Saj K
MY COVID EXPERIENCE: My experience with the coronavirus was fairly decent. With the exception of a few family members catching the virus, along with the closing of gyms, everything else has been similar to all my other years. As I am approaching my final year of university, I have been doing as much as I can, before graduation to ensure a smooth final year and graduation; for example, courses and working. Although Ontario has been slightly late to roll out vaccines and lower virus rate, I have been grateful to live the privileged lifestyle that I can.
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OBJECT IMAGE |
OBJECT DESCRIPTION AND RELATIONSHIP TO COVID-19: The object to the right of this text is the first hand sanitizer bottle I purchased once the quarantine order was released back in March 2020. When I see it, I feel an almost nostalgic feeling of fear and something drastic arising when I think about the time I purchased this bottle. I took it around wherever I went, whether that is in my own house, or outside on a stroll. This bottle was my primary means to sanitizer myself after touching anything remotely dirty. |
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PRIMARY SOURCE DESCRIPTION: The image to the right shows a facemask. After the beginning of the COVID19 pandemic outbreak, governments all across the world made it mandatory to wear facemasks to prevent the spread of the virus and lower the curve of people infected before it went parabolic. I chose to add this primary source to the archive because it will allow historians to see an item used to prevent the spread of COVID19. This specific mask has "Goodlife Fitness" written on it. This may shed some light on the fact that major indoor activities including gyms, restaurants, salons, schools (etc.) were closed for a prolonged period of time with very brief openings. |
PRIMARY SOURCE:
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NEWSPAPER HEADLINE News Article - Ontario Vaccination Rates Approach Target Ahead of Schedule (June 22, 2021) |
PERSONAL REACTION TO THIS HEADLINE: This is an article published by CTV News on June 22, 2021. It is about the vaccination rates and how they were quickly approaching goals set for mid-July and August. To add some context, the Premier of Ontario, Doug Ford proposed a three step reopening plan in early June. This plan was to open specific activities and locations in June, July and August based on vaccination rates across the province. This news article states that these targets are fast approaching, as people were excited for the reopening of everything, thus vaccination rates skyrocketed after Doug Ford's announcement. Upon reading this headline, I was filled with hope and happiness. I felt as though there was a chance I might get to see my family and friends properly, that I can go to the gym and eat at restaurants again. A very uplifting read after an entire year and a half of quarantine and social distancing. |
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VISUALIZING COVID-19 This is a a visualization of the impact of COVID19 among post secondary students. During April to May 2020, 100000 post secondary students were surveyed by Statistics Canada on how the Coronavirus affected their schooling. It was found that 92% of students moved a majority or all of their courses online, whereas 26% of students had dropped their courses or had been cancelled/postponed. 35% of work placements were delayed or cancelled. These statistics show how drastically the virus affected student life, pushing many to take a year off of school or simply drop out. This visualization puts the massive change in student life of being pushed into a sudden pandemic into perspective. |
COVID Q&A
Describe the moment you realized how serious COVID-19 was:
The moment I realized how serious COVID-19 was, was back in March of 2020, as soon as schools had closed and a quarantine order was given out to the public, it felt as if it was some sort of hopeless zombie apocalypse movie. Another time was when my uncle had fell into a coma due to Coronavirus back in July 2020, my parents were frightened at this and sad that they could not visit my uncle.
What did you learn about yourself or the people you live with during COVID-19?
I have gotten a lot more close with my family and friends during this pandemic and I am much better able to understand them. I learned that things take time, its nice to slow down and speak to someone rather than rush through everything in life.
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 in my daily life is not going to university and not going to gyms. Campus and gyms allowed for socialization and after the quarantine order, socializing fell to an all time low. This will hopefully not be the case in September of 2021.
Have you learned any new skills during the pandemic?
I have starting investing into various stocks after viewing the crash of March 2020, I did my research and saw the potential gains to be made after the market bounces back.
How do you feel about university education in the last year?
I feel like university education got a lot easier in some aspects and a lot tougher in others. Easier in the sense that I was not required to wake up, get ready and go to university every morning, everything was online and professors could be reached with one email. It was tougher because due to the nature at which midterms and lectures were, professors have made the tests/labs/assignments much harder (along with the marking). Not to mention the fact that you cannot speak to your professors or classmates directly, making understanding content and doing groupwork a lot tougher.
List one positive thing and one negative thing you'll take away from 2020:
One positive thing from 2020 is the time and space I got to slow down improve myself. One negative thing is the fact that I lost all ability to socialize due to the virus.
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've watched has to be a toss up between Netflix's "The Witcher" and "Queen's Gambit".
How large of an impact do you think COVID-19 has had on your mental health?
I believe it has had a fairly large impact to my mental health. This year, although allowing me to take a breather from life, has been one of the most stressful years of my life.
How has technology impacted your life during lockdown?
I could not imagine lockdown without technology. It has helped me through thick and thin by acting as the only means to reach friends and family, my key to music, videos, gaming, the news, etc. I am truly grateful to have technology by my side throughout this pandemic.
How has the pandemic brought wider acknowledgement to systemic racism in Canada?
The pandemic has allowed Canadians look at who is getting affected by COVID-19 in various places. In a workplace, for instance, we can see the people who are laid off due to the virus and who were not. Many statistics show who institutions prioritize during these times and often times, it is clear systematic racism, however, the government is working hard to prioritize the right people based on things like living conditions, salary, etc.
In what ways do you envision society changing due to the pandemic?
I envision a more social society. The public will not forget about this virus anytime within the next 100 years and they will not take freedom for granted. I expect to see an all-time-high of people outside and enjoying the environment.
Now that you are done with both the course and your additions to the archive, is there anything you'd like to reflect on?
This course was a pleasure to be apart of, I am not sure if it will be offered in the future, but if it doesn't, I will be happy to say that I enrolled in the pandemic history class during the end of the coronavirus :)
Gallery
Other archival items connected to my experience of COVID-19. Click on any image to enlarge.
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