Personal Reflections

The MUSC University Archives and the Waring Historical Library invite you to keep a diary of life during the COVID-19 epidemic. Diarists may type or write by hand, draw, compose poems, and gather stories in a variety of formats. You may keep an audio or video diary of what your life is like. If you prefer, we can set up a schedule to call and talk on the telephone on a regular basis, recording your responses. No need to be concerned about grammar, spelling, or correcting and editing recordings. The emphasis is on self-expression, candor, and your willingness to be a social commentator.

Selected submissions will be featured on the The MUSC COVID-19 Archive: Documenting Life During the COVID-19 Pandemic Blog. Please, join us in building MUSC's collective memory.

For guidance in contributing your work, here are some basic parameters. No matter which method you would like to employ, you should commit to:

1. Set a regular schedule to write, record, collect information, or comment on events. This can be daily or weekly. If you get off track, don’t worry about it. Just get back into it whenever you are able.
2. Spend as much time as you have available, even if this is just 10-15 minutes each time you sit down to record your comments. The key is to be consistent, no matter how short or how long.
3. You don’t need to report the news and the events. Those resources will be archived elsewhere. We are interested in how you are responding, your thoughts, fears, challenges, hopes for the future. This is about your thoughts and feelings, about what is happening around you and to you.
4. Send material to us as often as you would like. The first time you submit something, include a signed Deed of Gift form (included below). You only need to do this once, not with each submission.

You can save photographs or images with commentary. You can write five sentences or one hundred and five sentences. You can record your daily work schedule. Record how the pandemic has disrupted your life. Tell us about your personal reaction, hopes, and challenges.

For assistance getting started, contact the Waring's staff.

Who Can Participate

The mission of the Waring Historical Library is to collect, preserve, and provide access to materials documenting the history of the health sciences in South Carolina and the southeastern United States. The MUSC COVID-19 Archive is dedicated to collecting personal reflections which chronicle life during the pandemic in those geographical areas. Personal reflection contributors do not have to be affiliated with the Medical University of South Carolina.

Guidance for Faculty, Staff, and Students in Health Sciences Programs

The MUSC COVID-19 Archive is particularly interested in stories about the transition from on-campus learning to remote learning, on-campus work to remote work, adjustments to student life including moving off-campus and the experiences of students who have remained on-campus, the impact of technology on your learning and teaching, your ability to stay connected to faculty, classmates, coworkers, friends, and family. People are encouraged to think about questions such as:

• Where are you living during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020?
• How did you learn of your program's decision to transition to remote learning and working during the pandemic?
• Share your experiences with distance learning and how you've had to adjust your academic routines.
• Share your experiences with working from home.
• Did you move off campus suddenly due to COVID-19? What was that experience like, what kind of help did you have? Do you still have personal belongings on campus?
• Are you involved in student organizations, athletics or clubs? How has COVID-19 and campus response affected those?
• Do/did you have a job on or off campus? What kind of work did you do, and how has that been affected by COVID-19?
• Has your research or work become focused on COVID-19 or a COVID-19-related project?