on the rise in use but not downloads, this means that people have had these apps and are now beginning to use them more often. Newer downloads arising and spiking in demand are online video chats, for work and school, online shopping, media and entertainment, and a surprising increase in people now managing their healthcare needs online. This truly represents how our lives have entered a new virtual age where everything is at your fingertips. The graphic also depicts the major slowdown in travel and real estate because people are not able to leave their homes due to quarantine guidelines. |
COVID Q&A
Describe the moment you realized how serious COVID-19 was:
The moment that COVID-19's seriousness became apparent to me was actually pretty early on in the pandemic. When there was news of COVID-19 surfacing I was in my first year at the University of Guelph living on campus. Initially, it was not really a concern because most of my family and friends were only seeing things about it being apparent in other countries, and I feel like Canada never really experiences anything that is overly concerning for all of its citizens at once. Yet, there began to be some talk about it gradually getting more worrisome for Canadians and I recall my roommate's mom saying something along the line of us likely having to leave campus, and at this time we kind of shrugged it off. Not even a few days later I would say, there was a specific sequence of events that occurred that initialized the specific moment I started to realize how serious COVID was becoming. In mid to late March my one roommate and I decided that we were going to bus to Stone Road Mall in Guelph, and this was around the time that our second-semester exams were approaching. I remember receiving an email from the school saying that there was a possibility that some exams would be cancelled due to concerns about CVOID, and believe it or not we were excited about this. In our minds, we thought that we would be getting out of doing our exams and that was great, considering we did not really have a clue about how serious the cases were getting, and it seemed harmless at the time. I recall sitting in the food court and my friend searching up the COVID-19 cases count, and I do not remember the specific number but I remember thinking, "should we even be in the mall right now?". By the time we got back to the campus later that afternoon, we had received an email stating that all residences will be evacuated, and accommodations would be made for those who could not evacuate. This came as a shock, and that night I began to pack up my belongings and arrange to move out of my dorm. To my surprise, people began leaving immediately and soon enough the residence and campus felt like an apocalyptic scene out of a movie. I remember feeling mixed emotions but ultimately became fearful for what was to come next, and soon enough the world was in lockdown.
What did you learn about yourself or the people you live with during COVID-19?
I have taken away a variety of lessons both good and bad during COVID-19, and believe it has definitely allowed me to view things in a different light. For instance, the pandemic has taught me that not everyone will approach situations or conflict in the same way, and I have had to become more understanding and accepting of the behaviours of others. I know that everyone including myself has experienced extra stresses and anxieties during this time and we have all had to deal and cope in different ways. Ultimately, just because someone else has chosen a different coping mechanism than myself does not mean it is an inappropriate way to adapt. I know a lot of people that had chosen to distance themselves from others to deal with whatever they have going on in their life, and at first, I did not really understand why someone would do this and at times took offence to it. I now realize that this is actually a good way to de-escalate situations and really reflect on yourself rather than interpret your frustrations based on the actions of others. I think this lesson was learnt based on the lack of dependency some of us felt, having had to isolate with the same people for long periods at a time, it is understandable to need and want time for yourself. In terms of lessons learnt for me, I have come to better cope with my anxieties. I believe COVID has given many of us time with ourselves and our thoughts and I have never truly taken the time to reflect on what causes my anxieties most. I have also come to realize that there is so much out of your control that it is almost pointless in trying to have complete control over what is uncontrollable. Rather I have focused on the things I know I can control in my life and made changes to address them, which has really helped to lessen my stress and anxiety.
Other than wearing a mask, what was the biggest change you made to your daily life? Do you think this change will remain when all lockdowns are lifted?
I wouldn't say that I made many big changes to my day-to-day life other than the basics such as social distancing, constantly washing my hands, sanitizing, and avoiding touching items in stores. I think these habits will probably remain with me post lockdown, although even now a year later I'm certainly less stringent on following these precautions. I probably will probably continue to keep hand sanitizer in many of my bags, and masks stocked up in my car, or ensure that I'm standing at a reasonable distance in a line. One thing that I would say was a big adjustment in my day-to-day life was not being able to see friends or just simply go to dinner with them, which is something I did a lot pre COVID. Now that I am vaccinated I am already seeing more of my friends more frequently and I'm really hoping that we can continue to get people vaccinated to be able to do more things with friends and family as well as keep out of any more lockdowns.
Have you learned any new skills during the pandemic?
A new skill that I have learned during the pandemic is how to be more independent, and adaptable to change more effectively. Most importantly I learned some new habits on how to lead a healthy lifestyle and manage my anxiety. Through the last year, I've really worked on channelling my stress and anxiety into my health and fitness. I've learned how eating healthy can help change your mood, encourage a better sleep routine, and overall push yourself to be more productive. One thing I really struggled with was productivity, I felt as though I got into a bad habit with procrastination and setting myself up with a routine has helped me fit more into my days and feel more motivated to complete tasks. I know that with the initial lockdown many people got into pretty lazy routines because there was simply nothing to do and it was certainly hard to break habits that I adopted at the time, but I'm certainly glad to be back on some sort of productive routine.
How do you feel about university education in the last year?
I feel as though this is a question that keeps reoccurring for many students that have experienced university throughout the pandemic to date. In my opinion, it is hard to answer this question because I know that several students have enjoyed online learning and I know even more that have had tough experiences and relationships with school this year. I for one would side with those who found online learning a bit more of a challenge, and not ideal for my type of learning. Going into September last year I was dreading online learning, as I enjoy going to classes with friends and meeting new people in person as well as listening to live lectures. I found that right off the bat it was super difficult to meet people in your classes over zoom and a good majority of my classes had been converted into the distance education formate. I found these classes super difficult to keep up with, seeing as your ultimately the one that has to motivate and push yourself to learn. Which is one thing to do without a worldwide pandemic distracting you. I also felt that it was hard to get more of a personal connection with your professors during this time. I do not want to say that I was robbed of the experience that most second-year university students receive but it certainly did not feel like I even went to university at some points. I tried my best to visit campus a few times out of lockdown but it just was not the same without the crowds of students and events going on. I am really grateful for those professors and instructors that did their best to assist us in our new learning experience in any way they could, as I know it was a hard time for them as well.
List one positive thing and one negative thing you'll take away from 2020:
One positive thing that I will certainly take away from 2020 is how strong my relationships with my closest friends and family have become. The lockdowns and quarantines helped me learn a lot about myself and others and how to see the bright side of the most difficult times.
One negative thing I will take away from 2020 is the prolonged periods of isolation, and ultimately just feeling unproductive.
What is the best movie or TV show you've watched, or the best book you've read, in the past 18 months?
During the pandemic, I started a few TV series, one of my favourites was Bridgeton which I watch with some of my roommates, and I also was addicted to rewatching old episodes of Parks and Recreation which was a nice light-hearted comedy to distract myself from the pandemic.
How large of an impact do you think COVID-19 has had on your mental health?
COVID-19 has had a fairly large impact on my mental health throughout the last year, especially regarding school and my social life. I would consider myself to be a good student and I can be hard on myself. I often think that I bring a lot of the stress and anxiety upon myself, and at the start of the school year, I had a pretty hard time adapting to the new remote learning. Attempting to keep up with five classes and learning the ropes of zoom and distance education was one of the most stressful times of my life. At the end of the day, I really tried not to let the stress get to me as I reminded myself that it is a hard time for everyone and I certainly was not the only one experiencing these frustrations. On the other hand, I found it very difficult to go from having a social life and being able to go out with friends, play a sport, or go to the gym as a means of distracting myself from the stresses of work and school, to no longer having that outlet was fairly hard. I tried to find other ways to relieve that stress by reading, going on walks, and talking to friends over zoom which really helped keep me optimistic.
How has technology impacted your life during lockdown?
Technology has played a large role in my life during the pandemic and is part of the reason why I chose to interpret the visualization above. I would say that I have become very dependent on technology and not really by choice. As discussed in previous questions all of my schooling has been done remotely and therefore I am constantly on my computer, I have actually suffered from bad headaches because I am always staring at my screen. Secondly, although social media can be a nice pastime I have often had to take a step away during the past year especially during the most recent lockdown to due over-consuming my time with my socials. Ultimately the only reason I found I was constantly on social media was that there is not much else to do. I am finding that social media is becoming highly negative and a constant reminder of all the wrong that is going in our communities. While it is important to keep up to date and make yourself aware of these things, sometimes a constant reminder can really take a toll on your mental health. I have hopes to see more optimistic things on the internet in the future and I am really excited for this archive to be uploaded as I believe that most of what we have chosen to contribute has been positive. Even seeing some of the guest lecturers that we have had this semester has made me feel more confident that there will be many more positive archives and contributions to remember this time by. I believe many of us are longing for that face-to-face interaction and the lockdown has forced us to in a sense to hide behind a screen to make connections and relationships. Hopefully, those relationships and connections we have made can be carried through to a post-pandemic world.
How has the pandemic brought wider acknowledgement to systemic racism in Canada?
I would say that the pandemic has truly allowed everyone to take a step back and reflect on the reality of our society. Often times our communities have so much going on at once that often the true importance within our communities becomes overshadowed. COVID-19 is something that we spoke about in lectures as being classless, everyone can be affected rich or poor, no matter your ethnicity, race, culture etc, except individuals can be affected disproportionately. Therefore in my opinion I believe people began to realize that the true inequalities don't fall in any natural category but rather within our institutionalized systems. The pandemic was a real eye-opener and with this being a period of great reflection for everyone the voices and social movements were given a voice to bring to light the corruption within our societies. The pandemic made apparent many of the inequalities within our communities, and movements such as Black Lives Matter (BLM) took this opportunity to construct some of the biggest protests in U.S. history drawing awareness and making change.
In what ways do you envision society changing due to the pandemic?
I can see society changing in so many ways due to the pandemic, in fact, I would argue that it already has changed a great deal. First off, as I've already mentioned technology has become dependent in many ways, peoples lives have quite literally become accessible at the tap of a button. For instance, the pandemic has forced us to do almost everything online or remotely, from doctor's visits to filling a prescription, renewing your health card or licence, to ordering food to your doorstep. Now that people have gotten a taste of how certain components of pandemic life are much more convenient I don't think people will want to go back to the old way of life. Secondly, I would say a big change in society due to the pandemic will be vaccination passports. We are already seeing things like attending in-person classes, or travel will require at least your first dose of vaccination. Further, I would say people have just become so accustomed to wearing a mask that perhaps in the future, when your ill, it will be a normal thing to wear a mask out in public. Lastly, we've already seen a new age of working from home, and I know a lot of people that have become super adjusted to working from home and would certainly continue to do to it post-pandemic. Since the majority of people that are working from home are usual commuters to the cities this would limit the number of cars on the road and other commuter routes such as subways, buses, and trains. All in all, we could be taking the first small steps in limiting air pollution.
Now that you are done with both the course and your additions to the archive, is there anything you'd like to reflect on?
Overall this course has really allowed me to reflect on my experience with COVID-19. I think initially my experience throughout the pandemic is something that I chose to in a way keep at the back of my mind but never on the surface. I avoided addressing the ways I was feeling about COVID and what losses, or frustrations I was experiencing. Throughout this archival process and discussion with classmates and guest lecturers, I've been able to connect and get a better understanding of how others are dealing with these unprecedented times and reflect those on to my own thoughts and feelings during the pandemic. Although this is a history class and while I've learned a lot about pandemics/epidemics past and present, I felt that I got a lot more out of it than just a history lesson but rather an opportunity to build and contribute to something that will assist future historians.
Gallery
Other archival items connected to my experience of COVID-19. Click on any image to enlarge.
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