Storyteller: Hayley Vance
Caitlyn is an 18 year old student who lives in Oakley, Michigan. Caitlyn is a prep cook at a restaurant named the Back Forty in Chesaning, Michigan. She has been working there for years and never expected to not be able to because of a pandemic.
The first time Caitlyn heard about COVID-19 was in civics class. The class was watching CNN 10, and the news reporter was talking about it.
Caitlyn’s day to day life changed a lot. Her busy life turned into a boring one. Caitlyn is always on the go and because of COVID that put her busy schedule to a stop. She was unemployed and she had to adapt to learning online. Caitlyn usually plays tennis in the spring, but because of COVID she couldn’t play this year.
Her mental health decreased because she could not see the people she cares about most, like her boyfriends and her best friends. Hanging out with friends is something Caitlyn enjoys doing and she can’t do that as much now.
Caitlyn has taken this time to learn more about herself. Since she has had to stay home, she has built a stronger connection with her family. She also started babysitting to earn money since she was unemployed, which is something she would normally not do. Caitlyn has lost a lot of things from COVID. She has lost the last half of her junior year and her whole senior year of high school. Caitlyn has been learning online. She has lost graduation, prom, sports, and her job. She recently just got her job back, but now she is back to being unemployed since all restaurants are only doing takeout again. A sensory detail she has noticed is that different clothes brands are making masks to match specific outfits. She has noticed that brands are making masks more of a fashion statement now. The pandemic has taught her to not take anything in life for granted. It taught her to be grateful for the smaller things in life because you never know when it’s going to be taken away from you and we have all seen that happen from COVID.
MIPandemicStory 