"It has been two days and I have
not heard from my Mom or Dad.
I'm not sure what to do!
My brother is no help.
I know I'm only 15 but its scary
to be alone for this long.
The food is running low and
I'm afraid to go outside.
It feels like someone is watching me.
I need to find my Mom and Dad."
[[Start your Journey ]] "I am losing it right now!"
My nerves feel terrible.
I don't want to panic.
Breathe, Ari. Breathe.
You can do this, Ari. You are [[resilience]]."
Ari looks at her phone. She googles
the word resilience.
It was something that
her grandmother
always told her she had.
She begins to read
the definition to herself.
"Resilience means knowing
how to cope
in spite of setbacks or barriers."
I see why Abuela said being
resilient was a superpower.
"Abuela be with me as I take this journey.
I know I need to be self-aware and
make sure I keep a positive attitude.
[[I can do this]]."It feels weird in this store.
"Hey." Ari says.
Mr. Case is standing
behind the counter.
He asks, "how's the family?"
Ari takes a moment
before she answers.
"They are fine. Just working."
She grabs a bag of chips and
lemon cookies.
"These are all the
things my mom hates."
Ari hesitates for a moment.
"I need to be responsible about the choices I am making.
I can just hear my mom voice in my head saying 'every choice
you make is your choice, good or bad. I am not sure what to do next but
I gotta be carful."
Ari looks to the right and sees a flashlight and friut next to the cash register. She puts back the chips and cookies and she decides that she was going to make a better choice for herself.
[[Ari leaves the store]]
Artemis, also known as Ari, is a 15-year old based in Brooklyn. Due to COVID-19, her school has gone remote and the city is placed under lockdown. One afternoon, she wakes up from a long nap. She searches her house for her parents who both work for hospitals in Manhattan. She knows they should have returned from their shift by now. "Where are they?"
Artemis must venture out of quarantine and into the streets of New York at an uncertain time in search of her parents. "[[Where are they?]]"Ari takes a few deep breaths.
Before she leaves out the door she grabs the 100 dollar bill that her mom gave her in case of an emergency.
Ari opens up her backpack and pulls out a paper she received on the last day of school before lockdown.
At the top of the page in huge letters it says SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL SKILL TOOLKIT.
Her class had been going over [[The Five Core CASEL]] Competencies.
She folded the paper and placed in her pocket. "I need to go to the store before it gets to late."
[[enter store]]As Ari stand outside on the side walk in front of the store, she pulls out the paper from her pocket.
She begins to read out loud: "Self-management. Defined as the ability to regulate one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors effectively in different situations. This includes managing stress, controlling impulses, motivating oneself, and setting and working toward achieving personal and academic goals."
She closes her eyes and take a big deep breath and whispers to herself, "I have self control. I can manage my emotions." Suddenly, Ari opens her eyes/ She looks down and there's a little dog wearing a jacket with packages tucked in the pockets. The dog seems friendly and sits.
The dog seems to be calm but Ari is not sure if she should pet him.
Should [[Ari pet the dog's head]] or should she [[walk away]] because this dog is strange and she doesn't know where he came from?
The dog licks Ari's hand and starts spinning in a circle, almost as if he is trying to Ari something.
The dog barks and walks down the block. Ari follows him wondering, "[[Where are we going]]?"
Ari turns and starts walking away from the dog. The dog barks and turns around in a circle. Ari starts to reconsider her choice. "Maybe I should give this dog a chance? I do feel determined. So even though, I'm feeling nervous and the dog seems a little weird, he seems as determined as me."
She decides: "I'm going to follow the dog...[[Where are we going]]? The dog leads her to the subway.
Ari hesitates for a moment to think
about whether she should she go down the
stairs or not, but feeling
determined and feeling solid in
her feelings, she decides that she's
ready for some adventure and her
newfound friend knows just where
to go. Ari follows the dog down the subway station.
Once down, she sees that no train is at the
station the platform's empty and quiet.
All that stands is a hot dog stand on
one end run by a guy who is busy reading
a paper. He pays no attention to Ari.
The dog takes off runing towards the stand.
The guy behind the counter seems
to know the dog who is very friendly
toward him. The guy reaches down to give him a hot dog.
"[[Who is this man]]?"
The man at the hotdog
stand says, "Good boy, Isaac!"
as he pats on the dog's head.
Ari just stands to the
side trying to decide if she should talk
speak to this man that the dog obviously knows.
"Should I[[ talk]] to him or should
I just get a hot dog and [[keep going]]?"
"I need to find out if this guy can help me. I dont know if I should tell him I'm looking for my family."
"What is your [[ name ]]?""I dont need anyone's help." Ari walks out of the subway but the dog runs after her and pulls on the leg of her pants. She turns around to see a man holding up a hotdog.
Ari asks the man, "What is your [[ name ]]?""My name is Frank."
Ari asks, "Do you know this dog?"
Frank says, "Yes, this dog's name is Isaac. He goes around the city delivering packages for my sister Laura and he always stops back here to get a hot dog when he's done. What are you doing out here?"
Ari is not sure if she should tell him what her mission is.
"[[Tell]] him I'm looking for my mom and dad or tell him that I am on my [[way]] home?"Ari pulls out the paper once more and begins to read to herself. "Relationship skills. Defined as the ability to establish and maintain healthy and rewarding relationships with diverse individuals and groups. This includes communicating clearly, listening actively, cooperating, resisting inappropriate social pressure, negotiating conflict constructively, and seeking and offering help when needed."
Ari thinks, "Maybe Frank can help me." She decides to tell him: "My parents were supposed to be coming back from a shift at the hospital, but they haven't come home yet, and I'm worried about what happened to them. So I'm looking for them."
Frank tells her that Isaac knows the best way to get anywhere in the city. "I'm sure that he will guide you if you just follow along. Isn' t that right, Isaac?"
Isaac barks seemingly in agreement.
Frank smiles then warns, "Just look out because the [[cops]] are picking up anybody that's violating curfew."Ari tells Frank that she is on her way home and she just found the dog near the store.
She says goodbye and walks up the street.
As she stands on the sidewalk, she sees a pair of [[cops]].
She thinks, "It is after curfew and they could take me to a holding cell. Or, maybe they can help me. I dont know who to trust."The cops ask Ari why was she out past curfew and that they needed to see her ID.
Ari sees Isaac and starts to bark loudly. Ari looks down at the dog and the dog spins in a circle.
Ari says, "I'm just looking for a way to get these snacks home as quickly as I can."
One of the cops says, "Ok, but make sure you get home."
Ari thinks, "That was a close one."
Ari heads off down the street with Isaac and turns a corner and sees someone from her [[neighborhood]].Ari thinks to herself, "I know this guy. I think he hangs around my brother."
"My brother and I dont have the best relationship so I'm rarely around him but I think that's Chris, his friend."
Chris, a tall young boy, walks up to her and is not wearing a mask. He asks her where she was going.
Chris says, "Don't you know you brother is looking for you? I can take you to him!"
At this point, Ari spaced out. She could see the the paper she had in her pocket in her mind. She remembers reading about social awareness - "the ability to take the perspective of and empathize with others from diverse backgrounds and cultures..."
She did not want to think bad of Chris but she could not let go of what Frank said about people being up to no good. She knows that Chris hangs around with her brother and sometimes her brother doesn't make the best choices.
"I don't know who to [[trust]]."Ari tells Chris that he is too close and ask where his mask was. "Please back up six feet Chris. I am not trying to get sick!"
Chris tells Ari, "You should come with me. Your brother needs you."
Ari thinks, "Should I [[go]] with Chris? Maybe he's not bad. Or should I [[continue]] looking for mom and dad?"Ari goes with Chris but as soon as she starts walking, Isaac starts barking and spining in a circle.
She looks at Chris and tells him she is just going to go home.
To herself, Ari says, "I am going to [[continue]] to look for mom and dad."Her and Isaac walk around the block.
Isaac starts to run down the street. Ari chases Isaac around the corner. Isaac is running really fast and goes down what Ari thinks a blind alleyway only to find a small door open with warm light coming from it. Isaac runs inside wagging his tail and jumps into the lap of a woman sitting in a small room.
Ari stands at the door. She does not know if she should go in.
The woman gives her a warm [[smile]]. Ari looked into the room. One corner of the room had a cluster of small packages. The other side of the room was full of big boxes.
Isaac licks the face of the woman and seems very friendly. The woman smiles, turns and says, "Well, Isaac's happy to be home."
Ari smiles, "Wow, yes he is."
The woman introduces herself as Laura. She says, "I run a package delivery service and Isaac is my best runner. But, if he brought you home, you must be special."
Laura asks, "What's your name?"
At that moment, Ari has to make a choice. Is she going to tell this woman who she is and what she is doing?
Ari hesitantly responds, "[[Who]] am I?" So, Laura pulls up a chair, pulls out something for her to drink and offers to share a snack with her. Laura laughs and asks, "What are you doing out here during COVID-19? You're supposed to be staying home."
Ari takes a breath and realizes that she needs assistance. She thinks to her self, "Can this woman help me? I'm aware that I need [[help]].""If you need some help, I can help you. Just tell me what's going on," says Laura.
Ari starts to cry. She says, "I need to find my mom and dad. That's why I'm out here."
She continues, "Can you help me? I dont even know where my brother is. We don't get along but we have to find my family."
Laura tells her, "You may not get along with your brother. But, if you're looking for your parents, he might be able to help you. Sometimes, even when we don't get along with people, we have to try to work those problems out when something more important comes up. Maybe your brother's friends can lead you to him and he might be able to help you out."
Laura continues, "Isaac can lead you out there and I'm sure that he'll keep you [[safe]]."Ari and Isaac go down to the alleyway. Ari follows Isaac but she doesn't get too far before she sees another one of her brother's friends.
Ari trusts him and approaches.
He stays six feet away and yells down the street, "Ari, your brother looking for [[you]]!"
[[enter store]]As Ari stands there, she sees her brother walk around the side of the building. He looks so sad.
He walks up to her and gives her a big hug.
He says I know where mom and dad are.
[[ Let's Go!]]
As they walk, Ari's brother explains how their parents had to get tested because of Covid-19 since they work in the hospital.
They walk up to the hospital's exit. Ten mintues later, her mom and dad walk out with face masks on then run and hug them. [[How has COVID-19 impacted your personal relationships?]]Now that you have heard Ari's story, take some time to discuss how social and emotional skills can be accessed and used as tools in your everyday life!
↶↷
Artemis, also known as Ari, is a 15-year old based in Brooklyn. Due to COVID-19, her school has gone remote and the city is placed under lockdown. One afternoon, she wakes up from a long nap. She searches her house for her parents who both work for hospitals in Manhattan. She knows they should have returned from their shift by now. "Where are they?"
Artemis must venture out of quarantine and into the streets of New York at an uncertain time in search of her parents. "Where are they?"