An Open Letter to the Summer of Quarantine
“While you were a lot of things, none of which I anticipated, I’m grateful to have known you.”
Dear Summer 2020,
I’m writing to you from the kitchen table in my childhood home. That’s right, I’m not in the apartment in Harlem, where I made plans to live while pursuing a Full-Time Internship.
Before everyone met you, we had plans; graduations, job-offer start dates, and internships, summer vacations, all that you conveniently interrupted. But let’s face it, 2020 was not exactly going according to plan to begin with, long before you were in the picture.
While you were a lot of things, none of which I anticipated, I’m grateful to have known you. In isolation, far from friends and family, office buildings, beaches, rooftop bars, and any sense of normalcy, I actually found perspective. Your uncertainty frightened many, including myself, but somehow you made me grow into a better person than I was before.
Truthfully, you allowed for a pause to our ever-changing lives, that I didn’t realize that I needed until it happened. I realized that the constant hustle lifestyle, while we are all too proud to admit, is not sustainable.
In a time where there was “nothing we can do,” our lack of plans was necessary to what our minds and bodies were desperately seeking- a break from the madness. Not having ‘places to go and people to see’ at every moment of every day allowed us to sit alone with our thoughts. Personally, I found peace in journaling those thoughts and realized what I was writing on paper were things I didn’t realize about myself, until now.
Ultimately, what I found I valued most for myself was not what I thought I needed just a few months earlier. I found that keeping my communication with my college friends and reaching out to those who I’ve lost touch with brought me comfort and happiness. Finding time to journal and implement daily exercise in my morning routine, to care for myself mentally and physically, was another thing I would have said, “I wish, but I’m far too busy,” before. But even after you’re gone, I hope those things will stick with me.
And while I was disappointed when you canceled my summer Internship in New York, you somehow brought me something better. While previously I have never let any circumstances get the best of me, you taught me that New York would not be the only place for me to intern and pursue creative endeavors. With the help of LinkedIn, I was able to connect with a woman in Los Angeles looking for an Editorial Intern in building her podcast’s brand. Since then, I’ve loved working every day on editing new episodes, writing blog posts, planning virtual events, just to name a few of the incredible things this opportunity has given me.
I also found that writing is my true passion, which I have found that with more time in my schedule, I can devote to write more on my blog. And luckily there was a group of like-minded women who would create this digital magazine you’re reading from that I would be so fortunate to contribute to.
From that I learned, when things don’t seem to go according to plan, you make the best of every situation. In the opportunities I lost, there were others waiting for me to find. And as cliché, as it sounds, everything does work out the way it’s supposed to.
So, Summer 2020, you were not as bad as everyone has made you out to be. No, it was not one where we hustled at our dream internship in NYC by day and lounged at glorified rooftop bars by night. It was not the time for sun-kissed, beach bum living, nor the time to be fulfilling your wanderlust desires.
And while I’ll never take a girl’s day trip or working inside a café for granted again, I’ll remember that even in the least ideal circumstances, something surprisingly hopeful can present itself.
Thank you, Summer 2020, I will always be grateful.
With sincerity,
Your Friend, Erica