Madeleine Hordinski

A self portrait in my bedroom on February 6, 2021.

The dining room in my Cincinnati apartment on February 6, 2021. Just a couple months after this photo was taken, my family friend died from COVID-19. He had caught it at work, because he was required to go into the office.

Sabina and I work on homework on the roof of our house. The roof leaves black residue on your skin and feet, so we lay down towels to stay clean.

My grandma holds my phone while my mom FaceTimes us in Florida. We congratulated my cousin Danielle (left) and her husband Griffin (right) shortly after their wedding ceremony. My grandma, my dad and my boyfriend Krishna all decided to stay home because of the pandemic. As a teacher, my mom was the first to get vaccinated in our family, so she decided to go to the ceremony in person.

Many of my family and friends have jobs that require them to be around dozens of people every day. I’ve spent many nights thinking about the risks their jobs pose; what happens if they catch COVID-19. Would they survive? 

Sabina takes a break after playing piano in the afternoon. 

Every weekend when we could, my family gathered with our neighbors outside for a social distancing movie night. Although the weather is cold, it feels good to finally be around other people.

My boyfriend Krishna and I tried to spend evenings hiking in our neighborhood park. It was a nice escape from our apartment, where we spent most of our time.

My mom received a letter from my 11-year-old neighbor. The letter says, “How are you doing during this time in the pandemic? I am doing well. Let’s have a game night through our window. Maybe we could look into a fishline the hallway of our house to yours. From the Hutchinson Smyths.”

Just like I finished my college senior year, my sister finished high school online. COVID-19 made celebrating our milestones and moving into the next phase of our lives a difficult process, but we made it — and we'll keep on going.