71 Living La Vida Lockdown
A.M.
If someone had told me that my final year of high school would end without a proper graduation, prom, or even a proper goodbye, I would’ve laughed — then probably cried. But instead of walking across a stage, I “graduated” from my bedroom, with my diploma arriving via mail rather than a handshake. The pandemic took away the milestones I had looked forward to for years, but in return, it gave me an unexpected crash course in adaptability, patience, and the art of unmuting myself on Zoom.
I remember when we first heard about COVID-19. I was in my grade 12 philosophy class when we heard we would get 2 weeks off school. At the time, I was so excited to have 2 weeks off to sit at home. But those 2 weeks quickly stretched into a month, and before I knew it, the rest of the school year was gone.
Being 18 and in my final year of school, I was already stressed about university and figuring out what I wanted to do with my life. The uncertainty of everything only made it worse. I lived in a small retirement town about an hour outside Hamilton, and both my family and the town as a whole took the lockdown seriously. I was also living with my grandparents, so I was extra cautious whenever I went out as I couldn’t bear the thought of being the reason they got sick. Our town was in lockdown for only a month at first, but when the second COVID-19 wave hit we went back into lockdown for a little longer. I’d say our little down went into a full lockdown more so during the second wave. We weren’t technically supposed to leave town unless it was necessary, but my mom and I made quite a few trips into Brantford just for Starbucks. Honestly, that’s what kept us going – those little escapes, even if it was just for a coffee, made being stuck at home a little more bearable.
The greatest challenge I experienced during that time was my mental health. I fell into a deep depression because of my family situation at the time, and COVID-19 definitely made that situation worse. But in the grand scheme of things, the situation taught me about patience, perseverance, and a new appreciation for human connection. Also, the covid lockdowns have given me so many memories with my grandparents, sisters, and mom that I will forever cherish.
I started at McMaster fall of 2021, and that was the most difficult time in schooling for me. Since it was all virtual, I was working full time to help my mom with bills, and we had a new puppy, so my hands were quite full. I learned during COVID-19 that I really have a hard time with only online schoolwork, and I really value in–person teaching and lectures. Because I had such a difficult school year during COVID-19 and virtual learning, it impacted my GPA, and I am still trying to work it back up to this day. I know for a fact speaking with other students on their experiences as well during COVID-19 that virtual learning gave many people a sense of more free time, when in reality that wasn’t the case.
In this course we looked at the impact of blame and stigma that comes along with disease and illnesses. From the early days of the pandemic, mask mandates became a point of controversy. Many opponents framed mask-wearing as a violation of personal freedoms rather than a public health measure. Early mixed messaging from health officials also contributed to skepticism. In some counties, particularly the U.S., mask-wearing became highly politicized, with certain political groups associating it with government control and others viewing it as an act of civic responsibility. On a similar note, vaccine resistance followed a similar pattern but became even more intense in some circles. In my family for example, my aunt and uncle are very anti-vaccine in general. This caused a lot of tension in our family because I lived with my elderly grandparents and wanted to protect them, but my aunt and uncle couldn’t put their view aside to protect them. Many people hesitated to get vaccinated due to concerns about how quickly the COVID-19 vaccines were developed. While the mRNA technology used in the vaccines like Pfizer and Moderna had been studied for decades, the speed of approval led to fears about potential long-term side effects. Again, in the case of my aunt and uncle, they got majority of their information from social media like Facebook, which aided in the spread of misinformation and conspiracy theories. Which contributed to ideas that the vaccine altered DNA, contained microchips, or that the vaccine was a part of a government plot for control.
When future generations are looking into the COVID-19 pandemic a century from now, they should understand that the pandemic was not just a global health crisis but a transformative moment that reshaped society, politics, and technology. Unlike other past pandemics, COVID-19 spread in an era of hyperconnectivity, exposing the strengths and failures of global health systems while deepening social and economic inequalities. The isolation caused by lockdowns led to widespread mental health struggles, but also redefined work culture, accelerating the shift toward remote. The pandemic also reinforced patterns of blame and stigma, with rising anti-Asian racism, tensions between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals, and geopolitical conflicts over pandemics responses. Economically, essential workers were celebrated yet undervalued, and wealth inequality widened as large corporations thrived while small businesses struggled. Ultimately, future scholars should view COVID-19 not just as a medical crisis but as a cultural and political turning point that reshaped the way people interact with science, government, and each other.
