Text
Taylor Harris
Prof Delahanty
10/22/2020
COVID-19 Pandemic
This past year has been full of crazy, unexpected events due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
When the first case of corona came to the US, I wasn’t aware of how large of an impact it would
have on our country. Not knowing much about the virus, I never thought it would come
anywhere close to myself or the people I know but I was wrong. When corona first came to the
United States, many of us didn’t really think anything of it, until it was in our own state. During
the last couple of weeks of high school that were in person, it was rare to hear a conversation that
wasn’t about corona. The pandemic was the main topic of many conversations causing anxiety
and worry amongst so many. Not much information was given to any of us students and at the
time no one really knew anything about the virus or how to contain it. The more the cases rose,
the more people freaked out. Massachusetts was one of the first “hot spot” states causing schools
to shut down and almost all jobs switching to online.
With the virus spreading more, my school decided to shut down. One of my teachers
came in contact with a family member who tested positive for corona, and my whole school went
into panic mode. Kids were calling their parents to get dismissed because the staff weren’t giving
us updates on the incident with the teacher. The next day school was cancelled and everyone
believed that we would be back the next week. The next week came around and my school
pushed it back to 2 weeks. Week after week our time off school continued to grow and soon
enough we were told that we weren’t going back to school. Reality hit everyone when we found
out we couldn’t go back to school because of how serious COVID was getting in our state. No
prom, no normal graduation, no senior trip, no awards night, and so many other missed events.
My school was not prepared to switch to online classes, so we had a break from school for
almost a month before they figured out the situation with classes and teaching online.I still ended
up having club volleyball practice after the fact until one night our coach told us it would be our
last practice for a while and maybe even for the rest of the season. My teammates and I couldn’t
believe the news and kept questioning our coaches about our season, but it was unknown what
the future would hold. At this point no one knew how to deal with the situation at hand. Stores,
restaurants, business, etc all shut down and at this point nothing felt real. Strict quarantine rules
and curfews were set in place for almost all residents in MA and we were forced to wear a mask
everywhere we went. Being a hot spot state, masks were required everywhere unlike the southern
states who had the option to wear one. Although rules were being followed, the number of
positive tests rose and the death rate continued to increase. The virus was untamable and
everyone believed it would get worse before it got better.
The governor of Boston kept pushing back quarantine week after week with no set date
as to when we were going to get back to normal. We lived day by day without any answers and
constantly stayed on our toes waiting for permission to leave quarantine. After a few months of
strict quarantine, the rules started to slowly lift. Stores started to slowly open with a certain
amount of customers shopping at once, and long lines waited outside for hours on end.
Restaurants opened to take out and you had to order through online services only.
Just as we were making a positive turn by slowly coming out of quarantine and isolation,
another curve ball was thrown throughout the world. We were hit with the unwarranted death of
Breonna Taylor in her own home. This African American woman was sleeping in her home
when plain clothed police invaded her apartment without a warning believing there was a
suspect, but the suspect had already been apprehended and it wasn’t the correct building. This
ignited the start up of the Black Lives Matters Movement with protests and petitions throughout
social media and news outlets across the country. Not long after this incident another instance of
police brutality took place. An African American man, George Floyd, was strangled to death in
police custody which was caught on video and spread worldwide. This sparked many peaceful
protests and cities across the country, some which resulted in violence on both sides of the
protesters and authorities. It got to a point where, even in peaceful protests, authorities would
take extreme measures against peaceful protesters by tear gassing crowds and shooting rubber
bullets. Not only did this cause a bigger rift between authorities and people of color, but it
sparked the BLM movement which became world wide. The articles and visuals shared on social
media were eye opening to me. Although I am a person of color in a predominantly white town,
my brothers and I never experienced anything like what we were seeing on the news. Growing
up my mom would always remind my brothers to stay cautious, “act appropriately” and stay safe
when going out especially at night time. My brothers, who are tall black males, like listening to
loud music while driving and occasionally wear durags to protect their hair, which is a part of
black culture. To police and society this is a stereotypical representation of a black man. Little do
they know, they are smart respectful men who have done so much for their community and
school. Being the younger sister of my three brothers, I was worried for their safety after seeing
so many instances where black males were killed for the slightest issue. My mom, brothers and I
attended a few protests to stand up for minorities who are being oppressed in the criminal justice
system. This was a big part of my quarantine and taught me so much about the world we live in
today.
In all 2020 has been a crazy year with corona and the Black Lives Matter Movement. All
the ups and downs this year has taught me a lot about myself and the insane world that we live in
today. I never thought I would experience living through a pandemic, I would’ve never thought
I’d experience half of what I’ve been through this year.
Prof Delahanty
10/22/2020
COVID-19 Pandemic
This past year has been full of crazy, unexpected events due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
When the first case of corona came to the US, I wasn’t aware of how large of an impact it would
have on our country. Not knowing much about the virus, I never thought it would come
anywhere close to myself or the people I know but I was wrong. When corona first came to the
United States, many of us didn’t really think anything of it, until it was in our own state. During
the last couple of weeks of high school that were in person, it was rare to hear a conversation that
wasn’t about corona. The pandemic was the main topic of many conversations causing anxiety
and worry amongst so many. Not much information was given to any of us students and at the
time no one really knew anything about the virus or how to contain it. The more the cases rose,
the more people freaked out. Massachusetts was one of the first “hot spot” states causing schools
to shut down and almost all jobs switching to online.
With the virus spreading more, my school decided to shut down. One of my teachers
came in contact with a family member who tested positive for corona, and my whole school went
into panic mode. Kids were calling their parents to get dismissed because the staff weren’t giving
us updates on the incident with the teacher. The next day school was cancelled and everyone
believed that we would be back the next week. The next week came around and my school
pushed it back to 2 weeks. Week after week our time off school continued to grow and soon
enough we were told that we weren’t going back to school. Reality hit everyone when we found
out we couldn’t go back to school because of how serious COVID was getting in our state. No
prom, no normal graduation, no senior trip, no awards night, and so many other missed events.
My school was not prepared to switch to online classes, so we had a break from school for
almost a month before they figured out the situation with classes and teaching online.I still ended
up having club volleyball practice after the fact until one night our coach told us it would be our
last practice for a while and maybe even for the rest of the season. My teammates and I couldn’t
believe the news and kept questioning our coaches about our season, but it was unknown what
the future would hold. At this point no one knew how to deal with the situation at hand. Stores,
restaurants, business, etc all shut down and at this point nothing felt real. Strict quarantine rules
and curfews were set in place for almost all residents in MA and we were forced to wear a mask
everywhere we went. Being a hot spot state, masks were required everywhere unlike the southern
states who had the option to wear one. Although rules were being followed, the number of
positive tests rose and the death rate continued to increase. The virus was untamable and
everyone believed it would get worse before it got better.
The governor of Boston kept pushing back quarantine week after week with no set date
as to when we were going to get back to normal. We lived day by day without any answers and
constantly stayed on our toes waiting for permission to leave quarantine. After a few months of
strict quarantine, the rules started to slowly lift. Stores started to slowly open with a certain
amount of customers shopping at once, and long lines waited outside for hours on end.
Restaurants opened to take out and you had to order through online services only.
Just as we were making a positive turn by slowly coming out of quarantine and isolation,
another curve ball was thrown throughout the world. We were hit with the unwarranted death of
Breonna Taylor in her own home. This African American woman was sleeping in her home
when plain clothed police invaded her apartment without a warning believing there was a
suspect, but the suspect had already been apprehended and it wasn’t the correct building. This
ignited the start up of the Black Lives Matters Movement with protests and petitions throughout
social media and news outlets across the country. Not long after this incident another instance of
police brutality took place. An African American man, George Floyd, was strangled to death in
police custody which was caught on video and spread worldwide. This sparked many peaceful
protests and cities across the country, some which resulted in violence on both sides of the
protesters and authorities. It got to a point where, even in peaceful protests, authorities would
take extreme measures against peaceful protesters by tear gassing crowds and shooting rubber
bullets. Not only did this cause a bigger rift between authorities and people of color, but it
sparked the BLM movement which became world wide. The articles and visuals shared on social
media were eye opening to me. Although I am a person of color in a predominantly white town,
my brothers and I never experienced anything like what we were seeing on the news. Growing
up my mom would always remind my brothers to stay cautious, “act appropriately” and stay safe
when going out especially at night time. My brothers, who are tall black males, like listening to
loud music while driving and occasionally wear durags to protect their hair, which is a part of
black culture. To police and society this is a stereotypical representation of a black man. Little do
they know, they are smart respectful men who have done so much for their community and
school. Being the younger sister of my three brothers, I was worried for their safety after seeing
so many instances where black males were killed for the slightest issue. My mom, brothers and I
attended a few protests to stand up for minorities who are being oppressed in the criminal justice
system. This was a big part of my quarantine and taught me so much about the world we live in
today.
In all 2020 has been a crazy year with corona and the Black Lives Matter Movement. All
the ups and downs this year has taught me a lot about myself and the insane world that we live in
today. I never thought I would experience living through a pandemic, I would’ve never thought
I’d experience half of what I’ve been through this year.