An anonymous youth narrator talks about the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic and Safer at Home order has had on his school and personal life. He discusses extra precautions that are needed when going outside, life events that will be delayed due to the Safer at Home order, and activities he is doing to pass the time.
COVID-19 story by Anonymous High School Student, 2020
This recording was created on 04/14/2020. You can view the original file and full metadata in our digital repository.
Click to expand and read the transcript
[START OF RECORDING]
Interviewer: Okay so I'm going to introduce myself, my name is Sarah Lawton and I'm a librarian at Madison Public Library. Today is Tuesday, April 14,2020 and I'm recording for Stories from a Distance and I'm going to have my narrator here introduce himself. Do you want to introduce yourself?
Anonymous Narrator: I am a 15-year-old from Madison.
Interviewer: And where do you live in Madison?
Anonymous Narrator: South Madison.
Interviewer: And do you go to school in Madison?
Anonymous Narrator: Yeah, I go to West High School.
Interviewer: So, tell me a little bit about what's changed for you over the past few weeks during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Anonymous Narrator: I haven't been able to go outside as much, and school is closed down. Also, I've had to be more cautious of where I go and what I do.
Interviewer: How so?
Anonymous Narrator: By like wearing a mask when I go outside or just like not staying 6 feet away from people.
Interviewer: What have you been doing to pass the time?
Anonymous Narrator: I've been just playing like video games inside and like skateboarding and like playing sports.
Interviewer: Is there anything that you are looking forward to doing that has changed because of the outbreak and having to stay home?
Anonymous Narrator: Yeah, I can't get like my braces off and also like I'll have to probably wait a little longer to get my license.
Interviewer: What does school or learning look like for you right now and what are you doing for school stuff?
Anonymous Narrator: We just have online assignments that are linked to the Google classroom.
Interviewer: Is it a lot of work or is it, you know?
Anonymous Narrator: No, it's not that much work but it's a decent amount.
Interviewer: Are there are any opportunities or good things that you see right now coming out of this?
Anonymous Narrator: I mean people can like learn something new while they're like just stuck at home doing nothing, so that could be good.
Interviewer: Are there any things that you've been learning new or doing that you don't normally get to do?
Anonymous Narrator: I've been playing like more video games, but I've also been like learning how to skateboard again which is good.
Interviewer: Is there anything else that we didn't talk about that you want to mention?
Anonymous Narrator: No, I don't think so.
Interviewer: Well thank you so much. Thanks for sharing your story.
Anonymous Narrator: Yep. Was that good?
Interviewer: It was awesome.
[END OF RECORDING]