This themed series titled “Time Capsule Letters” is a special series created to highlight submissions for the Community-Driven Archives (CDA) team and community members regarding their lives during COVID-19 and the hopes for our lives after COVID-19. We hope to continue this series with contributions from community members by having you submit your own time capsule letter to yourself or others regarding life during COVID-19. This week we highlight a letter from Elise Daniells, a student worker with the CDA team. We thank Elise for her contribution to this series.
Please contact me, Jessica Salow, if you are interested in submitting a letter to be featured on our blog. And please also contact me with feedback or other community archiving questions at Jessica.Salow@asu.edu, as I would love to hear from you regarding your thoughts of the work we here at ASU are doing in community archiving around Arizona. See you next week!
Covid-19 Time Capsule patch
Dear self,
A lot has changed. Working has now shifted from utilitarian to communitarian. Traditional “productivity” during a pandemic seems pointless. So now I must reevaluate what it means to be “productive” in a society where I’m simply trying to stay alive for another day.
For so many, work has moved to the home or been labelled as “essential”. Nothing about the world feels natural or familiar. Spaces now feel hostile and sterile, full of anxiety or judgement. Many students have been displaced back into homes that no longer want them. I’ve been confronted by new and intense emotions, faced with mortality and struggle. Contained and bound within a 650 sq. ft, apartment, where do these emotions go?
I’ve found that emotional expression has become the new productivity. Activities that were once considered “hobbies” are now critical production. Painting, dancing, and crafting are ways of survival.
The items and stories my colleagues and I collect have been accumulated throughout a person’s life that reflect their significant personal experiences. These pieces are usually created or kept with the purpose of remembrance. Perhaps a photo was taken to remember a birthday party or a scrapbook was constructed, filled with wedding memorabilia. Even a story that someone has committed to memory was preserved in an act of legacy. What emotions will I preserve in my quarantine creations?
Loneliness, isolation, loss, family reconnection, rest…
I’m archiving my survival.