May, 2020
December, 2021
Kimberly & Kendell were last photographed in May of 2020—Kendell was a junior in high school and Kimberly was working from home. Kimberly said that there were some pros and cons to her work/life balance throughout the pandemic. One pro being that she was able to take time for rest and enjoy a slower paced life.
“Once we were able to start enjoying some of the "normal" gatherings, my schedule got crazy busy super quick! This caused some major anxiety with trying to find the time to rest while enjoying seeing people IRL,” said Kimberly. “It is weird how fast time has flown in the Pandemic, yet it seems like we are stuck in a time warp.
One major thing to note since our last photo is my friend Bronlynn and I co-founded Black Women Explore in May 2020. During quarantine I developed a love of hiking and the outdoors. Bronlynn was already an outdoor pro, so we combined forces and became co-explorers. Black Women Explore is an Akron-based outdoor recreation group centering on creating space for Black and Brown women in our community to connect with nature and try new things. Black and Brown people have often been excluded from the outdoor recreation community and we’d like to combat that.”
Kendell is currently a freshman at The Ohio State University. She lives on campus and has enjoyed school and has adapted to regular interactions with robots on campus. For those who might not be familiar with these robots (like me) take a look at @osufoodrobots to see “campus life” these days.
When asked the question ‘How has COVID affected yourself and family?’ Kimberly responded,
“In this month alone, COVID has had a major impact on me and my family. After almost two years of being cautious, having my bubble and getting vaccinated, I unfortunately fell ill with COVID a few weeks ago. I am fortunate that I am vaccinated because my case was mild and I was able to recover without any major lasting effects. I am also thankful that my isolation period ended just in time for Kendell to come home for the holiday.”
Kimberly and Kendell were able to enjoy a quiet holiday together and are looking forward to 2022!