The Living Record Initiative: Documenting Pandemic Experiences for Future Reflection

The year 2021 was marked by the unique circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, impacting lives worldwide. Like many, I recognized we were living through a distinctive historical moment. In response to this upheaval, my friend and I pondered the idea of giving young people in Chicago the platform to document their pandemic experiences in their own words, preserving them for future generations.

This idea evolved into a citywide initiative, encouraging thousands of young individuals to share letters, artwork, photographs, and reflections about their lives amid the pandemic and their hopes for what lies ahead. This initiative laid the groundwork for Living Record, the organization I currently lead.

Since then, we have started reopening these time capsules. People of various ages across Chicago have been revisiting their own contributions from that uncertain period. For children who created these capsules in 2021, the pandemic represented an all-consuming challenge, erasing the pleasures and routines of everyday life with unclear prospects for return.

Inside the capsules, youngsters expressed their longing for friends and family gatherings. They conveyed their wishes to resume soccer practice and shared the disappointment of missing birthday parties and other milestones. As we unveil these time capsules, it is striking to see the reactions from current young people.

Many students today view the pandemic differently, remembering it as a time filled with family moments at home, attending online classes in pajamas, and a break from school-related social pressures. They feel detached from the loneliness and anxiety documented in the letters they are reading.

This contrast in perspective offers a valuable insight. We now know what the original contributors to the time capsules could not perceive: Most of the significant challenges of that period have faded, giving rise to new opportunities, relationships, and experiences.

Two individuals read a letter entitled “My Covid Story” on June 2, 2026, at the James R. Jordan Boys and Girls Club in Chicago.

In today’s context, conversations often revolve around pessimism regarding current events and the future. Issues like political division, economic instability, social separation, institutional distrust, and fear of technological impacts dominate discussions. A Gallup survey earlier this year highlighted a historic low in American optimism.

Opening the pandemic time capsules has demonstrated that present-day challenges might not be permanent. Changes over five years can be more profound than expected. This learning provokes curiosity about the upcoming five years. Which of today’s challenges will become distant memories? How will our recollection differ from our current experiences?

Living Record’s newest collaboration with the Chicago Public Library at the Obama Presidential Center is inspired by such curiosity. As we celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary, visitors contribute their thoughts on America today and their aspirations for the future in a new time capsule.

This capsule, due to be opened in five years, will offer future generations the opportunity to view today’s hopes, fears, and assumptions through the lens of hindsight. Although we cannot predict the specific thoughts of those who will open this capsule, one fact is certain: they will possess knowledge of what unfolds next.

Stacey Gillett, co-founder and executive director of Living Record, leads the Chicago nonprofit dedicated to connecting the past, present, and future through art, storytelling, and time capsule experiences.

Contributions of letters, up to 400 words, can be submitted to the editor or via email to [email protected].