Life in the Pandemic: Dealing with COVID-19’s Obstruction
The COVID-19 pandemic changed students' lifestyles especially considering Los Angeles had one of the highest infection and death rates in the United States. As a result, Cal State LA students and their communities experienced drastic changes in their lives. The simple idea of staying at home had become much more difficult. COVID-19 changed the way students communicate, socialize, and work. Students share their life experiences at home, discussing new ways of socializing, now at a (6 foot) distance. Some speak on what it was like working during the pandemic, experiencing job loss, and having more responsibilities taking care of their family members, including added financial burdens while attending college. In this section, students express how they coped through the pandemic and some of their struggles. All students' experiences are nuanced. Here are a few experiences of what some students have gone through.
BREAKING: COVID-19 case reported in the Cal State LA dorms, University Times, October 3, 2020
One reported student had tested positive for COVID-19, students living on campus were advised to test for COVID-19 to avoid a spread.
Experiencing COVID-19
In this video, a student shares their experience
contracting COVID-19 and going to the hospital.
They had difficulties breathing and discovered
they had pneumonia.
A student shares their stressful time in having
COVID-19 twice and their family having it.
They expressed how stressful the fall semester
was on them, but they continued with their
courses despite their experiences at home.
This student's family members got COVID-19 and
had to be isolated from the baby in the house.
They had concerns with the baby's health, so
they took many precautions to protect her.
Almost everyone in this student's household contracted COVID-19.
During this time the family welcomed a new member to their
family. Unfortunately, the baby got COVID-19, his mother
tested negative and was able to take care of the baby's needs
while everyone still had the virus. The student shares how
they were not able to be near their baby sister.
Managing Change and Limitations
With restrictions from the pandemic going out
is no longer the same. This individual expresses how
they miss leaving their home without worrying and now
dealing with anxiety when they go out. Adopting a new
pet has helped them feel better through these times.
After finding difficulty getting things done at home
and falling behind in class, this student struggled to
find a space to get work done. However, balancing
work and family became difficult when they worried
they spent too much time in their workspace.
After their family recovered from COVID-19
they still kept their distance from family outside
their home. If they did see their family, they kept
their distance or stayed in their cars to be safe.
“I got my very first job at fourteen and I’ve been working ever since. Before the pandemic I worked as a nanny and also at a children’s boutique. And everything was going pretty decent up until, I would say about March of 2020. When everything just kinda fell apart for everybody. The pandemic has definitely affected a lot of my life. I lost my jobs. There was a lot of uncertainty around... I think everything. Nobody really knew what was going to happen, and for someone like me who lived in... well who lived away from home and supported herself financially, there was a lot of like, what’s going to happen to me now. Can I stay? Am I going to be able to afford it? Am I gonna have to go home? It was really scary and nerve wracking. I had a lot of uncertainty around everything, and I knew how hard I had worked to get here, and I knew how much work I put in, and I knew I wanted to be a teacher. And like, I had all of these goals for myself and I- you know, I was doing it. And it all just kinda stopped. So it was a lot of unknown answers and there was a lot of anxiety around it.”
- Name withheld for privacy considerations, Pandemic Diaries Project, 2020
A quote from a student who felt uncertain after losing their two jobs. The pandemic left them anxious when their life and goals were on pause.
The pandemic made this student work more to
provide for their family. Both parents were not
working, and the student took in more responsibility
while still balancing school, work, and family.
After their parent’s business was closed down,
this individual had to continue to work for their
family to provide for them. They tried to maintain
enough energy to keep track of college while
now having to help their family financially.
This student talks about their financial challenges in not
receiving the first stimulus check since some college
students did not qualify. Their parent’s undocumented
status doesn’t qualify for government help. Their jobs
and their landlord’s understanding helped
them get through it all.