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Throughout this mod, I have used this platform as well as my own personal journal to document my daily life during the COVID-19 pandemic. I had not previously journaled, but I can now say without a doubt, I will continue on doing it, even if it doesn't take this form anymore. The time I have allowed for reflection has been extremely beneficial, especially during this time.

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I often wonder what it must be like to be a small child during this pandemic. Obviously, there is some knowledge of what's going on, but not nearly the same amount as someone of my age and/or older. I can't help but feel a little jealous. Today on my walk I saw this family with two children. One was running all around, without a care in the world, and the other one was just lying down staring up into the sky. Seeing her do that made me want to do the same.

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I've been trying to get out on walks even when the weather is unpleasant, quite frankly just for my own sanity. Yesterday my dad and I went on a walk and we saw multiple beaver dams and heron's nests! While the weather sucked, our walk was still very beautiful and much needed.

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I went on a short hike with my dad the other day at Tippling Rock, a hill in Sudbury with a beautiful peak. When we made it up there, we soaked in some sun and talked for awhile. As he looked around at the budding trees and green surroundings, he started a conversation about how the world does not exist because of us or for us. We are just a small part of it. Yesterday, with the wonderful weather, I was thinking about this a lot. It felt like summer. Everything in life feels so still, yet the seasons are changing, the earth is doing its thing as it always does, even if we, as humans, are greatly adjusting our lives. Yesterday's light sparked inspiration for a series of self portraits.

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While my dad has not been working every single day of the week, when he is, I can feel his absence. He is a hospice and palliative care doctor, so he has seen a lot of the impacts that this pandemic has had. He has long days and when he comes home, is extremely exhausted. The emotions that come with his work, especially during this time, have been quite overwhelming for him, and I wish I could be more supportive because I can really see the effects that the past couple of months have had on him.

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As often as I can, I try to make myself get up in the morning with enough time to eat breakfast before class, however, that doesn't always happen. 5 minutes before A block this morning, I was still in bed, barely awake. Trying to keep a routine during these times is hard, and sometimes it's okay to take a break from that routine if it just feels like too much.

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When I'm at my dad's house, I often step out of my window onto my roof. Today I didn't really have the motivation or time to go on a walk, so I did that instead. The light was beautiful and I felt very at peace. Peace seems to be becoming a theme, maybe just because of the change of scenery, or maybe because I am actually becoming more at peace with the situation. I can't tell yet.

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In even just a day of being outside of the city, the constant reminders of COVID-19 have really disappeared from my life, at least when I'm outside. On my walk today, I didn't run into anyone wearing a mask, moving away at the sight of another human, or avoiding eye contact all together. That's not to say that it doesn't feel like the situation we are living in is still very real, because it is, but I feel a little more at peace with it, for now at least.

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A Change of Scenery (And a months worth of stuff)

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A Change of Scenery (And a months worth of stuff)

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For the first time since the pandemic really ramped up in the US, my sister and I are staying at our dad's house. We hadn't previously because he's been working in a hospital, but after over a month of not being able to see him, we decided it was time to come back. Here's my room at my dad's along with all of my luggage.

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I sadly didn't bring my camera, but yesterday my mom, her boyfriend, my sister and I all went on a hike at the Fells in the Winchester/Woburn area. It was a beautiful day. The parts where no one else was around, it felt absolutely normal, however when we did occasionally run into people on the trails, navigating space was an incredibly weird experience. Everyone would immediately put a mask on and move to the side when they saw other people.

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One thing that all of this extra time has allowed for is projects that my family and I wouldn't normally do together. Last week, my mom and I planted some seeds together inside and recently moved them out into a garden in our front yard, something that would have never happened if we were not living the way we currently are. The extra time, while often annoying and frustrating, has also at points been really useful.

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One thing I never used to do was make the time to make and eat breakfast in the morning during the week. Now I do it everyday. It provides extra time for me to have some chill time and reflect while also eating some really good food.

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While I admittedly spent the first one and a half weeks attending zoom classes in my bed, I quickly came to realize that it just was not working. I couldn't focus at all. So, I decided to (kind of) clear off my desk that I hadn't sat at in at least 7 years. It is still partially covered with a bunch of random crap from all different times in my life (including a whoopie cushion from god knows when), but now there is room for a computer and my breakfast.

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It continues to be impossible to walk past the hospital and not think about the chaos that must be going on inside that building at the moment. My dad is working in a hospital at the moment so I have some idea of the extreme measures people are having to go through to even enter hospitals as doctors and nurses. Thinking about it is all very overwhelming.

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More and more, I see people on their walks with masks on. Today I was able to capture an image. I never thought something as normal and usually stress free as a leisurely walk would become a source of fear.

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On my daily walk I always pass the same playground by Mount Auburn Hospital. Today was the first day that I saw a "closed" sign on it. In addition, all of the swings were raised so no one could reach them.

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My sister and my mom are going to get groceries today. While a visit to the store is usually a stress free task, now it has become something that has. become super dangerous. They are prepared, wearing both masks, and gloves.

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Before the pandemic, Cambridge streets were almost always busy, with little ability for random pedestrian crossing away from crosswalks. Now, I can cross Memorial Drive and many other large streets  that are normally backed up with ease. Here is a photo of JFK street in Harvard Square. It usually almost always is extremely busy, but here it is completely empty, all the way from Harvard Square down to the Charles River.

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Before the pandemic really began to hit the United States, I used to take public transportation at least once a day, if not more. Now, I haven't stepped foot on a bus or a train in over one month. When buses go by me while I'm walking, there are never more than one or two people on board. I wonder what the trains look like.

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A friendly reminder on a bench that I walked by.

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Normally when I think of "self care" as a concept, I think of almost pampering yourself, taking better care of yourself than normal. Now, however, self care for me is as simple as getting dressed and taking showers everyday. One think I've been slacking on is shaving, and trust me, the half grown beard is not a good look, so I spent a little time this morning shaving. If only I could give myself a haircut too.

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On Tuesday I walked to Danehy Park. It was beautiful outside and for a second, when I got there, everything seemed normal. There were a bunch of people hanging out, some working out on the fields, playing soccer, but for the first time, I noticed the distance in between people, and groups of people. The space that was intentionally created. There were no pickup soccer games, no practices, only small groups of people, spaced out from each other. Being so conscious about that space was something I hadn't really experienced before.

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On my walk yesterday, for the first time in days, it was sunny! While the weather does not usually impact my mood much, I have noticed that recently, it has been a big deciding factor in whether I have a good day or a bad day. And yesterday was so good! All of the benches by the river were taken, so I found a nice patch of grass close to the river and sat there while I journaled.

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As I have been observing daffodils, I have also been seeing many other flowers bloom, trees bud, and colors brighten. While I often feel quite stuck in time during this pandemic, these are constant indications that life is continuing, and will continue to do so, and change.

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Today on my walk I saw this sign right by the river facing the hospital.

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It depends on how you interpret the photo, it's just a cool play on words with a photograph I think. This is a self portrait of me looking out a window in my house. Inside, and so outside, or far away, it seems, from the pandemic. Yet maybe I am inside it. I mean I am living in the middle of it. Just some thoughts when looking at this image.

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We all, somehow or another, have had to adjust our way of living, finding a "new normal". For me, that's having a very structured schedule, but rarely leaving my house. I normally spend as little time in my house as possible because to be honest, the energy drives me insane. So when I go out on my walks (which are always between 11 and 12) I have started to become more and more familiar with my path. I've already talked about the daffodils, although I do continue to write about them everyday in my journal, but my newer discovery is this painted birdhouse. I had never noticed it before, but now I intentionally observe it blow in the wind every single day. It's child like (probably because a child painted it) painting design brings me a sense of comfort.

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Although I am leaving my house to go on walks, I do still consider myself to be self quarantining. This is a photo of me in front of my house, where I have been doing pretty much everything.

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I don't think I have ever spent as much time in my room as i have in the last four weeks. It has become a mess, but a comforting one. It definitely looks more lived in than usual. It has even become my new classroom.

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Today, as I passed Mount Auburn Hospital on my walk, I began to think about how close I was to the people infected with Covid-19, yet how seemingly far away I was to the issue as well. This is a self portrait of me, with the hospital in the background. The only thing separating myself from the building is the fence.

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I did a bit of journaling on my bench today. Just some reflecting on the past couple of days. Unlike yesterday and the day before, the weather, although cold, was pleasant enough to sit out in.

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When I began to start doing my daily walk a couple of weeks ago, there were already some daffodils in full bloom by the Charles River. Within the past two weeks, the weather has been all over the place, yet the daffodils are still going strong. I find this to be kind of ironic. Something like flowers, seen as so fragile, flourishing, even in harsh times, while we as humans are so deeply struggling right now.

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The windows in many of the storefronts of Harvard Square are dark because everything is closed. In this photo, the background makes it clear that the normally bustling square (even in cold weather) is empty.

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While on my walk today, I decided to venture into Harvard Square since I hadn't been there since before the sudden seriousness of the Covid-19 pandemic. Almost all businesses were closed. Here is an image of Tasty Burger. I had never seen it closed before. It is known for its late hours, after all.

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What I bring on my walk every single day.

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Since I began social distancing, I have been taking the same walk everyday, stopping to sit on a bench right by the Charles river.

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I have been journaling now for a little over two weeks but will now be surrounding a lot of that journaling with the addition of photography for the next five weeks. My goal is to create a comprehensive documentation of my experience during this pandemic on an accessible platform.