Life Continues Under New Jersey Quarantine
May 30, 2020
Standhope, New Jersey, USA. All photos provided by interviewees.
04/27/20: “In the morning after I take a shower I have breakfast, then talk on the phone with
my sisters or friends, while I do some chores. I live in the northern part of New Jersey; we have been having cold and rainy days so going to the backyard isn’t possible. My family
and I are doing puzzles. We select movies that we all like and watch them together.
We have been following the social distance; if we have to go grocery shopping, we try to get
everything we need all at once so we don't have to go as often.”
About the Contributor
Yasmine Jreisat, Podcaster
Staying active and helping people is what Yasmine Jreisat,10, does best. She looks forward to meeting new people and getting together to go around and help the most needed. Therefore, she has a two year experience in Downey High School’s Kiwini's club, where they fundraise money and volunteer for different organizations. She is going on her second year as a tennis player and plans on staying on the team for the rest of her high school career. And she is also going on her first year as a podcast in Downey’s newspaper.
Being unsure of what she wants to base her career on, Jreisat is focused pursing something she enjoys doing. She is driven by her determination to keep a high GPA. Making her capable of always receiving A’s in her courses, this will go in her favor whenever she decides what to base her life on. “I wanna do something enjoyable, I'm not so sure what that is going to be yet,” Jreisat stated. “But I will work on having a stable life”.
Being unsure of what she wants to base her career on, Jreisat is focused pursing something she enjoys doing. She is driven by her determination to keep a high GPA. Making her capable of always receiving A’s in her courses, this will go in her favor whenever she decides what to base her life on. “I wanna do something enjoyable, I'm not so sure what that is going to be yet,” Jreisat stated. “But I will work on having a stable life”.
![4/26/20: “I placed them [bunny drawings] all around the living room in the most obvious locations to see if they would see all of them quickly. But, first I tested my sister to see if she could find all of them and it took her about 1 minute and 40 seconds to find them all. The one in the kitchen was the one they all struggled finding for some reason. So they were trying to find all 4 but they were struggling. My sister and I started laughing at them because they had passed by the last one like three times. When they found all four I asked them which was their favorite. The one in the kitchen was their favorite because it was cartoony. Then I told my parents that one of the reasons I drew bunnies [was] to honor our pet bunny that we loved. Then my mom told my sister and I to go to the room so she could hide all the eggs in the living room. We did the little scavenger hunt as a family. My parents were watching us look for all of them while giving us clues.”](https://www.thedowneylegend.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Estephany-Hernandez-475x475.jpg)
![4/25/20: “It’s scary because over the news you hear about people dying. I was scared and I wore a face mask. Only one person was allowed into the room unlike my last pregnancy, [so] I was so happy to come home. It’s difficult because we have to tell people no they can’t see the baby as a precaution to not get her sick. They’re seeing the baby through videos, Facetime, and it’s crazy! I’m panicked; it’s really hard to do everything (anybody can get her sick) - emotionally draining.”](https://www.thedowneylegend.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Amelia-Gonzalez-469x475.jpg)
![4/22/20: “For me the quarantine has affected every aspect of my life; being stuck at home has forced me to have more responsibilities. I have to balance being a full time college student and keeping up with all the work that I’ve been assigned. It’s been a lot more stressful because my professors have been assigning a lot of work that makes it hard for me, especially since I have to also watch after my two younger siblings. One also has online courses and needs a lot of attention being in 1st grade. I have to help him with his assignments while also watching over my other brother who is only 2 years old; he requires a lot of attention. My mom’s hours have also changed at work and now that she works more hours; I’m basically the only one running the household. The thing is I also have to attend mandatory Zoom lectures and that’s also difficult because I can’t focus on my classes due to all my responsibilities. And I’ve been having to do a lot more around the house. I have a lot of chores such as picking up after my siblings and doing laundry [and] making meals. And it’s been taking a toll on me because I feel overwhelmed with everything going on, especially with my mom being on the front lines. She comes into contact with people with the virus daily so we have been taking extra precautions at home and sanitizing everything. A family friend recently passed away of covid and it was really scary for my family. It was scary for my family because this family friend lives only 5 mins. away from us.”](https://www.thedowneylegend.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Ashley-Urizar-356x475.jpg)
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