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The Stories

I.Z., a teen in Murrieta, CA

“…the hardest thing about quarantine is not being able to see my grandma, especially not being able to hang out with her during the holidays. My grandmother lives in another state so we would probably have to do a two week quarantine before even visiting her, but my family believes it is still too much of a risk to take. We call her on facetime, but, of course it is not the same.”

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S.S., a teen in Murrieta, CA

“This situation affects my mental health in extreme ways. My brain is longing for the social connections that school and the freedoms that turning 16 brings me. I cannot exercise the things that I have waited for so long in terms of life and friends because of the people in power and the people that cannot follow simple directions.”

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C.M., a teen in Murrieta, CA

“I was incredibly bored throughout the entire experience and it was hard finding things to do in my own home but I’ve managed find many things like drawing, watching movies, learning a new language, etc. I try to talk to my friends through different methods everyday and the rare occasion we see each other face-to-face we still adhere to rules as best we can.”

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N.N., a teen in CA

“Since the beginning of the sheltering in place, I’ve been going out every day (being careful to stay far away from others). At the beginning, I took walks or went on runs, but lately I’ve been playing basketball with my sister.”

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W.B., 29, a mechanical engineer in Missoula, MT

“As the shelter-in-place orders were issued across most of the US, and the dire news about shortages of PPE and ventilators started hitting mainstream media, many of my designer and engineer friends tried to put their professional skills to work to try and solve these problems. Some of my coworkers started designing face shields and face masks, teaming up with local manufacturers to help fight the shortage…”

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T.S., 65, a retired librarian in Missoula, MT

“…It is difficult coming to terms with the realization that the world I knew has significantly changed. I remember hearing my grandmother talk about about the changes in her life brought about by the influenza epidemic in 1918. I’ll try to learn as much as I can while undergoing this experience so I will have something to relate to my future grandchildren.”

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J.W.T., 44, a professor in Teresina, Brazil

“O nosso presidente, Jair Bolsonaro, é um necrófilo consumado, um dublê de tirano sem o talento para tal, e sua necropolítica em relação à Covid-19 consiste simplesmente em rechaçar a voz da ciência, minimizar o valor das vidas perdidas e pregar o término da quarentena a fim de salvar a pele do empresariado que financiou sua campanha à presidência.”

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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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