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Question 1: What is your earliest memory of the COVID-19 virus arriving in the Niagara area? How did you initially feel? How do you feel now?
I went out to dinner to a Niagara Ice Dogs game on March 7, 2020 with a friend and the only sign of covid was my friend and I joking about having watched those hand-washing videos and paying more attention to our hand hygiene. Otherwise everything was the same. Then, I have a journal entry from a year ago, March 14th 2020, reassuring myself that we only have one case in Niagara and the actions we are taking at Brock (in Residence, specifically) are preventative and not reactive. Initially it felt very far away, then it progressively got closer (literally and figuratively). A lot of the initial feelings were anxiety and trying to manage panic. There was (and still isn’t) a precedent to this. What other experiences did we have to compare this to? What past event caused us to react like this? Even SARS or H1N1 (our closest references) did not have or call for this kind of reaction.
A lot of what felt foreign then now feels normal, a year in. The anxiety is still there, but it’s a baseline or an undercurrent of anxiety, not the sharp sense of panic that happened in the early days. I almost miss the naïveté that I had in the early days. The belief that it would be over soon, just a weird blip on the radar, not a major life event. That all we had to do was wash our hands, not isolate ourselves from our family and friends and take precautions to do the most everyday tasks. That working from home was an interesting change, not an isolating and lonely experience.
I went out to dinner to a Niagara Ice Dogs game on March 7, 2020 with a friend and the only sign of covid was my friend and I joking about having watched those hand-washing videos and paying more attention to our hand hygiene. Otherwise everything was the same. Then, I have a journal entry from a year ago, March 14th 2020, reassuring myself that we only have one case in Niagara and the actions we are taking at Brock (in Residence, specifically) are preventative and not reactive. Initially it felt very far away, then it progressively got closer (literally and figuratively). A lot of the initial feelings were anxiety and trying to manage panic. There was (and still isn’t) a precedent to this. What other experiences did we have to compare this to? What past event caused us to react like this? Even SARS or H1N1 (our closest references) did not have or call for this kind of reaction.
A lot of what felt foreign then now feels normal, a year in. The anxiety is still there, but it’s a baseline or an undercurrent of anxiety, not the sharp sense of panic that happened in the early days. I almost miss the naïveté that I had in the early days. The belief that it would be over soon, just a weird blip on the radar, not a major life event. That all we had to do was wash our hands, not isolate ourselves from our family and friends and take precautions to do the most everyday tasks. That working from home was an interesting change, not an isolating and lonely experience.
Question 2: How long did you expect the pandemic to last in those early months? What are your thoughts now?
I really truly thought it would only last a couple of days, maybe a couple of months. Now I’m pretty sure it’ll last 18 months, at a minimum, in its current form. It’ll be 18 months of working from home, reinventing the wheel, distancing from family and friends, and feeling like every decision involves calculus in order to keep myself and others safe.
I really truly thought it would only last a couple of days, maybe a couple of months. Now I’m pretty sure it’ll last 18 months, at a minimum, in its current form. It’ll be 18 months of working from home, reinventing the wheel, distancing from family and friends, and feeling like every decision involves calculus in order to keep myself and others safe.
Question 3: Twelve months in, what have been the most challenging aspects of the pandemic? What could have been done better?
Not being able to spend time with family and friends. Navigating social circles with a roommate. Feeling like every decision I make has the potential to result in someone else getting sick/dying. Having to reinvent literally aspect of my job in order to keep my staff and students safe. Using at home technology that was not made for this level of sustained working from home, but not really having any other choice.
There are many things that could have been done better, and while I have empathy for the groups and the individuals that had to learn and adapt and share and make decisions while navigating something they’ve never navigated either, it’s still hard to think of the ways that we all collectively failed.
Not being able to spend time with family and friends. Navigating social circles with a roommate. Feeling like every decision I make has the potential to result in someone else getting sick/dying. Having to reinvent literally aspect of my job in order to keep my staff and students safe. Using at home technology that was not made for this level of sustained working from home, but not really having any other choice.
There are many things that could have been done better, and while I have empathy for the groups and the individuals that had to learn and adapt and share and make decisions while navigating something they’ve never navigated either, it’s still hard to think of the ways that we all collectively failed.
Question 4: Silver linings - What positive experiences had you had that may not have happened without the time at home due to the pandemic?
This whole year has really emphasized that I do not want work to be my whole life and that as much as work was still consuming my time pre-COVID, I had a life (or was working on cultivating one). This has helped to define some of my priorities. I’ve also exercised daily throughout, which has been a godsend. I also bought my first house. Truly valued every in person interaction I’ve been able to have with family, friends, and coworkers. Learned more and fallen in love with many local businesses and restaurants.
This whole year has really emphasized that I do not want work to be my whole life and that as much as work was still consuming my time pre-COVID, I had a life (or was working on cultivating one). This has helped to define some of my priorities. I’ve also exercised daily throughout, which has been a godsend. I also bought my first house. Truly valued every in person interaction I’ve been able to have with family, friends, and coworkers. Learned more and fallen in love with many local businesses and restaurants.
Question 6: Vaccination programs have begun. Will you get vaccinated at the earliest opportunity? Why or why not?
100000%. Keeping myself and others safe has been the priority, and this is the most concrete, long-term way to do that. I will not hesitate.
100000%. Keeping myself and others safe has been the priority, and this is the most concrete, long-term way to do that. I will not hesitate.
Question 7: What are your biggest concerns for the upcoming year?
That the vaccine rollout will not go well (despite a year to plan). That herd immunity won’t be achieved. That variants will prove resistant to the vaccine. That the light at the end of the tunnel will stay at the end of the tunnel, and not get any closer/more realistic.
That the vaccine rollout will not go well (despite a year to plan). That herd immunity won’t be achieved. That variants will prove resistant to the vaccine. That the light at the end of the tunnel will stay at the end of the tunnel, and not get any closer/more realistic.
Question 8: What are you most excited to do when the pandemic is formally over?
Spend time with family and friends. Hug my parents. Be able to have casual plans. Go into the office daily. Eat lunch with my coworkers. Have meetings in person. Have staff be able to “just stop by” and not have to schedule a virtual meeting just to talk to me. Eat in a restaurant without worrying about getting others sick. Go dancing. Go to a concert. Start dating again. Walk by people on the sidewalk without having to give a wide berth. Pet strangers dogs.
Spend time with family and friends. Hug my parents. Be able to have casual plans. Go into the office daily. Eat lunch with my coworkers. Have meetings in person. Have staff be able to “just stop by” and not have to schedule a virtual meeting just to talk to me. Eat in a restaurant without worrying about getting others sick. Go dancing. Go to a concert. Start dating again. Walk by people on the sidewalk without having to give a wide berth. Pet strangers dogs.
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St. Catharines
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This item was submitted on March 15, 2021 by [anonymous user] using the form “1 Year Q&A” on the site “Documenting COVID-19 in Niagara”: https://exhibits.library.brocku.ca/s/COVID-Niagara
Click here to view the collected data.