Quarantine Snapshots: My Year in Photos

I think it’s pretty obvious that this year was nothing like I’d anticipated.

I had all these plans — people I was going to see, places I was going to go — that never came to fruition. I was unable to see my family or friends for much of the year, instead relying on iMessage and FaceTime to keep us connected. I started my final year of college online, desperately wishing I could wait in a long line for campus coffee or get lost in Miller Hall one more time. I spent August in bed, recovering from a surgery I never thought I’d need.

2020 wasn’t all bad, though. My boyfriend and I moved into together. I reconnected with an old friend from fifth grade. I wrote some of my best work. These moments are small, but they mattered this year.

In the last days before 2021, I took some time to reflect on these small moments. As difficult as this year has been, I’ve seen great personal growth. I’m not the same person who entered 2020, expecting it to be the best year of her life; I feel wiser, more sure of myself. The next year is full of uncertainty, but I’m not afraid.

These photos show the small moments, the little things that brought me joy. I wanted to share them so I can look back on this when things get better and say, “I made it.”

This is my year in photos.

JANUARY — My boyfriend and I stayed up till midnight and I wore a cute, 20’s-style headband. I captioned this photo: “The last decade — and the last year in particular — has brought much joy, many challenges, and wonderful memories...I cannot wait to see what the next decade has to offer. See ya, 2019 — it's been a real slice.” I had no clue I was in store for.

JANUARY — I got my own printer! It was one of those “adult” purchases that has brought me lots of joy. I got sick of going to the library on campus to print; as an English major, I write a lot and it gets expensive at 15 cents a page. This was a cheaper HP printer, but it's done the job for almost a year.

JANUARY — This was the view from my dorm parking lot. It snowed a lot and classes were canceled for a week right after the quarter began. It was beautiful...but trying to get around on the bus was almost impossible because the snow came up to my knees.

FEBRUARY — I turned 24 in 2020; it was my golden birthday, so I had a lot of plans. I kicked off my birthday weekend with a nice brunch at one of my favorite spots, Cosmos Bistro.

FEBRUARY — I spent the weekend at home with my family: my mom, dad, brother, and sister. We went out for brunch, I played video games with my brother, and my mom made these delicious cheesecake tarts to celebrate!

FEBRUARY — My birthday! Our friends drove into town for brunch, and then my boyfriend’s family took me out for dinner at a local brewery. There are a dozen cute selfies I could share of that day, but this one sums up how I was feeling: very happy and a little tipsy.

MARCH — We went with some friends to NEKO, the cat café in Bellingham. As soon as it’s safe, I can’t wait to go back! I love cats.

MARCH — I helped put together a small baby shower for my boyfriend’s sister. She was pregnant with her first boy, so I made cute blue decorations and helped set up the venue. It was a small, co-ed shower, and the family played games and hung out.

MARCH — This was our last outing pre-pandemic. We went out for drinks, shared some appetizers, and had a really good time. Four or five days later, Washington state was shut down and quarantine began.

MARCH — I, like everyone else, made quarantine banana bread. It was delicious!

MARCH — I moved off campus and into my boyfriend’s apartment. It was really expensive to keep living on campus, so he asked if I wanted to move in with him, his brother, and their roommate. It was something we talked about doing anyway, but the pandemic made it happen a little sooner than we'd planned.

APRIL — I started my sixth quarter at Western Washington University. I took two asynchronous courses in my minor: queer studies, and feminist theory. I dropped the one English course I was taking — editing and publishing — because I thought it would be better to take in-person (I was more optimistic back then, and now I’ll be taking it online in January).

APRIL — I penned this student submission for The AS Review, WWU’s student publication. All in-person classes had been abruptly canceled in March, and spring quarter was quickly moved online; it was the best move to keep the community safe, but many students felt it was unfair to pay full tuition for their spring classes. Tuition fees included not just courses, but on-campus facilities like the rec center and computer labs that we no longer had access to. I anonymously interviewed other students for this story, and a friend got me in touch with The AS Review’s editor to get it published.

MAY — I put makeup on for the first time in months for May 4th, and watched a bunch of Star Wars.

MAY — I added to my plant collection. I have 13 now, but back in May I only had 3 or 4.

JUNE — My boyfriend and I went to support our local drive-in theater. It felt weird to be out doing something, but we both felt safe at The Blue Fox. We didn’t have to get out of the car once, and I got to live out my dream of watching Jaws at a drive-in.

JUNE — Since things seemed to be getting better, I went to my parents’ to celebrate my Father’s Day and my dad’s birthday, which were within days of each other. I played a lot of games with my brother (and, unfortunately lost most of them), and ate my mom’s food for the first time in months.

JULY — A couple weeks after that, I went home again to celebrate my mom’s birthday. I brought her favorite treats (macarons) and a handmade card. I played more games with my brother and spent time hanging out with my sister. We didn’t do anything exciting, but it was nice just to spend time with them.

JULY — Went to a local farm to pick blueberries with one of my friends. It was fun and safe, and I ended up with so many berries!

JULY — And, of course, I made blueberry muffins!

JULY — This was the best day of the entire year! We went to Lake Padden to swim and soak up some sun. After that, we had a picnic dinner in the front lawn, then watched the sunset and made s’mores in the fire pit. It was the perfect day, and the one that felt most normal.

AUGUST — I had surgery on my foot, which had been swelling intermittently for a few months and was painful when I walked. After several appointments with both my PCP and a podiatrist, multiple blood tests, an X-Ray and an MRI, no one could figure out exactly what was happening, other than the tissue was swollen. They removed the tissue and sent it to the lab, where they found an unidentifiable foreign object in the tissue. So, essentially, I still don’t know what happened, just that something got into my foot and made my life extremely difficult for a few months.

AUGUST — Post-op. My foot was swollen and extremely sensitive. Because the incision was on the ball of my foot, I had to keep my weight off of that foot as much as possible. For the first week, all I could do was get up to go to the bathroom. By the first week of September, I was finally able to get around without crutches if I didn’t have to go far. It took another month for the incision to heal fully, and swelled randomly for several weeks after that. I still feel pain in my scar, but I can at least walk again!

AUGUST — I hobbled outside on my crutches for one last fire before we moved out of our apartment.

SEPTEMBER — While we were in-between apartments, we spent a week crashing with my boyfriend’s mom.

SEPTEMBER — We moved into our new apartment! It’s our first apartment together, just us, and even though it’s very, very small, I love it. Moving was tough with my foot still healing, but we managed to get everything unpacked and set up in about a week.

SEPTEMBER — I started my last year of college! (Technically, my last half a year? I don’t know; I’m graduating in March.)

OCTOBER — We voted! Thankfully, Washington state doesn’t do in-person voting, so it was as simple as filling out the ballots and bringing them to the ballot drop box.

OCTOBER — Even though I stayed home, I decided to dress up anyway, as Nadja from What We Do In the Shadows. Halloween is my favorite holiday, and I was devastated I couldn't do anything fun, so I chose to celebrate as best I could at home.

OCTOBER — I also made lots of sweet treats, and when my boyfriend got home from work we watched movies and had spiked cider. Also, take a close look at those candy corn candles. Pretty cool, huh? I made those!

NOVEMBER — I wore this awesome shirt and spent several days in a haze of election anxiety.

NOVEMBER — We celebrated my boyfriend’s 28th birthday at home. I decorated a little, we made dinner together, and I made him a cake (it was actually just brownies layered with buttercream frosting). We also drank some really good whiskey. It wasn’t the most exciting celebration, but we did what we could under the circumstances.

NOVEMBER — We also had a small Thanksgiving dinner at home, just the two of us. We hung out and watched all the Bob’s Burgers Thanksgiving episodes. We made open-faced turkey sandwiches, homemade mashed potatoes and gravy, and cheesy bacon brussel sprouts. For dessert, we had pumpkin pie (thank you, Trader Joe’s) and I made my Auntie Carole’s pudding cake. Again, it wasn’t the most exciting day, but I was thankful to spend the day with someone I love.

DECEMBER — My dad and brother dropped off some presents, and this box of Christmas cookies that my mom baked for us. We wore masks and didn't hug, and they didn't stay long. It was my first time seeing any of my family in months, so it was bittersweet. I cried for the rest of the day, but I was also incredibly happy to see them for a moment. At least I had cookies while I was sad, right?

DECEMBER — We got snow!

DECEMBER — I made peppermint chocolate chip ice cream! It was surprisingly easy and it tastes delicious.

DECEMBER — I made cioppino for the first time ever! Growing up, I always loved Christmas Eve; my family is Italian-American and makes the traditional “Feast of the Seven Fishes” each year, and my grandpa makes cioppino. It’s been years since I spent a Christmas with my extended family, but since I couldn’t even be with my parents, brother, and sister this year, I decided to make one of my favorite family dishes.

DECEMBER — Our Christmas was small and uneventful. My boyfriend’s mom and dad dropped off some gifts, and we chatted in the driveway for a moment. We opened a few small gifts, called friends and family, and watched TV. My mom also filled my childhood stocking, which my dad dropped off with the cookies, which made me feel a little more connected to my family.

DECEMBER — Ready for 2021.

I wish you all a safe and happy New Year.