Living through the pandemic had been an adjustment. First the lock down and travel restrictions, then the masks and quarantining at home. The start of the pandemic had produced so much anxiety and uncertainty (1). I am very thankful and grateful for my parents for helping me schedule the free vaccine and for my online reiki teacher who helped me during the vaccination stage to receive the healing, calming energy after I had received my vaccines. Luckily all the fear I had about the vaccinations by the new vaccines did not prove true. After talking and receiving encouraging emails online from christian friends and aquantances, and a few personal phone calls,  I too was encouraged to stand in a line of 50 and more people to receive the newly created vaccine.

The hospital where I received the vaccine worked out a process and I'm thankful to the staff at Crozer Chester Hospital for allowing us that visit and providing a relatively stress-free experience. The process itself was very professionally done and the nurse listened to my concerns and adjusted accordingly when I told her my history with a childhood illness. After receiving my dose of the mRNA vaccine (2) I was able to calmly leave the hospital with no symptoms. By the evening of that Friday, I did begin to have some of the symptoms associated with the vaccine including chills and was experiencing a level of pain, that was unusual prior to the vaccine.  However, the following day was mild, and by noon the following Sunday I was renewed to better health. The 48 hour process was more uncomfortable than the flu-vaccine, but I was glad it was over and I would not have to wear a mask as often. Prior to the provision of the free state vaccination, the state mandate required individuals to wear masks everywhere, including visits to the grocery store. 

Before getting the vaccine I was on the fence about receiving it only because I had seen the unique cases from VAERS of CDC and isolated cases of individuals online who had reported against it. Speaking with friends who received it and seeing the news report about Free vaccine clinics in Philadelphia at University City University of Penn and at Temple Univeristy had impressed me, so my doubt was gone and my family decided to opt into the free Government Vaccine. The reason behind our personal choice was two fold: since the death-toll of the new mutated Sars-Covid-virus was incredibly high (1) , and since the government hospital was offering the vaccines in a safe and timely manner (2), there was no real reason against it, especially because other epidemic like illnesses like rubella and polio were eliminated with vaccinations . 

Now two years later, I can proudly say that I both lived through a pandemic and through the vaccination schedule. I still have the card to prove it, but hope that these mRNA vaccines (2) will improve with time to where they will be less stressful on the body. ​I was lucky in that before the pandemic I had completed reiki energy healing master practioner degree-attunement program from a local practitioners and could use the hands-on-healing after the vaccine's injection to soothe the local areas during the 48 anti-body reaction period. Some people are natural healers like nurses, EMT's, and Physician Assistants and Physical Therapists and Massage Therapists, however if you're new to CEU's and just wanting to explore a healing modality like Reiki first degree, you should know that it is a safe universal energy from Source.

Only a few years ago the saying "Have you ever lived through a pandemic before?" is one question that seldom surfaced. The Spanish flu although considered a similar scale event, occurred prior to even most parents' memories in 1930’s in the beginning of the 20th century. So it was not predicted by many epidemiologists before the virus began in 2019, in Wuhan, China. With more than 3 billion of vaccines administered today, the infection numbers have dropped considerably, however new cases still are being discovered daily. 

With the start of the pandemic of 2019, there developed a debate about the effectiveness of vaccines. Both sides argued really well the pros and cons. The anti-Vax argument that these vaccines are newly developed and can cause various abnormal reactions in humans is a valid argument. For the ones who were pro-vaccines, the argument that vaccines prevents serious illness and infection and allows the body to acclimate to the virus and build anti-bodies, same as Polio or Measles vaccines, is a strong argument also. 

This choice to be anti or pro-vaccine is a matter of personal belief and a personal choice. Of course, the government recommends the regular schedule of vaccines now through the government agency CDC (https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/index.html) As a previous Volunteer at Riddle Hospital I had to have vaccines in order to participate in the volunteer program, a few years ago. Same with the volunteer program at the local Hospice nursing home. Some tests had been institutionally done, and others are state regulated. However, it is still our choice and power as consumers and volunteers to explore vaccines or to not explore them, and explore other methods however those might be less state funded. 

There has not been long-enough data released about the long-term effects of such vaccines. Organizations like VAYERS at CDC show that reactions do occur, and not to be ashamed if some allergy happened. Prior to this year the sars-virus vaccines were not federally mandated. Does that leave us as guinea pigs of the first round of the vaccine? Perhaps. The cost of breath has become staying a safe distance away from others, daily hygiene practice, and wearing a mask when around others who may be unvaccinated. The CDC recently had mandated regular hand washing during previous months. December of 2021, my state of Pennsylvania had the highest rate of new cases at peak number of 10, 563 but now in June 7th, we are to a lower number of 746 cases. 
According to John Hopkin's, one of the good news is that Governor of Pennsylvania, has signed HB 1459 into law, on Jul 23, 2020 which establishes a mental wellness and stress management program for first responders who experience post-traumatic stress injuries or traumatic brain injuries on the job. Also Chester Country residents are seeing 96 percent recovery rate, with majority of cases being in the age 20-29 group, followed by 50-59 age group, 30-39, and 40-49, with 808 dead being reported county wide, as of today, June 7th, 2021. With more local hospital staff and state regulation in place for treatment of infected individuals, residents can be safe again to walk, take their normal commute to work, and enjoy outdoor activities. Likewise with the state mandate for the vaccine and masks expiring, more people can be free to travel and not just stay home, but join gyms, visit cities, and enjoy outdoor events and activities. 

In my experience as a news writer and editor, is that writing takes time and so does editing. Good writers know that the craft is a process, and can vary depending on the deadline, access to sources, and word count required. Similar to seamstresses, a writer has his or her initial material and tools to excel in the craft that is writing for an audience. A short paragraph can be written in minutes and revised fairly quickly, but a longer articles need slightly longer writing times and preferably a few hours to construct, evaluate, revise and edit. Having served for newspaper, and magazines as a writer and designer, I've had success with writing on deadlines. Each article became like a beloved piece of clothing that I had sewn, and sent into the world. 

If you've found my page, perhaps you have a document that needs editing, proofreading, translating or revising, or perhaps you are just browsing around. Learning to write, proofread, and edit is a worth-while journey. 

Thanks for visiting my humble site. 

Olga Dvornikova, BA
Journalism, PR, Advertising 
​Temple University

In 2006, and even in 2014, saying "Have you ever lived through a Pandemic before," is one question that was as distant as Mars is in my thinking. For most of us, Gen Y, Gen X, the only approximate reference to pandemic-level events prior to 2019 happened on other continents, or during hurricanes. With the exception of 9/11 bombings, where hundreds of thousands of people died in the span of a few hours. I am still am in the shock of my life when I view the numbers about the virus sars-cov 19 totals.

When I were a college student, we wrote about the differences of vocabulary in newspapers. Not that the newspapers sugar coat or censor in any way, but the common knowledge is that the newspaper should be able to be read and understood by a 7th grader. Of course, that is not the case, because in 7th grade, who really had time for reading news all day long? Most of students had school, possibly an after-school-program or sport, and then sitcoms like Boy Meets World, about Corey and Tapanga, or Saved By The Bell, about life of Zach and Mario, or Tostitos commercials to keep them busy.


Since I’ve recovered this account from some strange circumstances, all I can say is that dialects of various countries have various vocabulary for medical terminology that represented illnesses, outbreaks included. Did you receive a virus shot when you were little? Well the proper word for it is a vaccine, but during the majority of time between 2019 and 2020 all we did was debate the benefit versus adverse reactions to it. For a long time I really saw no point in the vaccine. Was I supposed to inject it myself or were they going to provide a nurse? How will it affect me? Will I also survive or die like that person on YouTube and you know the ones if you were alive during this 2019-2020. But if you somehow missed it it was usually medical workers who somehow got affected by the adverse effects, which was very strange to me. Did anyone in 2006 know what the West Nile virus is? Not specifically. We knew where the Nile river is and the Egyptian pyramids are. And that’s our 7th grade training not diagnostics which, in all fairness, even our biology teachers in high school seldom mentioned. How was I to know that a fluorescent cactus plants would lead to longer life or not.


In 2006 the level of outbreaks that they do today, simply did not exist. So although our world in 2021 includes futuristic Star Wars and Yoda, futuristic science technologies like the SpaceX flights to Mars, and NASA, and the International Space Station(ISS), the ground level information and terminology often depends on the dialects spoken in that region. 


During the pandemic 2021, I had a glimpse of popular Philadelphia sitcom and specifically my region's dialect portrayed on TV, and to my shock and disbelief most people seemed to agree that "water" is pronounced "woder" and other such dialectical nuances. Perhaps due to my immigrant upbringing, I missed that kind of nuanced pronunciation. Since we did live in other regions of the states. Because the British English that was my teacher, said the "tee" sound is not rolled like a "duh" sound. Most likely I will never pronounce it "dialectically," unless really requested. However, the title of this post was aimed at promotion of literacy and vocabulary building and not letting students down with the Mars, Sputnik, and Nasa homophones or too many jokes about nature’s actual sounds from Disney’s Tarsan. Although it’s also a teaching method, perhaps. ​
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