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How A Rural Community Is Maintaining Mental Fitness In Isolation

About The Author

Hi. I’m Ryder and I am a grade 8 at Seycove Secondary. I have been interested in photography from the time I was little. Moving to Vancouver from California was a big change. Whether it be the climate or the environment around me, everything was different. A little while before I moved to British Columbia, I found a curiosity for wildlife and nature, which there was not much of where we lived. Although, that was not the case in BC. There was so much to see and so many critters to observe. I needed to find a way to capture all of it though my point of view. I first started taking photos when I was seven, and immediately created what I called a photo book. With a recent move deeper into the forest, my interest in photography has grown even more. In the future, I would like to be a photographer for National Geographic.

What is The Photo Essay About

How can we, as photojournalists, tell stories of our community during this period of physical distancing?

As a class we were asked to answer the question above in the form of the still image. Since my community is Sunshine Falls Lane, which is very deep in the wilderness, I decided to base my photo essay around that factor. Since a major consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic is physical distancing, I made a theme that would capture how the community responded to this obstacle. The main focus was how the community is uniquely keeping mentally fit and happy through this time. From exercise to yoga to family bonding time, this collection of photos will show it all.

Sunshine Falls Ln

News That Touched Billions

It seemed like it has been years since I first read that news headline. To be honest, it didn’t seem that bad at the start. A number of cases were in Wuhan and there was only about one or two in the U.S.A. Although, everything changed quickly. In the matter of weeks, borders where shut down and we were required to stay in our homes. The idea of self isolation sounded fine for a little while, but when we heard that schools were closed down, and weren’t planning on re-opening for the remainder of the school year, my opinion began to sway. Before online classes started, the weeks at home were a lot about finding things to do that would keep me from getting down or sad. I later found that as a rural community, we all had unique ways of staying mentally fit throughout isolation.

Somehow Relaxing

Due to the fact that at the beginning of quarantine we had no school, I realized how important it was to keep a calm mental state. Meditating and taking my mind off the pandemic eased the stress and uncertainty. Since our community is in such a rural area, you can meditate in your backyard with only the distraction of the sounds of wildlife around you.