Collaborative

For my collaborative project, I made an entry in the traveling journal started by Gabby Morreale. Starting from a few days after Davidson students were sent home due to COVID-19, Humesters have been mailing Gabby’s bullet journal across the country to each other. Each student has been making a few pages their own with letters, collages, pictures, drawings, or any other additions that let their fellow Humesters know how they are doing. This journal has provided a way for us to continue the sense of community and togetherness that we had gotten used to at Davidson. I truly cannot think of a better way to capture the bonds between students in the Humanities program that have progressed since the first day we met each other in August, as well as the different perspectives each student brings to during this pandemic. This class has not only changed the way I view and think about the world, but it has also provided me with a loving, supportive learning community and some of the best friendships I have ever had. By the time this journal comes back to Gabby, all of that love and closeness will be bound and wrapped up in those pages.

Eventually, the journal will make its way to about 25 Humesters, but so far, it has only reached six of us. I will continue to make updates with more pictures of entries throughout the summer as Gabby sends them to me. By the time it reaches the last person, the entries will be telling a broad range of stories about life during the coronavirus pandemic. I am interested to see how these stories will evolve from March to August.

Gabby Morreale:

An intro page by Gabby laying down some rules and guidelines for the journal

A letter from Gabby to Rachael describing her life in quarantine in Washington, DC.

a poem written by Gabby with a still life painting in the background

Rachael Devecka:

a letter from Rachael to Gabby describing her life in quarantine in Baltimore

a letter from Rachael to Sadie asking about how she's doing in North Carolina

a list of good things happening in the world as of March 20

Sadie Blackshear:

a collage with the words "Hello Spring" made from cut up magazine letters

a letter from Sadie describing her life in quarantine in North Carolina

a collage of key words of advice for making it through the pandemic

a list of Sadie's non-academic quarantine accomplishments

an outlined sticker of a "hang loose" hand sign

Isabel Nowak:

a letter from Isabel describing their life in quarantine in North Carolina

"Social-distance high-five!" written in the middle of a drawing of two outlined hands overlapping

Isabel describing the origami crane they made and tucked into the front cover of the journal

the cover of the journal with an origami crane tucked into a square space that would normally be used to display a picture — the origami crane Isabel put on the cover

the word "they" written many times in different pen colors, the words overlapping each other and tilted in different directions. In the bottom right corner, "they" is written clearly in bold, unobstructed by the others.

Isabel describing their experience in their Ancient Mayan Civilization class and how they think about how those people lived daily life

My entry:

an image of MaryBeth Monaco-Vavrik pointing at the camera surrounded by the words: "Hey you. You're gonna be okay."

my letter describing my experience in quarantine in Texas

my list of things to do instead of staring at your phone

Grant Hearne:

Grant's letter describing his life in quarantine in Arkansas

a collage of magazine clippings, one reading "Heading Out!," another giving statistics and facts about the state of Arkansas, and another one reading "Tell Everyone to Come Over"