By Sarah Scarpitti, Indiana University and Olivia Lair, Oakland University

Click here for a Text-Based Description of the Visual

Sarah’s Reflection

Seasons are beautifully marked with a routineness of movement from one to the next. The transitions between each season are gently felt through anticipation of what lies ahead. The natural and cyclical motion of seasons evolves and transforms life itself. 

Pandemic seasons were harshly marked with a blurriness of movement from one to the next. The transitions between each season were unseen and unfelt as there was no anticipation of what would lie ahead. The stillness of pandemic seasons confused and paused life itself.

I felt numb to the movement of each pandemic season. I was less aware of what was going on outside because the walls of isolation were built up so high. The lack of activity propelled me into a daze, hidden in clouds of uncertainty. I stood motionless with the rest of the world, missing out on the beautiful experience of movement from one season to the next. I yearn for feeling the movement of seasons, once again.

Olivia’s Reflection

While watching Seasons, I couldn’t help but think about how the pandemic has changed the way I perceive the seasons. Grace’s project not only made me reflect back on seasons past, but also think how I may feel towards seasons from now on. I have a feeling every future summer will remind me of lockdown, and every future fall will remind me of online learning and zoom lessons.

So, when me and Sarah were planning our response together, we knew we wanted to create something inspired by Grace’s project, but include our feelings toward the “pandemic seasons” as we started calling them. We decided to create a graphic to accompany our poem, and we wanted it to resemble a seasons chart. I was very inspired by Grace’s poem, and I really enjoyed the way she used personification throughout, and animations that really highlighted what she was saying.

While our graphic didn’t turn into a direct representation of the seasons as I thought it would, I feel it still represents the way I feel towards these new “pandemic seasons”. I really enjoyed watching Grace’s project, and I hope it also inspires others to think of the seasons, or anything associated with them, through a different lens as it did with Sarah and I.