How has pandemic changed your life?

Cast your mind back, if you will, to March 17, 2020.

Six Bay Area counties had just issued firstinthenation orders to shelter in place, shuttering all but essential businesses and asking residents to stay home for the next three weeks. Shops boarded up, gun sales surged, and downtown San Francisco grew eerily still.

Three weeks came and went, and weeks stretched into months, then nearly a year.

Now, as we approach the anniversary of shelterinplace, we want to hear from you. How has the past year changed you

and your relationships? What have you learned? How is the person you are today different from who you were a year ago?

“We are in a rough place. And we are going to have difficult times ahead of us,” said San Mateo County Health Officer Dr. Scott Morrow at a news conference announcing the start of shelterinplace. “The measures that we are putting in place are temporary. But they will last longer than any of us want.”

We didn’t know then — couldn’t have known and wouldn’t have guessed — that one year later we’d still be in the midst of the pandemic, masking up and staying apart. And we couldn’t have predicted how the past 12 months would change us in ways trivial and profound.

So, tell us your story. How has one year of the pandemic changed you?

“The measures we are putting in place ... will last longer than any of us want.”

Dr. Scott Morrow, San Mateo County health officer

⏩ Send your pandemic reflection to culture@ sfchronicle.com with the subject line “One Year,” and we’ll publish a selection of responses.

⏩ We can’t respond to all emails, but your submission will be read and considered.

⏩ Please be as specific as possible, but try to keep it concise. We may edit your submission for clarity, spelling and grammar.

⏩ If you would like to keep your letter anonymous, please say so in your submission.

We look forward to hearing from you!