UMDJour370-S2020

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A yard sign in front of a Kensington, MD house urges onlookers to tune into a virtual church service. Dan Hovey, 61, plays his guitar during a socially distant visit with his mother, Marcia Sartwell, 92, on the patio of her Bethesda, MD home. Lisa Mitchell, 61, works on yet another puzzle at her Kensington home after a day at work.  A bird hovers by a feeder in my grandmother Marcia's yard. She has always enjoyed birdwatching, but the hobby has become a major pastime of hers during the quarantine.  My mother Lisa professionally shuffles the Uno cards before we play a few rounds on a Friday night.  A chair with a floral pattern on my grandmother's patio blends in with its surroundings.

The MARC Train, still running for individuals going to and from work during the pandemic, pulls into the train station in Old Town Kensington. Though technically not closed, the jungle gym at St. Paul Park in Kensington, MD is deserted during the pandemic. A sign at the forefront reminds parkgoers of social distancing guidelines and the park's stricter operating hours. A man crosses the train tracks in Old Town Kensington on a Tuesday evening. The Kensington Triangle Shopping Center, normally busy and bustling on weekend evenings, has been much emptier since the pandemic started. Most businesses have instituted limited operating hours and all require patrons to wear masks due to a Montgomery County ordinance.  An outdoor trash can at the Kensington Triangle Shopping Center overflows with used gloves and masks from shoppers who shed them as they leave stores to return home.

Juni asks to go outside at least 7 times during the day using a dog doorbell. However, she doesn't understand how to ask to come back inside and waits for someone to notice her.  Listening to online lectures isn't as engaging as attending them in person. As the semester progressed, it became more of a struggle for me to finish assignments of good quality.  My brother, Nate, hasn't had to do much homework. His high school wasn't able to prepare much for transitioning online. He spends about an hour a day doing homework and the rest playing video games with his friends.  My mom, Diana Montgomery, has a special relationship with our cat Samson. He likes to follow her around and gets himself involved in everything. It makes doing her Merck work and housework more difficult, but more amusing.  My dad, Ed Feng, has a lot on his plate at work, always calling into meetings or analyzing data from experiments. He often works beyond the regular 9-5 work clock...

Trying to Keep Normalcy - Michael Kim My mom, Soo Kim, is a registered nurse at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital who specializes in bone marrow transplants and chemotherapy.  Also, this past winter, my mom was diagnosed with Stage 1 Breast Cancer. As a result, the nurse became a patient and underwent surgery at the beginning of the year. After her surgery, my mom started going through her radiation therapy early in February and it continued throughout March. As a cancer patient, during the COVID-19 pandemic, my mother is at a higher risk of having a serious battle with the disease. Although her treatment and work make her tired, my mom insists on continuing to cook and work around the house to achieve a sense of normalcy. My sister Cathy worked for four years throughout her college career looking forward to her graduation. Instead of walking across the stage in a cap and gown, Cathy is stuck at home trying to fill her time by trying to relearn how ...