“I definitely learned a lot about myself, and kind of being alone without my friends and doing my own thing. I picked up a lot of habits during the pandemic that I previously probably wouldn’t have picked up. I guess it’s just realizing that I have more control of creating a routine in my life.”
– Marissa Broome
Marissa Broome is a political science senior at Merrimack College from Weymouth, MA. She works with the college’s Promise Program, helping first- and second-year students with whatever they need. Broome plans on attending law school after she graduates in the spring of 2022.
In the interview, Broome describes her personal life during the pandemic and how she adjusted during lockdown. She reflects on living with two parents who were working in the healthcare system, including directly with COVID-19 patients. Broome also describes what it was like to work on campus during the pandemic, including how her job evolved through its different phases.
Excerpt
Grace Russo: We started quarantine–I think it was around the end of March to April? Was there a time for you when you started thinking like, “Wow, this is like a real thing–this is becoming serious”? Could you describe it? Like when you realized this is going to be a long lasting thing?
Marissa Broome: Yeah, so it was when after spring break we got an email from school saying that our break was extended only for a week and that was obviously right when quarantine was happening and then that week went by and I stayed in my house and it ended up obviously being extended longer and it was like they were just going to kind of communicate to us when we could come back. But both of my parents were healthcare workers so for me and my siblings, while like everyone else was still going out, I was actually stuck in the house day after day for months. And that’s kind of when–once my parents said that we couldn’t go out any more–like me as an adult being 21, like having them tell me we couldn’t go out was a big thing.
GR: So you talked about your parents working in healthcare–what was that like for your family, if you don’t mind sharing?
MB: So in two aspects it was kind of good because we knew what was going on but then also it was kind of annoying especially towards me and my sister in a way just because it came to a point where they would go to work everyday and we couldn’t. That sounds really stupid but at the time we would take even going to work and getting out of the house that way as the biggest thing. They were working consistently and everyday we normally knew what was going on kind of ahead of time because they were working in hospitals which was good, but then it was also like we just felt like they were out of the house so much more–obviously not on good terms–but that was something that we wish we could have done.
GR: Because it was their way of being able to leave the house and you were staying in.
MB: Yeah.
GR: So, lockdown started in March and April–we said that. Do you remember what lockdown was like for you–like what were the hardest parts? Were there any positives for you?
MB: The hardest parts of lockdown was how strict my parents were being and then seeing some of my other close friends just being able to go out and just be with each other and see other people. Like the only time I got out was literally to go to the grocery store with my parents–that was, like, very rarely, but–the good parts of quarantine for me is I actually got into a really good and healthy kind of routine. Like working on eating and everything and I was kind of very structured and self-disciplined more than I was outside of that.
Interview Details
This interview was conducted on December 1, 2021, in North Andover, MA, by Grace Russo.
Accession Number
2021.57.1
This interview is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.