Our Life on Lockdown: Final Week of Video Diaries
Aliyah: Keeping Busy with Drawing
First I’m going to do a rough outline. And then I’m going to do a rough sketch of what I want the outfit and body to look like. And then I’m going to do an outline in the colors that I want to use for this drawing. And after that, I can pretty much just start coloring in the drawing in the way that I want. After this one in particular, I was really attracted to the color red and so that’s what I used. Also, quick tip for the hair, I like to outline it just so I can figure out how big I would like it to be when I get to the coloring part of the process. After all of that I began adding details to the face as well as the body. Don’t be afraid to change the drawing halfway through. It’s a part of the process and you might end up really liking your changes afterwards. After that, start coloring in the hair, and I use a couple of different colors to add dimension. After adding details like shadows underneath the chin and underneath the shirt, and then I start adding some jewelry to make the drawing more interesting. Don’t be afraid to make your character look unique. Add some freckles, add some moles, acne, whatever is going to make them look like a person. And after all of that, you should have a finished drawing. Thanks for coming along with me stay safe, stay healthy and happy drawing!
Rylee: Checking in with Mom
So, last week, my mother and I had some errands to run, we had to go to the bank and CVS. And I recorded what we saw on the road, and what everything was like to you know, go through a drive thru and get your prescription, go through a drive thru bank because you don’t want to go inside the bank. And in addition, we took a quick swing by Walmart in Effingham County, to see if people were practicing social distancing, and things of that nature. So I interviewed my mom a little bit about how she was feeling what she thought and this is what she had to say.
Penny: You know, it’s like, I guess on the way back, I’ll feel more comfortable. But since I didn’t bring a mask, it’s kind of like what if the drive thru is closed? What if What if I’ve got gloves so I can, you know, and even though it’s just two little transactions, it’s like I’ve got a glove that when my hand comes in, back in the car, I will remove immediately, I won’t keep it on, you know, contaminate the car and go to the next thing. It’s like, fortunately, I have a lot of gloves. So I will use one per transaction, which is also I think, courteous to the person on the other side of the transaction, you know. So they’re risking a lot to keep us going. So we’ll do our part.
That’s unbelievable.Really disappointed.
Really, really, I mean, especially when you see the young children, they can’t make up their own mask. They can’t make the decision. I mean, I understand that people most likely have to go out. You know, it’s not like you can leave your children at home but scary that it was that many people. People coming out And certainly weren’t socially distanced. And the people going in just for like, strolling in. No. I don’t know if it’s just I’m bored at home so I have to go but that was really frightening. It’s really frightening.
Maggie: Things to Keep in Mind
Hey guys! I don’t have a ton of updates for this video, so I decided to use this time to bring a few more things about COVID-19 to light.
First off, it’s super refreshing to see the amount of people who are taking this seriously. I mean, the amount of us that downplayed the situation until almost the last minute was also kind of appalling, but we realized the severity and took the necessary measures.
Second, I want to remind everyone of compassion. Be kind to our healthcare workers. They’re quite literally risking their lives to keep the rest of us safe, and to see stories on social media outlets of people being disrespectful to those working in healthcare positions is heartbreaking, truly.
Going off of the same point, have sympathy for those graduating high school and college in this season. Social media trends of posting your graduation picture “in honor” of the Class of 2020 isn’t going to help how they feel about losing the last half of a milestone they’ve waited their life for; if anything, it’s highly insensitive.
If you can help the elderly or immobile people in your life, please do so. The elderly and immunocompromised are at a higher risk of contracting and not surviving the virus, so if you can help grandma, grandpa out by getting groceries for them, please do so.
Like I said, the immunocompromised are at a high risk also. I myself am a Type One diabetic, and the amount of people who have told me or sent me something about being young and being able to survive the virus just isn’t helping. Age wise, yes, I and others in my same situation can survive. When you take our health into account, we have a lower survival rate. So do those with cancer, heart disease, and anything else where your immune system isn’t functioning like it should. This is why washing your hands and social distancing is important!
While in quarantine, spend time with your immediate family and check on your friends. Some people may be taking this harder than others. Thank your healthcare workers, love your graduates a little harder, and be prepared to give them all a big hug when you can.
Kenneth: Looking Back at the Last Few Weeks
Hello world. I’m currently sitting in my mother’s gym and I have a 50 pound weight on my leg. I just put it there for fun, because whatever. So, I’m going to use this kind of video to kind of reflect on some things. So I took a class called Studio Production which is what all these little diaries were for. I mean, you know, we did at the beginning of semester broadcast video productions like you know, stuff you would probably see on the news we kind of like did that but did cover stuff about Mercer and Macon, but obviously with a pandemic going on, I mean, we’ve kind of had to shift gears a little bit. So I’ve been doing these videos kind of for fun, and kind of for the sake of enjoyment. And I know this is just kind of reflection, but again, I’m putting the 50 pound weight on my leg here for a reason. I don’t know, just try and mix things up a little bit. So, it was a fun class. I mean, it was fun being able to like actually, you know, make something like a news broadcast. That’s what I kind of thought journalism was like, I thought like, journalism, at least the videos posted online to come to accompany articles, was like, was like broadcasted, most of them I mean, that’s kind of what it is. But I mean, like most of them, so I mean, it was fun. It was a fun class and I really enjoyed it. I learned quite a lot.
Meg: Understanding the Process
So, this is the last week of classes before finals. I actually only have one or two things due next week, and I’m pretty far ahead of them, so I’m essentially almost done. This whole thing just kind of doesn’t feel real right now. Partly college being doesn’t feel real, and I think it would feel that way even if we were on campus, because I remember it feeling that way in high school and middle school and whatever. But it’s just a weird time right now because none of anything that’s going on really feels real. Maybe that means that I’m lucky because I haven’t seen it super first-hand. I’ve heard a lot of second-hand stories, but I haven’t really seen it right in front of me. We are seeing Georgia re-open a lot of their businesses, not necessarily re-open, but sort of extend the list of essential workers. I’m not totally sure I understand that decision. I had a long conversation about it with my parents and my siblings the other day, and we all kind of have differing opinions about it. I think the immediate reaction, for me, at least, was to be angry and to blame the governor and all these things, and I understand that people need to work, but it’s very frustrating to me that that’s what we’re focused on when people’s lives are on the line. So the more I’ve thought about it, the more I understand that, you know, this is not a one-man decision. However, looking at the statistics, the CDC and Washington have different guidelines than what we are following, and I just don’t understand that. So it’s just a weird time, because, you know, I felt like we thought we were learning more and more about it, but now were confused about political decisions, and on top of all of that, we’re in the middle of a huge transition in our lives, we being seniors or anyone who is dealing with something like that right now. So yeah this whole thing has just kind of been… Strange, to say the least, very enlightening. I feel like I’ve learned a lot about people and how they react in situations like this. So yeah, just kind of a lot of, a lot of thoughts, not a whole lot of answers at this point, which is… strange.
Clare: Looking Ahead
So for my last update I just wanna talk about what these next few weeks look like for me, what my summers gonna look like. So this week is our last week of classes, next week is our final exam week and then I have 2 weeks off where I get to go home which I’m really excited to see my family. Originally I had an internship lined up in South Africa at a TV station in Cape Town and I was really excited to get to go, do some international journalism, but unfortunately that got canceled because of the pandemic which is like a big bummer. I’m really sad about it I am kind of like you know I’m better, like I feel better about it now because it’s like what am I going to do about it but when I first found out that it wasn’t gonna happen I was like so upset, but thankfully WMAZ has a place for me and I will be working there over the summer. I was told I’m going to get the opportunity to produce some different shows so that’s exciting because up until now I’ve just produced the midday and occasionally the 5, so getting to pursue different shows it’s going to be really exciting. I’m excited to broaden my horizons. So I’ll have 2 weeks off at home and and hope we’ll move into internship housing through Mercer unless Kemp extends his shelter in place order then Mercer says we can’t move in and I don’t know when another move in date would be for that.
Yasmeen: Summer Plans
Hey, it’s Yasmeen, I’m back with my final video update. This week is the last week of classes,
which means next week is finals then we are done.
I’ll be moving back to Atlanta on May 1st which is coming up pretty soon. I’ve been talking to my
mom and they’re taking more precautions up there than they are here in Macon so that will be
an adjustment for me.
Most of my summer plans got canceled or rescheduled as I said before but I did apply to take a
few summer classes, they are obviously all online so luckily I’ll be used to that.
Georgia is reopening this weekend. It actually scares me that people think that things can just
go back to normal with no consequences or repercussions. I just hope that everyone is still
being cautious and prioritizing safety and health.
With the WMUB Newsroom, I’m Yasmeen Hill
Emily: Whipped Coffee
Hello. So for this week’s update, I decided to jump in on a popular trend that I’ve been seeing while we’ve all been quarantining at home. If you haven’t seen the whipped coffee trend, you’re missing out. It’s this beautiful visual image of whipped caramel looking coffee on top of ice milk. And apparently it’s pretty easy. The internet says you just need to stir sugar, coffee and warm water together and that’s how you make it. So today, um, I got my hand blender in the mail and I’m going to try it out and see how it goes. So the ingredients for this recipe are pretty simple. All you’ll need is sugar and instant coffee. So I used K-cups at first because I thought that would work best. And I mixed in the two tablespoons with two tablespoons of white sugar and blended it. It went horribly, it smelled bad, it looked bad. It was an epic fail. So I found some instant coffee packets from my trip in China and we tried those out, repeated the whole process, divided them into two bowls, added sugar and hot water. And the first one went about the same as the first. It looked bad. It never got the right color or consistency, and it was also a fail. The second one, however, got the right color and looked like it was going to be really promising, but the texture never changed. No matter how much we blended it. So I would consider this an epic, epic fail for the day, just because not only did I feel once or twice, but I totally struck out on all three attempts with the whipped coffee. I don’t know what the secret is. I know everyone else on the internet is able to do it, but I’m not. I was totally unsuccessful, so hopefully other people have better luck, but I don’t.
Richard: Catching up and .. animal crossings?
Hello! This is my final video; this is the final week of classes and it is really refreshing that it is all going to be over. Not necessarily the quarantine, but just the extra work of doing schoolwork and things like that. I don’t really have much of an update this week, it has been a pretty standard week, going to work and school. I have been playing a little bit of Animal Crossing, but mostly just been doing exams, projects, things of that nature. So, it has been pretty busy. With the end of school there comes the other challenges of seeing how things are job wise. I don’t know how things will turn out in the following months, but hopefully things turn around so I can get a decent job. I really do not want to stay at CVS too much longer, but you gotta do what you gotta do. If it comes to that then it comes to that. That has pretty much been my week, it is a pretty generic week. There is Animal Crossing, if you guys have never seen Animal Crossing.