Storyteller: Alexus Knapik
Kathryn Lamont, also known as Katie, was 18 when this pandemic began. Hearing about it from the people at work is where she first learned about the virus that was soon going to take over the country. Katie works as a head cook in a restaurant in Saginaw. She wasn’t expecting everything to change so fast. When things started to get really bad she began to worry about what would happen with her work when the shutdown happened. She got shut down for a few weeks, but helped deep clean and did a few extra things to make some money. Katie is finally back to somewhat normal after everything.
This pandemic happened at the worst time possible. It took away Katie’s trip to Florida because she couldn’t travel. It also took away major events in her life like graduation and senior prom. With all of the restrictions and new rules, she wasn’t able to do anything that she had been hoping and dreaming of for years. It was heartbreaking, but Katie understood the situation and made the best of it. She spent time with family and ade memories. Some activities were fun, but some weren’t as interesting. She caught up on her sleep and made some memories with her sister. She also took advantage of the time and went for a few walks while she had time. She did everything to keep herself busy and keep her mind off of everything that is was happening. She also decided to stay away from social media.
Looking at everyday normals everything changed when you went into public. She realized this when people started looking at her when not wearing a mask and thought it was weird when someone wasn’t wearing a mask. Months later and she realized how much the world changed because of this. Katie also realized that after one person touched something in a store it was wiped down, for example, shopping carts. This pandemic set the stage for everyone to stay cleaner and keep everything sanitized. Katie believes that anything can happen and the world can be flipped upside down in a matter of a few days.
MIPandemicStory 