This is the transcript of an interview with Desmond, a 7th Grader, who went through the Covid-19 Pandemic of 2020. These are his memories, and his story.
Interviewer: So Desmond you lived through the Covid-19 Pandemic. Do you remember where you were, when you first heard about the virus?
Desmond: Yes. I was having dinner with my Dad.
Interviewer: What is the next thing you remember?
Desmond: The next thing I remember is that school was closed, at first temporarily, then for the rest of the school year.
Interviewer: So I believe you had some online classes in the spring. What was that like?
Desmond: We only had classes online for about an hour each day. The experience was pretty good. I’d say it was about 90% as good as an in person class. It was pretty easy. We didn’t have a lot of homework. I liked it that it was only one hour.
Interviewer: What did you do, when you were not online with school?
Desmond: I spent a lot of time with my grandparents. I walked with my grandfather. It was a good time. Sometimes my grandparents helped me with my homework.
Interviewer: What did you do over the summer? Anything memorable?
Desmond: I went to Arizona with my Mother. We flew. Everyone on the plane wore masks. It was hot in Arizona. Some days were over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. I’d been to Phoenix three or four times before. I saw a lot of people wearing masks this time. There were still a lot of people on the street. For the first time I went to a gym with my uncle. I used the treadmill and a rowing machine. I was wiping my sweat with my shirt, while I was on the treadmill, and the treadmill threw me back. I landed on the floor in a superhero pose, so I wasn’t hurt at all. I was startled, though.
Interviewer: What else do you remember from the summer?
Desmond: On my birthday in July my Dad got a cake, and we had a party at a friend’s house. I got into their pool. I got a lot of presents.
On my granddad’s birthday we had a party at a restaurant. There was barely anybody in the restaurant we went to, because of the Covid.
I also went swimming in the pool in my grandparents’ back yard. That was fun on hot days.
Interviewer: Did you feel isolated from your friends during the lockdown?
Desmond: No. My friends and I connected on PlayStation. Every day the first one up would open a game room, and about 20 of us would talk and play video games online all day long. Mostly these were friends I knew from school. We played “Fortnite” and “Call of Duty”.
Interviewer: Did any of your friends or family get the Covid-19 virus?
Desmond: Yes, one, my uncle. who lives in Chicago got it. At first we really didn’t think he was sick, because the mouth swab test was negative, but the nose one was positive. For him it was not too bad. He was coughing, had a fever. He had to quarantine, and I and my three cousins had to quarantine for two weeks, too. After two weeks I got the mouth swab test, and I was negative. However, my cousin, Cassidy, was positive. Her case was pretty mild, too. We feel lucky. We know that people die of Covid-19, and my family only had a couple of light cases.
Interviewer: It sounds like mostly you remained safe and secure during the pandemic, well protected by your family. You also benefited from a network of good friends. This will be an experience you will always remember, though, and something you will tell your grandchildren about some day.
