March 22, 2022

From Shelby:

My experience of the “Lockdown”

It is hard to describe the despair I felt during the COVID-19 pandemic. I was working in a clinical molecular laboratory in Huntsville, AL starting in 2019, running PCR testing for various infectious diseases. When news started circulating that COVID-19 was quickly spreading to all continents, the research and development department created a test for the virus to meet the demand for testing locally. As a lab technologist, most people don't understand the amount of work that goes on in the shadows of the doctors & nurses. One sample would take approximately five to six hours to complete the process and give either a positive or negative result. We soon ran thousands of COVID-19 tests daily, working 14-hour days because our lab was so small and the demand was so high. amount of biohazard bags we went through was easily quadruple what we used to before the pandemic. The bags lined every wall of the lab daily before the biohazardous waste removal company realized how more frequently they needed to come by our lab We felt buried under mountains of FedEx mailers from clinics around South, filled with positive COVID-19 nasal swabs, a virus that did not yet have a vaccine or standard treatment. By the summer of 2020, I was burnt out. My chronic illnesses flared to new highs from the stress. My migraines came almost daily, and the medication I was prescribed to lessen the pain turned me into a zombie during the hours I was not at work. I soon decided that since the interest for student loans was being put on pause that I should go back to school for a master's degree in something that doesn't require such back-breaking labor.

I started my journey in epidemiology, a Career that was relevant to my background and the current hell the world was going through. I graduated in May 2022 with my new master's degree and moved to Denver, CO to to work as a research coordinator for the Long COVID study called RECOVER. It has been humbling to have the opportunity to work with so many people suffering from long-term effects of COVID-19 infection. I hope that my contributions to the knowledge of COVID-19 improve lives around the world.

The inspiration for my design:
My design is based off of a still image from the musical special, Bo Burnham: Inside, released in May 2021. The special was written, directed, filmed, and performed by Bo Burnham in a mostly empty house at the height of the lock down, true one-man-show. The image was taken during his performance of the song, "All Eyes on Me," which won the Grammy for Best Song Written for Visual Media in 2022. No color correction was applied as the image was from a point where all the light in the room was blue already. I added the text overlay of the title in the font used in the special.

There is something about this special that continues to live within me. To me, it is a perfect representation of the feelings experienced during the lockdown. Since this special was released, the album has been in my top 5 albums on Spotify, even though the despair I once felt has dissipated. Every time I listen or watch it again, it brings all the emotions I felt come flooding back, functioning as a sort of time capsule.

The songs include:

1. "Content"
2. "Comedy"
3. "Facetime with My Mom (Tonight)"
4. "How the World Works”
5. "White Woman's Instagram.”
6. "Unpaid Intern”
7. "Bezos I”
8. "Sexting"
9. "Look Who's Inside Again"
10. "Problematic"
11. "30"
12. "Don't Wanna Know"
13. “Shit"
14. “All Time Low”
15. Welcome to the Internet"
16. "Bezos II”
17. "That Funny Feeling"
18. "All Eyes On Me”
19. "Goodbye"
20. "Any Day Now”

It would take way too long to accurately describe everything that is covered in Inside, especially without the vulnerability and comedic talent Burnham has. I encourage you to watch it if you get the chance.

Shelby West