VANNELLA, MAIRI – With the arrival of spring, many individuals usually flock to the riversides for sunbathing and tubing, and follow that up by chasing the day down with a drink at one of the lively bars sprinkled throughout downtown. Others might have been intent on finishing the school year, with several making plans for prom dances and graduations. At the end of February, the dredges of winter were, largely, over, and the bustle of spring and an approaching summer brought with it plans for celebrations and adventures away from regular monotony. Even with news of a virus making its rounds around the globe, many were unphased and opted to face the challenge if it presented itself – likely assuming that it would be controlled and life largely the same.
The disease, COVID-19, was declared a pandemic a few weeks later, and life, as we knew it, would change seemingly overnight.
Rivers and parks were emptied as soon as they were opened, while the schools shifted to a completely online format to ensure minimal spread of an invisible foe. Subsequent celebrations – graduation ceremonies, proms, even the sweet release of the last school day – were suddenly evaporated or moved. The swankiness of the night scene was closed indefinitely – patrons itching to imbibe turned to ordering alcohol for delivery via favorite restaurants and liquor stores. Actually, that’s what most people began doing period, since many were unwilling to leave the certainty of their own abode.
Life across the world was upended in ways not witnessed in living memory, and the small college town of San Marcos, TX was certainly not an exception. With places left and right closed for indefinite amounts of time, and people taking an extra step (sometimes quite literally) to avoid contact with others, things have taken quite the slowdown. Despite this, life still finds a way to go on, even when time itself seems immobilized.
Below is a photo gallery that aims to capture the seemingly quiet suspension of a once-bustling town, as well as different perspectives of quarantine impacts.
A “Vera Bradley” flower bush slowly comes to life after a lifeless winter. 
A squash attempts to grow while small insects move about their green home. 
An apartment office door issuing guidelines for safe employee interaction, decorated with thank you notes for essential workers. 
A couple socially distanced from others on a local wildlife trail. 
Sometimes, it’s the little things. A spider has picked quite the view to make its home. 
An essential worker, Tressa, spends some quality time with her cat after a long shift. 
Tressa, 22, values the time she has with her family and pets, preparing for the next round of ER shifts. 
This lone weed doesn’t have to worry about footfalls on this empty campus. 
The Texas State Quad, once silent just on weekends, hosts just the absence of students. 
Lonely flags, flying half-mast, stand watch over the campus. 
It isn’t often that the cityscape of San Marcos is as barren as the sky. 
An example of the pandemic claiming job casualties. 
Despite the silence and shutters, knowledge that this isn’t the end carries through.
