STUDENT NAME: Catherine C
My life through COVID has been a whirlwind, it has felt so chaotic but somehow still so boring. I have learned so much about myself and those around me, and I feel like I am a completely different person now than at the beginning of this. Living in Ontario, lockdowns have been pretty continuous, these restrictions have left me feeling a little frustrated, but mostly have left me thankful for the loved ones that I have in my life and grateful for my health. It has been life changing to be apart of a global event; it has forced me to slow down and has helped me feel more connected to those around me, and to those worldwide.
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OBJECT DESCRIPTION AND RELATIONSHIP TO COVID-19: : This is a photo of that day we adopted our pandemic puppy, Shiloh. I chose to include this photo in the archive because my family and I, like countless others, decided to adopt a pet during this pandemic. I think that a lot of people were searching for something that would brighten their spirits. For my family, we were all home and had lots of time to devote to training and taking care of her. She just turned one year old recently, and looking at this photo feels like it was years ago already. I think that this spike in adoption is interesting and I wonder if we will ever see this trend again. I think that many of these pets have devloped very deep attachments to their owners since they are home all the time, and with things slowly returning to being in person, I hope that they are all still given the time and attention they need.
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PRIMARY SOURCE DESCRIPTION: This is a screenshot that I took when I went to book my first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. The portal to book for anyone over the age of 18 in Ontario opened the morning that I took this. I felt that this was an important addition because in the screenshot we can see that I had 8863 people head of me, and I was the 1527499th person in line. Although there has been a huge amount of false information spread about the vaccine, I was glad to see that so many people were booking theirs. It was also a really exciting moment for me. We had been waiting to become eligible to book a vaccine for so long, and it felt like we were finally making progress and moving the right way. |
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NEWSPAPER HEADLINE |
PERSONAL REACTION TO THIS HEADLINE I chose this article because it was a really emotional read for me. I live in Hamilton and I remember the first case that we had so clearly. I saw this article when it was first published and I felt so many emotions. I was in disbelief that it had been a year, it felt simontaneously so much longer and so much shorter than one year. After reading it I reflected on how much had happened in just one year. I would never had believed someone if they told me this was going to happen, but now I can't imagine my life without it happening. There has been unimaginable heartbreak globally, and to think that to look back it was only one year of my life is surreal, because this one/two year period is going to have massive effects on my life, and on every person on earths life. It makes me wonder where we will be on March 11th of 2022. |
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| VISUALIZING COVID-19 I chose to add an inforgraphic from the City of Hamilton detailing Covid-19 vaccine facts. There has been so much misinformation being spread about Covid and the vaccines that it has had a serious influence on many peoples decisions regarding getting one. I found this inforgrapgic to be really helpful at identifying common concerns and adressing them in a simple and effective way. |
COVID Q&A
Describe the moment you realized how serious COVID-19 was:
The moment I realized how serious COVID was, was when my friends and I were on our way to a cottage in March of 2020 and we all recieved an email from the university telling us that in person classes had been cancelled for the remainder of the year, and final exams may be cancelled. Up until this point I had not been personally affected by COVID, and in a way it still felt like it would never reach us here in Canada. While this moment came with some excitment about classes being over, that excitment was outweighed by the dread and nervousness that I felt. I knew that this virus was serious in other countries at the time but it felt so surreal to even think about it affecting Canada in the same way. After that moment it felt like we entered a downward spiral that spun faster than I could comprehend.
What did you learn about yourself or the people you live with during COVID-19?
I have learned so much about myself during this pandemic. I have experienced some of my own personal highs and lows in this time period that have challenged me like I never have before. I definetly think I am a differnt person today becasue of th pandemic. I learned a lot about my own interest and my capabilities. I also have learned that I am a littl emore introverted than I thought I was. Before Covid I was always on the go and always socializing. Once I was forced to slow down and spend time with myself and a handful of people I found that I was feeling more recharged than I ever had before, despite the chaos of the world. This was a huge discovery for me and spending time with myself is something that I was continue to do after this is over.
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?
One of the biggest changes to my daily life was implementing a daily morning and night routine. Without my general routine to turn to I felt totally lost in the beginning and my days were feeling really unstructured. I started working on creating an A.M and P.M routine for myself, and it was a game changer. It has helped me to feel in control of my life and I look forward to it. I think that I will continue with them after lock down for sure, although I might not always have as much time to spend on them.
Have you learned any new skills during the pandemic?
Yes I have definitely picked up a few new skills through the pandemic. I have been able to spend much more time on hobbies I have always been interested in, but never pursued. I have spent time learning to play the guitar and piano, I downloaded duolingo and have been learning spanish, and I’ve improved on my baking skills! I definitely still have much to learn in all of these areas but I am thankful that I had the opportunity to build these skills after years of wanting to.
How do you feel about university education in the last year?
Online university has been a huge adjustment for me, and has been filled with highs and lows. I like the freedom that comes with online classes, being able to do my school work from anywhere has been really helpful, but personally the cons outweigh the pros. I miss the interaction and sense of community that comes with in person courses, and I feel that without that, participation and conversation via Zoom/ CourseLink has been really difficult. Prior to Covid I had not taken an online course, and to be put into 5 at once was really overwhelming at first. Especially because in the beginning there weren’t many places I could go to besides my bedroom to avoid distractions.
List one positive thing and one negative thing you'll take away from 2020:
One positive thing that I will take away from 2020 is intentional quality time I have spent with my friends and family. I found that even if we couldn't see eachother in person, everyone felt that the time we spent wuth eachother was more meaningful during 2020. Everything that I knew and was comfotable with had changed or been taken away and it really showed me that the most important thing in my life are the realtionships that I have with my loved ones. I experienced a lot of loss during 2020 and I think that it has reminded me how short life can be and how every moment with your loved ones counts. A negative that I will take away is how broken our society is. So many things have come to light over the course of the pandemic and it has been overwhelming to live through. While I am so happy that these issues are finaly being discussed, I will always remember 2020 as year of riots, protests and outrage.
What is the best movie or TV show you've watched, or the best book you've read, in the past 18 months?
The best show I've watched would definetly be Game of Thrones! I have been wanting to watch it for a long time and finally got around to it and I am so happy that I did. I was always putting it off because the episodes were so long and there are so many seasons- and it is definetly a show you need to pay attention to while watching. Now that I have finished it, I would recommend it to everyone.
How large of an impact do you think COVID-19 has had on your mental health?
COVID-19 has had a serious impact on my mental health. I think that it was a mix between slowing down, spending time with my thoughts and the constant heartbreaking news that was coming at me at all times. I had a huge low for a few months and it felt like neither myself, or the world, was ever going to get better. Although this was a really difficult time for me, it led me to finding coping strategies that I most likely would not have if we weren't in the pandemic. I had to find other ways besides distracting myself with socializing, and after lots of time and work I have found healthy methods and am doing much better.
How has technology impacted your life during lockdown?
Technology has impacted my life in almost every way! This has been in both positive and negative ways. I have been relying on technology for my social life, my work, my education, and my leisure time just to name a few. In the early months of the pandemic I was staring at a screen for almost all of the hours I was awake in a day. I have had to make a intentional decision to limit my screen time whenever I can, and I am slowly losing interest in my screens because of the burnout I've felt. I am so thankful that technology is as advanced as it is though. It has allowed me to keep in contact with my friends and family that I otherwise would not have been able to talk to. It has truly kept me sane!
How has the pandemic brought wider acknowledgement to systemic racism in Canada?
The pandemic has brought wider acknowledgement to systemic racism in Canada in a few ways. We have seen the rise of social movements such as Black Lives Matter and Stop Asain Hate. I think that many people were brought to their breaking point through the emotional, physical, and financial strains of the pandemic, and it created an enrionment where the social norms are being broken. I also think that many people were able to spend time educating themselves on the systemic racism present because of the break from the typical work week.
In what ways do you envision society changing due to the pandemic?
I think that many of the social norms that have been created during the pandemic like giving people space in public places, more thorough sanitization, and wearing masks when feeling sick will all stay around. There are lots of ways that I hope society changes. I hope that as a society we see that we are capable of implementing change when we come together, and that these social movements continue until justice is seen in our country.
Now that you are done with both the course and your additions to the archive, is there anything you'd like to reflect on?
Before this course I had really limited experience and knowledge when it came to pandemics and archives. I have gained so much insight on the importance of archives and what they add to history, and being able to be apart of one and gaining the experience of creating a page has been so interesting. It has given me the oppoutunity to reflect on my experience through this pandemic, which I hadn't given a lot of thought to yet. I found this course to be comforting in the way that we had a space to talk openly about our experiences with this pandemic and were able to listen to eachothers stories.
Gallery
Other archival items connected to my experience of COVID-19. Click on any image to enlarge.
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