STUDENT NAME: Allison S

MY COVID EXPERIENCE: I have learned a lot about myself in the last year due to the pandemic. Although it was a huge adjustment and I deeply missed seeing friends and family, I learned to enjoy spending time alone and picked up some new hobbies along the way. I started listening to podcasts and going on long walks, reading, upcycling old clothes, and perfecting the perfect iced coffee. Last summer I got hired at Hopewell Children's Home as a behavioral support worker, which has brought me so much happiness and helped me manage and escape from all the bad in the world. I have been lucky enough to get both vaccines and I now feel confident and comfortable to see friends and family. 

OBJECT IMAGEIn this photo is an open window to the left where you can see a redbrick building with other white windows, a bed pushed against the wall with multicoloured purple and blue bedding, with an open black laptop that has course notes on the screen. Some of the writing is highlighted in light green. The laptop is a black MacBook Pro. To the left of it is a clear mason jar with an iced coffee in it and a metal straw. On the mason jar reads a sticker "ZERO WASTE BULK," and it has a white lid. The laptop and the iced coffee are on top of a blue and white floral patterned lap desk. In the background, you can see white walls and a decorative brown "A" on the shelf.

Quarantine Office

OBJECT DESCRIPTION AND RELATIONSHIP TO COVID-19: My reason for including this image in the archive is that it has been my life for the past year. Laying in my bed with my iced coffee, lap desk, and laptop, doing school work. Prior to the pandemic, my views and setup were much different. I would study on campus at the Mclaughlin library every day. Sitting at a cubicle with a Starbucks iced coffee as opposed to one I made myself, and being social. The emotion that this evokes is sadness. A major part of studying on campus for me was the social aspect. Being an extrovert, this is something that fueled me. Now, I spend my days alone, couped up inside. The memory that this image is connected to is all the fun times I had on campus. I would wake up bright and early every morning, motivated. I would do my makeup, get dressed, and have a productive day. Now, I sleep in, stay in bed, and in my pajamas. I look forward to the day I can go back to my element. 

 

 

 

 

PRIMARY SOURCE DESCRIPTION: The primary source I selected was my proof of vaccination. Being a frontline worker, I have been lucky enough to have received both doses of the Pfizer vaccine. For me, this is an image of hope. It is proof that things are going to start getting better. Once everyone has their vaccinations, life will start and go back to normal. Having both my vaccinations has relieved so much of my anxiety about going out into the world and getting sick. I can finally hug my friends, grandparents, and family. It might help future historians understand what I am going through, as seeing that I have had both doses administered to me may help emphasize the severity of the virus. If I was not afraid of the impacts COVID-19 has, I would have gotten my vaccination, let alone both. They may use it as historical data to compile facts about how many people got the vaccine vs. didn't, and how it impacted mortality rates. It may also give them an indication of people's mindset at the time, and their belief in science vs politics. Being someone who has taken courses on the human body, this document is easy for me to understand. However, this is not the case for all. In order for someone to make sense of this document, they may need a diagram of the human body indicating what a left deltoid is, as well as intramuscular. A sheet of paper explaining in depth what the mRNA Pzier vaccine does and the effect it has on your body would also be helpful.

PRIMARY SOURCE:

In this image is a sheet of white paper with black digital font. On the top, left corner says "Ontario" and underneath it says "Ministry of Health" and underneath that it says "Ministere de la Sante." There is a symbol on the top right corner with a black circle, and in that circle is a white thing that looks almost like a flower, and is white. The rest of the documentation includes name, health card number, date of birth, date, product name, etc. On the right-hand side at the bottom there is blue highlight crossing out a word that was previously there.Vaccination Documentation: One Step Closer

NEWSPAPER HEADLINE In this image is the cover of a newspaper article. The background is white and there is black font. In black bold font and the top centre of the photo says "News Letter." To the right is a blue peacock. Below, to the left, it says "Sussexes in last appearance as senior Royals" and to the right is an image of Megan Markle with a green head wrap on and a green shirt. Beside her on the right is Prince Harry wearing a navy blue suit with a light blue tie. He has orange hair. On the right beside that, it says "Farmer's friends praise 'tragic young gentleman.'" Beside it on the right is an image of a man with short brown hair in a checkered blue shirt. Below it says "Coronavirus: Now it's getting serious" in bolded black font. Underneath is an image of a television screen with a man in a blue suit. The image is surrounded by a bunch of black small font.

Coronavirus: Now it's getting serious

PERSONAL REACTION TO THIS HEADLINE

Reading this article came with lots of shock and emotion. I discovered that the worst affected country after China was Italy. Coronavirus lead Northern Ireland to close down two schools, and Belfast's St.Patricks day parade was postponed. This was only after the 13th person was diagnosed, and only 5 people had died. This is shocking to me, as even when cases were growing rapidly and more people were dying, the government was lifting lockdown early in Ontario, allowing children to return to school, gyms to be open, etc. It's almost like the worse things got, the less seriously they were dealt with. It is sad to be reminded of how few deaths there were at the beginning of all of this, as now the numbers are in the millions. I wish that the Ontario government would have handled COVID-19 better as maybe by now we would be returned to somewhat normal like Australia. This article was posted around March, which is around the time I started becoming more educated on the coronavirus after the University of Guelph closed. 

 

 

In this image, you can see a colorful comic explaining the coronavirus. On the top left-hand side in orange, it says "CORONAVIRUS EXPLAINED." Underneath that there is a white speech bubble with black font text which above says start here. Under the speech bubble, there is an animated blue circle with eyes and a mouth and little spouts coming out of it that are red on the top. Below it is three animated people. The one on the far left is in a shirt with orange hair, beside him to the right is a woman with grey hair, flushed cheeks, and she is wearing red. Beside her on the right is a girl with orange hair and she is in a blue shirt. Underneath them is an orange flag with a blue post and reads "LOOKING AFTER YOURSELF" IN BLACK FONT. There is a house underneath it with black text at the top and 6 children at the bottom. One is eating, one is on the phone, one is playing on the ground, one is playing the guitar, one is dancing, and one is cleaning the windows. To the right of the white speech bubble is another speech bubble that is orange and has black font text. On the top right-hand side in yellow, it says "WHAT CAN YOU DO." Beside it on the right is a white speech bubble coming from an animated white bar of soap and a blue bottle of hand sanitizer. Underneath that are four squares. The top left and bottom right square are in orange. The top right and bottom left are in grey. The top left square has a boy in a blue shirt with brown hair washing his hands. There is a red circle beside him. The left square has a boy in a blue shirt with yellow hair coughing into his inner elbow. The bottom left square has a boy with black hair and a striped yellow and white shirt and is picking his nose. Beside him is a girl with yellow hair and a white shirt rubbing her eyes. There is a red square beside her on the left. The square on the bottom right has a woman with blue pants and a grey shirt with brown hair bending down to a little girl with red hair and a red dress. Her cheecks are rosey. Underneath the squares in blue font is "AND REMEMBER..." and beside it are three kids socially distanced waving at eachother.

Coronavirus Explained: Comic Edition

VISUALIZING COVID-19 

This visual of COVID-19 is a comic edition for children as it breaks down COVID-19 in an easily comprehensive manner. It briefly explains some of the common symptoms such as cough, fever, and struggle of breath. In the explanation of what the coronavirus is, it relates it to being similar to the flu, as many children are familiar with that. It encourages children to express to an adult how they are feeling which I think is great. Children bottling up their feelings is a recipe for disaster, especially during a time like this. The coronavirus is quite complex, so it is important to include visuals such as the ones they have like covering your mouth when you cough, washing your hands, not touching your face, and letting an adult know if you aren't feeling well. These are all preventative measures. It also reminds the children at the end that there are many people out there who are trying to make things better so life can resume to normal. This is important to include so it makes the children hopeful. The data is from a website called The Alliance.

COVID Q&A

Describe the moment you realized how serious COVID-19 was:

A moment I realized how serious COVID-19 was, was when the University of Guelph shut down and we were forced to leave campus. Prior to this, I did not know the severity of the virus, or what it even really was.

What did you learn about yourself or the people you live with during COVID-19?

What I learned about myself during COVID-19 was that I am more independent than I ever thought I was. I learned how much I enjoy my own company and being alone.

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?

Other than wearing a mask, the biggest change I made to my daily life was not being able to hug my friends, or even see them for that matter. 

Have you learned any new skills during the pandemic?

A new skill I have learned during the pandemic was self-sufficiency. This was a result of courses being online and not having the same in-person resources. I also learned how to be creative, and made new pieces of clothing out of old ones. 

How do you feel about university education in the last year?

I feel that university education in the last year has been very challenging. Being someone who needs constant academic reassurance, having an online learning experience was a hard adjustment for me.

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 that all of my friends and family are safe and healthy, however, that is not the same case for everyone around the world which is a negative. 

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 is Lucifer.

How large of an impact do you think COVID-19 has had on your mental health?

COVID-19 has had a massive impact on my mental health as I used to be an incredibly social and extroverted person. Shifting to isolation and living alone was very challenging in the beginning and I felt very alone. However, as time went on, I learned to be okay with being alone and started enjoying my own company. 

How has technology impacted your life during lockdown?

Technology has impacted my life during the lockdown in a positive way as it allowed me to keep in touch with people. I was also able to Facetime people which helped me feel less lonely and made me feel like I was almost getting a face-to-face interaction.

How has the pandemic brought wider acknowledgement to systemic racism in Canada?

The pandemic has brought wider acknowledgment to systemic racism in Canada as racialized communities are being impacted disproportionately by COVID-19.

In what ways do you envision society changing due to the pandemic?

The ways in which I envision society changing due to the pandemic is that people are going to develop social anxiety. I myself have found that going out in public has caused me some anxiety, as well as speaking out in lectures, which is something I have never struggled with before.

Now that you are done with both the course and your additions to the archive, is there anything you'd like to reflect on?

After taking this course, I have gained so much knowledge on the history of COVID-19 and the impact that it has had on so many people's lives.