C.A., a teen in Fullerton, CA

This post is in collaboration with covid9teen

Fullerton, CA:

In the time of Covid, everyone needs a touch of solace which enlivens our mood. We need neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine to be released which are also called the feel-good neurotransmitters. So let’s hear a story about me that will make you laugh and probably cause stoic expressions.

It might be difficult to be happy or stay calm, but we should know that there are millions of others in the past who have gone through pandemics pertinent to COVID-19. This might be one of the first major pandemics we had in a century.

I would have never thought of such a pandemic and I didn’t even know that the word “quarantine” exists. This pandemic shocked millions of people, can you imagine that happening even when we have the best intelligence, technology, and very bright scientists who are filled with knowledge about such outbreaks.

On a cloudy morning, filled with freshness, and was able to hear the bustling of cars. I woke up late for school as usual and saw my phone filled with notifications about some virus. The breaking news said that there are thousands of people who are dead because of this virus. I read the news, it said that the virus is called COVID-19 or Coronavirus.

It was unbelievable when I first heard about such a thing. People were not as worried about it at my school, since we were still finding the information about the COVID-19 outbreak. But at the end of March, there were a lot of people who were infected and also died of COVID-19. It became the new highlight of 2020 which was the root of all the problems. Problems such as not attending sports games, unable to attend school, crowded areas, economic problems, and layoffs happening rapidly. For me, this was a huge and drastic change I ever experienced. My school’s board group members’ consensus was that the school will operate on-line.

My on-line schooling was the opposite of liveliness. First, I had network issues. I joined through the Zoom(web-communication platform). My teachers were kind enough to excuse me but I was just frustrated. Sitting through 7 hours of classes made me crazy and lazy. I woke up every day, dressed in my comfy clothes, and sat on a chair for hours showing my face through a small circle-shaped tiny camera. One thing I missed was the human interaction since it was really needed for me, every day.

[submitted on 11/11/2020]

Learn more about the LiQ and the covid9teen collaboration here

Life in Quarantine: Witnessing Global Pandemic is an initiative sponsored by the Poetic Media Lab and the Center for Spatial and Textual Analysis at Stanford University.

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