What has brought you the most joy OR been your biggest challenge during the pandemic?
In this time of great distance and change, both physical and emotional, the experience of loss in one form or another seems woven into each of our unique experiences. However, those who have endured times of great hardship before us often seem to recall the bright moments that made life worth living despite it all.
One thing we, as college students, have lost is the proximity of our fellow New Schoolers. It seems fair to say that The New School in particular offers its students refuge, a community of wildly unique yet similarly “weird” individuals. We at The New School Free Press were inspired by the online communities built by the likes of Humans of New York, Tiny Love Stories and CoronaVirus Confessions. Perhaps we can dig even deeper into how our unique experiences inform who we are, what we value and why we all ended up at The New School by exploring what has defined our COVID experiences.
Send in your submissions to New School Diaries here.
Content Warning: This series may, at times, discusses depression and suicide. If you or a loved one struggle with this, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
Other resources include:
- NYC Well – text “WELL” to 65173, call 1-888-NYC-WELL (692-9355) or use this chat feature to ask for help.
- NAMI (Nation Alliance on Mental Illness) helpline – 1-800-950-NAMI or in a crisis, text “NAMI” to 741741.
- And the SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) National Helpline – 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
Kaycie Lyn Matsukado
Junior at The New School
Studying Photography
Currently living in Honolulu
I am undoubtedly a better and stronger human being because of the pandemic.
To keep it short, the world put me through trials and tribulations that rivaled Hercules training to be a hero. It was incredibly emotionally taxing to see my great aunt endure abuse, my uncle to pass away, my five year relationship end, to say goodbye to my dog after she couldn’t fight her cancer any longer, to have my purse stolen, and to lose my belongings because of a building fire and subsequent water damage. Saying goodbye to everything was simultaneously hard and easy, but I just wanted so badly for 2020 to end.
And it did. Through the pain of it all, I survived, and at the end of the day I don’t want to focus on the horrible happenings as hellfire. I just want to acknowledge the tremendous growth and love I created for myself. I did it. I am strong. And although there will inevitably be bad days ahead, I know that I will push through — maybe a little bruised, but never completely broken.
Illustration by Rebecca Mesonjnik