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Interviewer: Sophia Reid

Interviewee: Andrea Reid

How did your business do during the pandemic?

“Since I work in telecommunications we could sell more during the pandemic since everyone needed devices like iPads or phones. It was hard to find products to sell, but we still did well. It was actually one of the best years we’ve had at the business.”

How was your personal life impacted by the pandemic?

“I had to adapt with working from home. Since the pandemic started, I never went to my office, and I only went to my home office. I also wasn't able to travel like I used to. So many trips were canceled, and I couldn’t see my family in Brazil like I used to do yearly. It was hard. But now I’m used to working from home, and I can see my family now. I was able to adapt to the new lifestyle.”

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Gun violence has been a prominent issue in the U.S, yet strong debate has sparked within the topic in the past two years, especially in the New York ghost gun case. In this interview, Mrs. Porges shows her viewpoint on the topic.

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Due to Covid I could not travel on winter break for two years. Then in 2022, my first time in around 7 years, I had experienced snow and skiing again.

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I have played on my new soccer team for only seven months. Despite this short time period, I have managed to grow so close with my teammates.

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In 2021, I was accepted into Florida United, a soccer club. This has been my first time playing in the Girls Academy League, with a completely new team.

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Throughout 2020, although I was constantly surrounded by family, I had never felt so alone.

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This photo was taken with my grandmother on August 2, 2019, a year before she had the accident.

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Today my life has altered incredibly, even in ways that I could never have anticipated. This was primarily due to my grandmother. In late October of 2020, my mother received the news that my grandmother, who lives in Brazil, had a stroke. She was devastated, and she booked a flight to Brazil the next day. She arrived in Brazil with a one way ticket, without any knowledge of her return date. When she saw my grandmother, she was in the hospital, paralyzed on the entire left half of her body. Every day, each hour, my mom remained by her side, which occurred for around a month and a half. Then, when my grandmother was about to leave the hospital, in mid November, another stroke suddenly came. This forced my mother to remain in Brazil for an additional two months. After a total of around four months had passed, my mother returned back home. She later formulated a pattern of returning to Brazil every one to two months for one month at a time. This entire situation was very troublesome for my father since he had to adjust to having all parental duties brought upon him, and it was awfully difficult to not see my mother as frequently as I usually did. Despite this, today in 2022, my grandmother has improved enormously. From partially being paralyzed, she can now walk with a cane on her own. Plus, my mother still travels to Brazil, but she spends much more time with my brother and I now. This, plus the pandemic, has made past years turn into nightmares. I now realize, in those past years, I took everything for granted. Whether it was something simple such as seeing a family member, I never realized how much various parts of my life truly mattered to me. After escaping the pandemic, I wish that I would have told myself this earlier, in a stronger way. Since in reality, everyone hears the words “Don’t take things for granted.” Yet no one truly knew the importance of this, until now.

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It was March 13th, 2020, when the news came. Prior to this, I was in my third-period math class with Mrs. Whipple. Life was normal, and all was fine. The bell then rang, and five minutes after, we received an email from Dr. Laurie. This informed us about the newly found coronavirus, and that we would have to go online immediately. I had never felt such confusion. Contentment ran through me at the thought of no school, then sorrow came as I realized what this virus truly was capable of. As time passed, this sorrow faded, yet I still possessed a poor feeling. I felt as if many had underestimated the events that were soon to arrive. This fear resided distant in the back of my mind, but when it had been days since, all poor emotions were vanquished by my content with not going to school. This contentment then endured for around 2 weeks when I realized what I had lost; A trip two years in the making to Costa Rica with my aunt and her family, and a cruise ship on spring break, and Thanksgiving week, a family tradition, had been canceled. All that I was hopeful for had been taken away. I was numb to hope. In those years, as previously made evident, my life was a roller coaster.

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I never realized how much I touched my face, until I couldn’t anymore. Now I know how dogs feel!

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In order to take precaution, I constantly washed my hands for what seemed like each and every minute. This led to extreme dryness and cracking of my hands, it was terrible!

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The cycle of 2020 was never ending. Even through the decline of the virus, various other issues revealed themselves.

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After George Floyd was murdered, many around the nation gathered to support the Black Lives Matter movement. This movement, was extremely powerful as it ensured of Derek Chauvins conviction, and change in African American rights.

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Each and every day, as time passed, the death and case rates seemed to endlessly rise. This shocked me, and I felt as if we would never escape the endless cycle.

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On social media, former professional soccer player, Eddie Johnson, began posting skill drills for people to complete. I grew interest in these, and without being able to play with my team, I constantly practiced these drills.

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During covid in isolation, there was no way for me to socialize with my friends. As a solution to this dilemma I constantly played the popular game of Fortnite with my friends.

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Due to Covid, gatherings were not permitted with my soccer team. Instead, I had to join virtual soccer meetings with my teammates and coach.

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This was the first official day of online school at American Heritage. At first it was strange, but then I strongly enjoyed it!