Rachel Mihlstin
I was in the Tampa airport in early March 2020, one of my teammates was wearing a medical-grade mask. My softball team and I were leaving Florida in fear of a travel ban that could leave us with difficulty returning home. The threat of COVID has impacted our short-sighted view but at the time we had only thought it would last a few months. My teammate was asked why she was wearing a mask as it had not been mandated or even encouraged to wear one in public yet. She reminded us she has very bad asthma and contracting COVID could put her in critical condition. She was one of few who was wearing a mask at the time in the very large airport in a highly-populated area. I think in my head wearing a mask was frightening, it was an item associated with operating rooms and experience labs, not our everyday lives. We had been in Florida for roughly four days during spring break before we were told to go home, and we never wore masks. Looking back at that experience it is crazy to see how everything changed so quickly and how our lives would change for at least a year.
After a month or so, I was home on Long Island with my family, and masks were now being enforced in public. I rarely had a reason to leave my home but when I did, I wore a mask. I remember visiting my grandparents who were excited to see me since I had been away at college for several months. I wore a mask and so did both of my grandparents during the visit. However, my grandfather who was already hard of hearing struggled, even more, to participate in conversation as he could no longer lip-read since my mouth was covered. In fact, sometimes he did not even know I was talking let alone what I was saying. This barrier was difficult for both of my grandparents as they feared getting sick and how even their lives would change. As time went on and I continued to stay at home, only I would wear a mask when I went over my grandparents since both sides were essentially always in quarantine.
As the summer came around and COVID case numbers decreased more business and activities could open. My summer job was as an arts and crafts teacher at a summer camp. Until then, I really had no reason to leave my house or enter the public sphere. All the employees had to wear masks at the camp while the children did not. Personally, I dreaded wearing a mask in the heat, knowing that July and August would bring 90-degree days with high humanity. But I could not imagine not wearing a mask, not only was it heavily enforced by my superiors but the risk of contracting the virus was still very high and I did not want to put any of my family or friends in danger.
My mother had sewn some cloth masks for me that would be good for when the mask gets dirty from sweat and dirt during the camp day and could easily be reused after a wash. My mom had picked out a fabric with fun patterns to match my creative position. Many other camp counselors and specialists liked wearing masks with fun designs so the campers would like them and have them get used to people wearing masks. We all learned quickly that while many kids understood there was a pandemic, many of the younger could not understand why we had to wear the masks. They would often say cute sayings like “we want to see you smile.” But that would lead me or another employee to explain why the mask needed to be worn, which often was along the lines of “to protect everyone.”
After the summer, months had gone by of people making predictions of when we would not have to wear masks anymore. I was back at college, happy to be around friends and playing sports I love. To participate in the competition, all athletes must wear a mask during practice. However, my two months in the heat and wearing a mask did not prepare me for heavy breathing while doing sprints. The first month of the fall semester I had just been using the one-use medical masks but during the fall season of softball, I realized I needed not only a more sustainable option but a more comfortable one as well.
A friend had recommended I looked at athletic wear retailers to see if they were selling masks and another teammate suggested Athleta. I was familiar with the brand as they are known for selling athletic clothing to women, encouraging women to pursue strong bodies instead of skinny ones. They were selling packages of masks and so I bought a set of five, all neutral colors. However, the quality was great, and I felt like I could breathe better at practice along with less skin irritation. I specifically liked one with a light blue wash as it matched our uniforms, emphasizing school spirit. I have used those masks mostly until the real reason came along in late February when I needed to order more because I had more practice and needed to wash the masks more often.
