14 months later: Photos

The last 14 months brought a lot of conflicting feelings to me. What kept me going was my neighbor, Maya. Maya and I did a lot of physical activity throughout quarantine, this included things like riding our bikes, penny boarding, and even just hitting a tennis ball around in the street. Although quarantine was a strange and stressful time, Maya and I made the best of it and this photo best represen...

2020 was a year full of lessons learned. COVID-19 and quarantine brought out a lot of hefty struggles for many people. Looking back, I’ve learned to put my own mental health first. Quarantine and being separated from society for so long forced me to spend more time with myself, which led to much self-discovery and time to reflect.

My take of the last 14 months was about the weight I felt from all different aspects of life. School was somewhat of a balancing act, and I was trying to keep it all from tumbling down and taking my mental health with it. While some of the weight was due to school, it also revolved around the pandemic and growing insecurities about my self image. I wanted the scale to represent the literal weight of...

This is a photo taken of the playground Walker Park. Fourteen months ago, there were signs all around saying it was closed and caution tape was everywhere, as if it were a crime scene. It was completely closed off, as several parks were at the time. Now, over a year has gone by, and there’s still a sign warning about COVID-19. However, the yellow tape is gone, and I see people on the playground every...

For my statement about 2020, I wanted to share my greatest lesson of the year: learning to really see yourself. When you spend so much time thinking about how yourself and others perceive you, it’s difficult to find the beauty in anything else. The things I showed in the mirror do not represent me, but sometimes it’s hard to see past them. The white platter shows me setting my negative thoughts...

This photo is of my plant named TJ, short for Trader Joseph. I bought TJ at the beginning of quarantine, which was 14 months ago. As a young plant, TJ was featured in my very first photo gallery. But today, my green pal has grown tall and vibrant. Similar to TJ, people have bloomed in varying aspects of their lives. For example, maybe their mental health improved, they picked up a new hobby, or obtaine...

These past 14 months have been nothing short of chaotic. With so many changes and obstacles, I have become a completely different person than I was before COVID-19 struck the US. I have grown and evolved, and for that I am thankful. I have developed interests for new activities, learned more about myself and overall grew as a person.  As we are in the midst of spring and flowers are beginning to blossom, I am in awe o...