A Snapshot

The purpose of this exhibit is to document some of the changes that took place around us when the COVID-19 virus hit the world. Over a year later and we are still struggling with surges of different COVID-19 variants, watching many of our loved ones struggle to fight this virus. For those of us to who only had a milder case of COVID-19, or those who have managed to not get COVID-19 at all, our world has been impacted for the foreseeable future.

College graduations are a special time in our lives, thousand of young individuals walking across stages around the world getting ready to face the world. Not every student is a young 20 something, there are many students who finally crossed the finish line decades after leaving high school. Students in their 30's, 40's, 50's, and 60's sacrificing many hours trying to raise children and grandchildren, all while chasing their dream of a college graduation.

"Focus on the finish, and finish strong!" - St Mary's University Academic Advisor

For many of those commuter college students sacrificing long hours away from their families, the thought of walking across the stage in front of their kids pushed them though the long nights of study, only after coming home from a long day of work. For many of those commuter students prior to COVID-19, their hard work was rewarded with the graduation ceremony they always dreams of. But, the students who found themselves crossing the finish line in the midst of a global pandemic, accompanied by lock-downs, social distancing, mask mandates, and no vaccines...the ceremony they had always dreamed of was pulled out from under their feet.

The pandemic has forced a long of old traditions to be moved to a digital platform of some kind. College graduations as one example. In many ways the virtual graduation is an improvement on the old way of doing things. Family members of those graduating don't have to sit through a long ceremony. They can simply watch the YouTube video, and skip forward to their loved ones name. But, for those who wanted to walk the stage, it would be yet another dream deferred.

Lock-downs can make the pandemic world a lonely place to be. No doubt there will be extensive studies put into learning the psychological strain individuals are going through as they try to stay safe from COVID-19. Medical knowledge has improved since the last major pandemic, so we know that social distancing can save lives. Luckily, technological advances have been made in other areas that can help with us feeling all alone in our fight against COVID-19.

Some of the most lonely places on earth can be found in a overcrowded emergency room during the pandemic. With a high infectious rate, hospitals would not allow family members or friends accompany their loved ones into the emergency rooms they occupied. In the midst of the unknown and fear, individuals laid in beds, surrounded my faces in masks, all alone in their fight to survive.

Alone and scared at 3 in the morning, who does one turn to? In this case the patient opened up his phone and went on to his social media account. He posted a picture of himself wearing a mask that only a private community of gamers would understand. Within seconds he was no longer alone in his fight. Words of comfort and encouragement from strangers all around the globe flooded his phone.

It wasn't long before the patient sitting in the lonely hospital bed was surrounded by friends he never knew he had. Inside jokes that only fellow Mass Effect gamers understood lightened up a dark place. The waking hours between the patient waking up in his bed, short on breath, were filled with something good to think about, and take his mind off the unknown. Amazing how something as trivial as a social media account full of gaming nerds, would become essential to fighting off COVID-19

Much like college seniors who finished their college career in an unfamiliar way, new incoming freshmen would arrive on campus not knowing what to expect. Some would not even make it to a campus, and start off their college careers completely online. Texas A&M San Antonio only opened up with a quarter of its students in physical classes. Many wondered if it was too fast too soon. Still reeling from a strange end to their high school days, their new beginning of college life would be uncharted waters.

"I wasn't even supposed to be here. I was going to take a gap year and spend my first year working as a Camp Eagle. When we heard that camps would be shut down due to the pandemic, I reluctantly enrolled in college to pursue a degree and stay busy." - Abigail Richardson

Not high school senior goes off to college after high school. Abigail Richardson had plans to take a gap year and work at a Christian Camp outside of Rocksprings Texas. When the pandemic hit, camps were shut down

College seniors were not the only group of students who went without the pomp and circumstance that comes with graduations. Proms were canceled, graduations, celebrations would all be put on hold. Birthdays were reduced to phone calls and zoom meetings between family members who could not take the risk of being infected.

A lot of things changed during the pandemic, and people do not do well with change. We are creatures of habit, and without our predictable lives anxiety starts to set in. Many did their best to stay locked away in their homes and remain in lock-down. Then there were those who took the risk to try and get away from it all.

"I knew going to South Padre in the middle of the pandemic was a risk, but we were all going stir crazy. We are not a family that ever stays home, and the lock-down was taking its toll. What we found when we got to South Padre was a different scene we had ever seen on that island. It was empty, and the rooms were cheap." - Sara Paniagua

A typical 3 day stay in South Padre could cost you $1000 to $1200 in room fees easy. The Paniaguas found a hotel room for four nights that cost them $525 total. What they found on the beach was a scene they had never seen before. One of the most popular vacations spots in Texas, South Padre Island is normally crammed with beach goers and fishermen. In the middle of the pandemic the beaches were empty in comparison to summers in the past. The city government had passed an executive order to ban beach tents that had more than one pole, in an attempt to discourage large gatherings of people under tents. Not everyone thought it was the most thought out social distancing measure out there.

"When we get together under a tent at the beach, its the same people that I shelter in place with at home. I understand what the city is trying to do, I just do not think they really thought it all out. Maybe they just want people to think they are doing something in the midst of the pandemic." - Jeannine Salas

Eventually the vacations came to an end, and the reality of the pandemic was waiting for all the beach goers back at home. Still the boost in mental health was worth the trip, no one in the Richardson family contracted the virus while on vacation at South Padre Island.

October of 2001, was one of the worst months in the auto sales industry. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Americans stopped by cars despite government leaders calling for America to return to normal. The country was still in a state of shock, and no-one was sure that the 9/11 attacks were the last of the attacks to come. People stayed in their homes, and people stopped buying things.

In the midst of pandemic lock-downs the auto sales industry stalled again. This time it isn't just because people are not buying cars. There isn't a supply of cars to buy from. With the lack of new car inventory coming off the factory lines, used car prices are skyrocketing in the United States. It is impossible to find a modern car without a computer chip in them, as the auto industry has seen the modernization of cars grow leaps and bounds with computer technology. Computer chip shortages around the world have stalled the new car inventory. Economies world wide have been effected by lock-downs and people not working.

What should have been a $16,000 purchase became a $20,000 auto purchase. That is the reality of life in a post-pandemic world. With gas prices surging, the cost of having an automobile in the pandemic is quickly rising with zero sign of relief coming anytime soon.

"In 2001 car makers introduced enormous rebates for new cars in an attempt to jump start the auto industry. That won't work in this situation. There is a supply issue, and the demand for cars and trucks is rising. With no cars to see we have downsized our sales force from 90 sales associates, to only 15." - Honda Dealership General Manager in San Antonio Texas

COVID-19 has definitely brought a gloomy reality to all of our lives. There really hasn't beet a lot of things to cheer about for the last few years. High school sports in Texas like anything else in Texas is huge. When the pandemic hit, a lot of things went out the window. Sports was one of them. So when high school sports started to open back up, it seemed like the clouds started to break up, and the sunshine was going to break through. It wasn't a smooth transition back to sports opening up, and to this day it is still not back to the old normal. The Harlan HS boys basketball team would end up with players who tested positive for COVID-19 resulting in the cancellation of two games.

As the season went on social distancing measures were put in place and mask mandates were a constant in the stadiums around San Antonio. Ultimately the cheer team did not make it to every sporting event as games were canceled one after one. Practices were done online, which made it harder for the girls to coordinate their routines. Still despite the setbacks, showing up to high school games was a brief ray of sunshine for some, and a sign of some normality returning back to life.

"I was looking forward to trying out for cheerleader or dance team, but with very little practice time, and not having a lot of games to go to, I didn't get a lot of practice time before tryouts." - Gabi Paniagua

The second new school year since the pandemic is starting up, and already the football game and cheer schedules are being released to parents. As of now, it appears that schools are returning to normal in the way of scheduling and amount of games being played. Students have a lot to look forward to for now. It remains to be seen if the rise in COVID-19 cases will put an end to their plans.

There are things that Zoom doesn't capture, beauty is lost depending on the available bandwidth. Still despite the new way of viewing the world and connecting to each other, love has a way of transcending barriers and shortcomings.

Love is one of the things that keeps us going in the middle of all this despair. So it is always nice to see young love committed to one another when things are looking gloom. On April 10, 2020, Kevin and Caitie got married in the middle of a field near Ft Worth, Texas. The original wedding was scheduled for later that year in October. With the lock-downs in place and no sign of them ending, Kevin and Caitie decided to get married sooner. They had already lost the hall they were supposed to get married in because of the pandemic, so the date of the wedding and location was something that no longer mattered. It was a celebrated event with all the family members around, who all joined in via zoom. It should have been a better night filled with laughter, but it is what it is.

"We wanted to have our family there, but we figured we would have a big ceremony later on down the road. Ultimately we cancelled that plan as well. I'm just happy to have the love of my life at my side." - Kevin Paniagua

With the wedding behind them, Kevin and Caitie would eventually have a delayed honeymoon as well. It many not have been the way they have planned it, but they are together and building a life in the middle of this global problem. We all wish them for better days ahead of them and much love.

If your looking for a silver lining in the middle of the pandemic, the increase in drive by activity might be one of them. Of course a COVID-19 drive is much different than the ones we know about from the past. If you are one of the individuals who thought kids birthday parties used to drag on way to long, COVID-19 sorted that out. Hours of fake smiles and silly games were replaced by a line of cars honking their horns and leaving packages and envelopes as they drove by. The party was over fast enough for the driver to get home and catch his team win the big game. Depending on perspective, not all changes are bad.

Now that family get togethers are becoming a thing again slowly, we are returning to the traditional birthday parties, and families are finally getting back together. Maybe the "Drive By Birthday" wasn't a highlight for you, but other than the deserted roadways in the middle of the lock-down there seemed very little to get excited about.

"Losing a loved one in the middle of the pandemic only makes it that much more important together as often as possible. There is an anxiety I feel thinking I might not see certain people again." - James LaPrade

The reality that families were caught weighing the risks of seeing loved ones was probably the hardest thing for some to deal with. For others it was easier to remain as safe as possible. Either way we are all looking forward to getting together once again and connecting with those that we love.

When the lock-downs went in place it didn't feel safe to go anywhere, even to places you absolutely needed to go. Panic buying started and some of the things that flew off the shelves first blew peoples minds.

"Really! Toilet paper, that's the one thing you bought?" - Lupe Luna

Yes the toilet paper flew off the shelves, along with water, bleach, and disinfectant spray. Still going to get the groceries became a calculated risks. Employees put themselves at risk while a lot of stayed home and our jobs came grinding to a halt. For some families, there was real concern about how they were going to get the things they needed. HEB home deliveries became a blessing, though it wasn't always a guarantee that you were going to get exactly what you ordered.

For those who faced economic struggles during the lock-down and need groceries, the lock-downs proved to make it difficult. HEB was not set up to receive online EBT transactions on their app. If families needed to get groceries with EBT cards, then that had to go to HEB in person, possibly putting themselves and their families at risk. Fortunately HEB reconized the problem and fixed it within the first few months of the pandemic. It is a change that HEB made that is still in effect, and probable would never have been done without the pandemic.

The global pandemic has brought a lot of unwanted change to our lives, and surely many of us wish that it never happened. This exhibit is just a small piece to the much larger picture. Many have left us, and many more are still fighting for their lives in hospitals around the world. May we never forget the struggles we faced, and how we got through them together. Hopefully we can learn from our mistakes, which is the reason history is so important. If we can learn and remember, we stand to have a better tomorrow.