It was 6th of March, after getting done with classes, I was ready for a well-planned spring break to Miami the next day. After reaching Tampa, my friends and I realized the situation was getting worse and so we cancelled the trip. Soon as things started getting worse, I decided to head to my brother’s place in Michigan instead of going back to Boston. And now I’ve been here for the past 5 months, with just one suitcase full of beach clothes for Miami (ugh).
Staying indoors initially felt like I was being trapped for no reason. Wanting to do so many things, but couldn’t. I was at the final round of selection for an internship at T-Mobile but soon got an email saying that the internship program had been cancelled due to COVID. I wanted to blame the time but I knew that wasn’t the only thing at fault. It took me a few days to imbibe the fact of staying home 24/7 instead of enjoying the perfect campus life at BU. I wouldn’t waste the six months ahead of me before college re-opens blaming the pandemic. I needed a plan. I needed to utilize this time in the best way I could.
And that is when I realized- this is the most precious time I am going to get before I start working. This is a time that could indeed be more valuable for me to learn new things. New things that I never really took out time for. Taking up this challenge positively was the only choice I had. So here I am, five months already into the summertime and honestly I think it went great. I’ll share a few things and skills that I learnt in this period and that I’m really grateful for.
- Reading, reading, reading. A lot of reading. By reading I don’t really mean books, but articles, emails, blogs and case studies.
- I always procrastinated to create new content and work for art blog, but this time was a boon for my blog. I painted a lot, tried new techniques and mediums and it was the best decision.
- I wanted to meet new people from the advertising and marketing industry, understanding their skills and knowing their story. Though I couldn’t do that in person, I made the best use of LinkedIn and my internship at Sukhi Project to do so. Reaching out to experts in my field on LinkedIn has been a great source of gaining real-world knowledge.
- Creating three major projects, one involving an application re-design, second related to a digital art illustration, third and my favourite one- creating a platform to connect like-minded people who can learn and teach each other from home.
- Learning a few new skills I needed to hone for my career. Creating a website, designing, trying a new language and some technical skills etc.
I wouldn’t want to bore you with the laundry long list of things I tried this summer or boast about it to you. But, my point is to tell you that this time is for you so invest in yourself, learn something new or try anything that you otherwise wouldn’t get time for. It doesn’t matter if you have little time left or if you feel you’re late, just start getting things done and time will definitely follow. To end this, I’ll like to add a small important thought- it doesn’t matter if you are stuck and need time to figure things out. I experience that so many times.
It’s okay to be unproductive for a few days, the important thing is to find your way back and do something. Even if it’s a tiny step for self-growth and learning, it matters.
krishnapatel.blog 