Non-COVID-19 Passports That Reduce Your Risk to Society

Poets & Writers posted the following diary entry from Samuel Pepys–who lived through the Great Plague of 1665 in London.

“September 3: (Lord’s day.) Up; and put on my colored silk suit very fine, and my new periwig, bought a good while since but durst not wear, because the plague was in Westminster when I bought it; and it is a wonder what will be the fashion after the plague is done as to periwigs, for nobody will dare to buy any hair, for fear of the infection.”

I asked our bloggers to write their own short, daily journal entry on their observations and feelings about our current coronavirus pandemic. I asked, “How have your small, everyday routines been affected? How have new habits popped up? Record your musings along with feelings of loss, helplessness, anger, humor, or hope.” Here’s what they wrote.

from LUKE LANGLOIS

MARCH / APRIL / MAY ??????? WHO KNOWS – Every day is the same. One day, it’ll be Monday, and the next it’ll be Monday again… of the next week. Time all bleeds together. What is there to look forward to besides the end of my hour-long classes (sometimes we really don’t need to use the entire hour staring at each other, teachers). My dog is getting tired of me. I’m not even sure what news to trust anymore since it is pretty much all partisan in some way. One day, we will be FREE, and I better not hear anyone complain about anything ever again. Also, I bought 1,000 barrels of oil and they are being stored in a secret underground bunker. I will be an oil tycoon when the market rebounds (not really).

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from Quintus Ni

During these couple weeks, everything is going the same. I can’t say that’s good or bad. But sometimes it makes me feel bored, even frustrated…Because this coronavirus disturbs everything, even affects global economics..As an international student here, I heard lots of voices about this COVID-19 saying it comes from China, that it’ s definitely the Chinese at fault…well, I don’t know what can I say…The only thing I know is I’m Chinese…. I think we should learn from this coronavirus; don’t blame each other. No one wants this to happen again.

On the other hand, I feel grateful to find my “old friend.” I’m playing piano NOW. “How long has it been since we last met!!” I already learned three new songs. I remember my first time playing the piano when I was 4 years old….Every time when I feel exhausted or anxious, I will come to see my “old friend” with my fingers. He always chooses to listen to my moods, feelings, and stories which are my best memories from my childhood.

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from Katelin Slosky

WEEKDAYS: PAINFULLY HONEST

7:30 AM- get up bc your mom wants to wake you up at this time even though school starts at 8:30 (why tho? Was 9:30 not available? You know what, i guarantee most teenagers would be infinitely less tired if school started at 9:30 or 10 am)

8:30 AM-school starts, and your kinda just tired

9:30- you have a 30-minute break, and sure, of course, you could finish your homework for the class you just had, but why not choose to be uNprOducTiVe, and watch TikToks until you realize that your 5 minutes late for the next class

10:05-you join your next class, when your computer sends you a notification, telling you that you are low on battery. You quickly plug in your computer, and proceed to not say anything during the class because you are muted, and are unobligated to say anything.

11:00-lunch, except i don’t really eat lunch, so I just spend time in my room studying for something I will never achieve because everyone is uNsUppoRtivE, just kidding, you just don’t believe you can achieve your goal.

12:00- lunch ends, and you join your next class. Unless it’s monday, in which that is replaced by a study hall. Are you productive? No, of course not. You are surrounded by 500 tiny sheets of paper and feel obligated to make giant origami structures out of 6cmx6cm pieces of paper

1:30: Your last class starts and you join your last class. If it’s a wednesday and that class is English class, you live in fear that Mr. Griffin will ask the class a question and no one will respond, making YOU feel obligated to answer the question. And of course you can’t do that, you didn’t understand the ‘themes of the scarlet ibis’ either.

2:30: Last class. If it was advisory, it ended at 2:00. Are you going to do your homework? Of course not. Instead you eat chips and wonder, if you washed out the chip bag, you could make an origami star out of that material.

3:00- may or may not have violin. May or may not have practiced. Don’t worry, i practiced this week. Once. practice is not guaranteed for next week.

11:00 pm – spent time on homework. An hour at most. I have more pressing matters to attend to, such as re-organizing my washi tape collection.

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from Anonymous

April 30

ever since this plague started I have spiraled out of control. it’s not like this is new to me, “don’t go outside, no visitors over one person and they have to really disinfect, an infection could kill you”, except I’m not a couple days fresh out of surgery. I’m feeling like I am though. Life was already feeling like it was a chaotic mess out of my control, and then this happened. I’m stuck inside, unable to do much, unsure why my brain panics and deletes information. With my dad. He hasn’t talked to me in two days now, and I genuinely don’t know what I did wrong. He roped me into a heated conversation between him and my mum, then cornered me until I admitted that I would like him to yell less. Then he yelled that we were awful, and all that jazz about no other man being as good a father as him, and how (with my personality) no one would ever truly love me as much as him, after he died I would be on my own because my mum is “incompetent”, ya know the usual. He’s probably not wrong, I am extraordinarily annoying. At this point it’s getting harder and harder to live with him, I mean he’s always been like that, but now I don’t have any physical escape. I’m trying to hold on, but everyday it’s getting harder to get up in the morning. Again, this situation isn’t super new personally, but I thought I was done staying at home because of my health, and then this happened….. Oh well, right? 

signing off

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from Chelsea

Hello, today is April 5th, 2020. Still under quarantine. It has been a week or so, since I last updated, and yea, the coronavirus is still going on…..you know it’s getting kind of worse….North America and Europe are getting worse like whoosh! Skyrocketed. And yea, want to let you guys know I’m doing well. 

This is pretty new but like…In the future maybe someone will see this and you know, this is under some historical files of the future I don’t know…that’ll be cool though. Life is going well, it’s pretty normal for me, I usually go for a walk or so each day. Sometimes, everyday, yea. But the government had ordered us not to go out, if we can. And I’m limiting walking times as well, I mean, I’m okay with staying in, nothing much else happened. So yea, that’s pretty much my blog, see you next time. Hopefully this will get over soon, sayonara.

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from James Zheng

1th day of quarantining:

I feel like nothing has changed, it is just that life is in a different mode. We are not allowed to go out? Would that be better since we got more time to do things we want at home.

2nd day of quarantining:

I have stayed up a bit, feel like this quarantining could change my sleeping routine. And got the first call from my father, he is eager to talk about the date I am leaving America.

3rd day of quarantining:

Maybe I should buy some books and dumb bells to kill my time. Got a phone call from my father again, he seems kinda angry when he is talking about the news.

4th day of quarantining:

I feel like my mood has been ruined by this plague, why? I was imagning if this goes on for a while, my plan of traveling in summer is doomed. 

5th day of quarantining:

Such a good day, my father is paranoid with the plague due to the overloading of news and the increasing number of infections in America… It was understandable for him to be in that way but I almost got into a fight with him.  

6th day of quarantine:

Feel like video games are so boring, there is nothing I want to do… everything is becoming so boring, don’t mind if I end here. 

7th day of quarantine:

Again, having a conversation with my father about the future plan, we talked a lot, but mostly his complaints about Trump…

10th day of quarantine:

Woohoo! My books are here! Now I got something to do. 

14th day of quarantine:

I can clearly see this intense dark outline around my eyes… better go back to the normal sleeping routine.

15th of quarantine: it is only two weeks, but the numbers are just rising at an uncontrollable rate… and again I have got nothing to do… I want to play basketball (gazing at the ball in the corner).

20th of quarantine: Yep, nothing has really changed, except the new books I can’t understand at all, my boredom with video games, and the boredom that gets on me everyday. Well, i am gonna just end here, gotta take a call from my father…

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from Ms. Zachik

April 30: This morning, while outside journaling, I heard sirens approaching. They grew closer and closer, until they came directly up my street. A firetruck and ambulance stopped just a few houses up. The paramedics and firemen (they were all men) unloaded gear, suited up in masks and gloves and impenetrable jackets, and filed into the house. I was peering over the fence. Two pushed a gurney up the drive and inside. Within minutes, they filed back out, and along came my neighbor, seated, on the gurney. “Are you taking any medications?” I heard the paramedic ask. They lifted her in the ambulance. No one else came down the drive to watch her anxiously as she was driven away. She was alone.

Share you own observations @ thebirdonfire.org.