Witness to History: What Are Your COVID-19 Experiences?

Please share your experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. Contribute to the MHS Collection and help future historians tell the story of this unprecedented time.

Tell us if you are an adult or minor

Great, we're glad you're participating! Please be sure you don't use your full name or address, or anything that would identify you.

Type or paste your thoughts & experiences directly in the box below. Each week will include a new prompt to get you started, but feel free to write about anything you wish.

How has social distancing impacted your daily life so far? How have you been affected by remote working and/or remote learning? How will social distancing be impacted as temperatures warm and states begin to re-open? How do you feel our government has handled COVID-19? What brings you hope during this time? What do you think the “new normal” will look like? How do you feel the civil unrest we are seeing across the country has been influenced by or will affect the response to the COVID-19 pandemic? Do you think the spike in cases around the country will require state and local governments to reconsider their re-opening plans? How has your attitude—and that of the public at large—changed about wearing face masks since the COVID-19 pandemic began? How are we learning to live with COVID-19? Has the spike in cases around the country changed your opinion about wearing a mask? Going out in public? Traveling for summer vacation? How is the current state of the COVID-19 pandemic affecting the start of the school year? How has COVID-19 changed the way that you eat? Do you cook at home more? Do you order takeout? Have you eaten at a restaurant (did you sit outdoors or inside)? How do cooler temperatures and shorter daylight affect what you are able and willing to do as the pandemic lingers? Are you concerned about the reported rise in COVID-19 cases across the country? Will new rules and regulations set forth by local and state governments help to decrease numbers? How will the results of the presidential election change the country’s response? Has the uptick in COVID-19 cases changed your plans regarding holiday travel? Do you think a full shutdown is necessary to control the outbreak? Do you plan to receive the COVID-19 vaccine? Have you received the COVID-19 vaccine? What challenges have you encountered in trying to get it? What do you most look forward to after having received it? How do you feel the number of Americans who remain unvaccinated will affect our ability to fully re-open? How do you think the vaccine and mask mandates will affect the spread of COVID-19?

You may upload a photo, PDF, text file, or MS Word file.
Please do not use a photo of yourself or any other minor. Drag a file into the box above, or click to choose a file from your device.

This is how your name will appear in public with your contribution. You can provide your name or something more anonymous, like “Boston healthcare worker” or “Mom of 2 in Reading.” Please include your geographic location. The text in this box is how you will be identified online. If you choose to create an account (see below), your username will also be used.

Give us only your first name, or something general, like "7th grader from Virginia", or "Marsha from Wichita". The MHS cannot accept personal information from children, such as your full name, street address, email, or social media handle.
Please read our privacy policy.

The full name of a parent or guardian is required for internal recordkeeping purposes only and will not be made public. As a research library and archive, we cannot accept materials into our collection without attribution and contact information.

Why do we need this? A full name is required for internal recordkeeping purposes only and will not be made public. As a research library and archive, we cannot accept materials into our collection without attribution and contact information.

Please read our privacy policy.

An email address for a parent or guardian is required. Your parent/guardian will be asked to verify his/her email address and give permission for your contribution to be posted on this website and become part of the MHS collection.

User agreement

By submitting written experiences, text files, and/or electronic images, the user acknowledges the content to be of the user's own creation and understands that the contributions will become part of the MHS collection. The user grants the MHS non-exclusive rights to authorize anyone who accesses MHS collections to view, quote, copy, or reproduce said content. The MHS may also use this content for its own marketing purposes in print and online materials.

By agreeing to these terms the user acknowledges that he/she/they are 18 years of age or older.

Please participate with respect to all. The MHS reserves the right to remove any content that it considers offensive or inappropriate.

Create a free account.

This will allow you to login and view your contributions, and quickly add others. This login can also be used to access other forthcoming online features.

Need help? please email collections staff.