STUDENT NAME: Julia Kamieniarz
MY COVID EXPERIENCE: My covid experience had its ups and downs but for the most part I would say I tried to make it into a positive experience. During the pandemic I was unable to work so I did many other things to try to stay occupied while being at home. I built a home gym with my roommates and started to live an active lifestyle, I spent more time with my family, I grew a passion for cooking, and many more things. The COVID-19 pandemic was an eye-opener for me and I became more grateful for my health, and the health of my loved ones.
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OBJECT IMAGE Frozen Pond During a Hike in the Winter |
OBJECT DESCRIPTION AND RELATIONSHIP TO COVID-19: : This is a picture I took during one of my family hikes in the winter. During COVID-19 my family would go on a lot of hikes to get outside and do something together. Before COVID-19, I never really went on alot of hikes so this was something new that I enjoyed doing with my family. This was a great way to get fresh air and excerice while speding time with your loved ones. These hikes made me feel at peace during stressful times of the pandemic.
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PRIMARY SOURCE DESCRIPTION: This was my screenshot from when I had to take a quick screening before I was allowed to enter the shopping mall. I included this picture because it shows how we are allowed to enter certain places due to COVID-19. This would help future historians understand how much the ability to just walk into a mall and shop just changed since the pandemic hit. |
PRIMARY SOURCE:
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NEWSPAPER HEADLINE  |
PERSONAL REACTION TO THIS HEADLINE: Mental health and COVID-19 is something that is not talked about enough. I think more news outlets should cover the topic on how this pandemic has affected the mental health of so many people worldwide. This pandemic has been a new and scary experience bringing in many emotions, anxiety, depression, stress and many other mental health isssues. Job loss has been an ongoing issue through the pandemic, and although in Canada we recieved CERB to help, it is still not enough to fix the mental challenges people are facing through these new obstacles. |
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| VISUALIZING COVID-19 The picture I have included is a visual of a girl surrounded by COVID-19 related items that are making her stressed out. I think alot of us can relate to this visual as the constant new rules and changes have been stressful on different levels. Mental health and COVID-19 are very much connected and it is important to understand how this pandemic can affect others. The link to where I got this image is https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2021/3/24/Calls-continue-flood-National-... |
COVID Q&A
Describe the moment you realized how serious COVID-19 was:
The moment that made me realize that COVID-19 was serious was when I got the email stating that the University of Guelph will be moving to online classes. That is when it really hit me that COVID-19 was actually happening and this is getting to a serious point. Before that I did not think it was that extreme and did not think it was going to last this long.
What did you learn about yourself or the people you live with during COVID-19?
What I learned about myself during this pandemic was that I am able to turn something negative into a postive. Being unable to see my friends and family was very hard, and not being able to do normal things anymore was difficult to adjust to so I tried to keep myself occupied and found new hobbies and things to do to keep me in a good space mentally.
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?
The biggest change I made to my daily life was being more careful when I go out in public. I will stay 6 feet apart from everyone and I do not hang out with big groups of people anymore to protect myself and my family since the virus still has not gone away.
Have you learned any new skills during the pandemic?
During the pandemic I had to stop eating out so I decided to learn how to properly cook and that also saved me lots of money. Now I love to cook and it is a skill I will be able to use for the rest of my life.
How do you feel about university education in the last year?
As someone who gets distracted very easily, having class online was very difficult for me. When I am in my room in class on my laptop I can get distracted easily by many things which can make learning for me harder. This was something I struggled with at the beggining of the pandemic heavily but have learned to get less distracted as the semesters went on.
List one positive thing and one negative thing you'll take away from 2020:
One positive thing I will take away from 2020 is learning how to adapt to unknown situations, and one negative thing I will take away from 2020 is the fact that I was not able to see my friends and family for a very long time.
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 TV show I have watched in the past 18 months was Criminal Minds. I was finally able to finish the whole show do to being bored during lockdown and it has been the best show I have ever watched. Everytime a friend asks for a show to watch that is always my reccomendation. If you enjoy shows about criminology I highly reccomend.
How large of an impact do you think COVID-19 has had on your mental health?
COVID-19 impacted my mental health as being in constant lockdowns and not knowing when I will be able to work again has really stressed me out. I also felt very alone during that time as I was not able to see any of my friends and that is something I was not used to. I still stress about my future and how it will be with COVID-19 but I have learned to take everything one day at a time.
How has technology impacted your life during lockdown?
Technology played a big role in my life during lockdown as it was always keeping me busy. With technology I was able to watch tv, play xbox, talk to my friends and family that I could not see, learn new at home workouts, find new cooking recipes and much more.
How has the pandemic brought wider acknowledgement to systemic racism in Canada?
The pandemic has brought wider acknowledgment to systemic racism in Canada as we learned about how those on First Nation Reserves had higher covid infection rates and it was not due to biology but due to the unfair health treatments they recieved also do to the economic factors. Many people on these reserves have low income resulting in overcrowding in homes which causes covid to spread.
In what ways do you envision society changing due to the pandemic?
I think society will change in the way that we will never be able to fully go back to normal, or pre pandemic. Many people are still going to be scared of the next pandemic that might occur, and people will be scared to get close to anyone. I also think many people are going to continue to wear masks if we are able to not wear them anymore.
Now that you are done with both the course and your additions to the archive, is there anything you'd like to reflect on?
I would like to reflect on how strong every single person who has gone through this pandemic is. No matter what the circumstances, this was something new and scary and there were many unknowns and as a society we were able to do our best and hopefully soon experience steps into going back to "normal".
Gallery
Other archival items connected to my experience of COVID-19. Click on any image to enlarge.
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