21 May Photo Essay: My Quarantine Life

By Christian Mendizabal

My name is Christian Mendizabal, and I am a senior attending De Anza High School (online, that is).

Ever since the shelter in place started and the schools shut down, life hasn’t been the same for many of us. I find myself bored for hours, thinking of what to do next, inside, while everything else is slowly closing down month after month.

Photography and the moments I share with my family have kept me going, even though they can drive me insane. A day in my life is like many others, online school, eating, a small walk around the neighborhood, and spending quality time with the ones you love.

We should all take advantage of the resources in the community, especially now. Many volunteers, such as this woman handing my family and me bags of food at one of the meal pick-up locations in Richmond, spend their time handing out a variety of goods.

After doing some work, I like to head outside for a walk around my neighborhood in North Richmond. Seeing familiar faces at the local Mom, Pop, & Sons corner store is always a good feeling.

A hike at Miller Knox Regional Park is always exciting, especially coming back down. Here, my cousin and I are on our way back to the car, heading down a shady trail after a good workout. Having an area to go and enjoy nature so close to us here in Richmond is important, especially now when our usual activities are canceled.

Another way to keep yourself distracted and busy at home is to try looking at things around the house differently. I asked my little brother to go behind the curtains and pose with his hands so that his shadow could look cool with the light coming from behind. Trying to find ideas and new sightings in the place you know best can be challenging but rewarding.

In this photo, I wanted to do something for my fellow classmates. I used all of my college acceptances along with my tassel and a news article about the pandemic to show what we are going through. As a graduating senior of the class of 2020, COVID-19 has been one of the most tragic events I have experienced. We lost memories and irreplaceable moments with friends who we probably won’t see again for years, if ever. Understanding that we are a part of history can ease the pain, but nothing will ever be able to help the loss of our last few childhood memories.