By Micayla Roth, LiveGirl Intern
If you asked me my 2020 plans in early January, I’d tell you that the end of my senior year of high school, the culmination of 13 years of hard work and challenging college applications, was ahead. Prom. Graduation. A free summer, and then my long-awaited departure for college.
And then the pandemic hit here in the US. While I was sad about losing my senior year, I was grateful that college remained safely tucked away in the distant future. But as the situation worsened and the likelihood of an unaffected first year began to plummet, I boldly declared out of frustration, “if school is canceled for the fall, I am deferring for a year!” And as I mulled on this, I realized it wasn’t a terrible idea.
At first, the thought of taking a gap year was one that I pushed aside - I had my heart set on attending the University of Chicago, and doing the unconventional was, admittedly, something I didn’t want to think about. But after brainstorming and sharing ideas with others, I realized there was so much I could do: I could tutor kids left behind amid an education thrust onto Zoom, and spend time virtually exploring disciplines that I had never been exposed to in school. One nonprofit called Global Citizen Year (which I will now be participating in!) is gathering a global cohort of students to virtually learn about world issues and hear from groundbreaking leaders while putting their learnings into practice in their own communities. I began to realize that an empty schedule should be the least of my worries!
While the decision to defer from college for a year wasn’t easy, the more I thought about all of the challenges and unknowns that we are experiencing, the more that continuing on the “prescribed” path felt… wrong. Why lose out on the college experience when I could be using a year to develop more independence, give back to my community, or simply take advantage of the fact that the opportunity to do something meaningful, to challenge the status quo, was nearly handed right to us?
I am by no means grateful that a pandemic swept in and challenged how we live. COVID-19 has taken thousands of lives, and many more have lost their jobs or access to crucial resources. But the unfortunate and difficult truth is that there is nothing we can do to change the facts of the past. So why not use this abrupt shift in plans as a means to rethink our current paths and where we would like for them to go?
With our world suddenly turned upside down, the pandemic has really revealed the importance of thoughtfully responding to a situation rather than simply reacting. We could choose to focus on what we have lost out on (which is of course perfectly understandable given the circumstances), but we could also choose to respond in a way that allows us to make the best of the situation or even choose a potentially better path not previously considered. As Sheri so wisely shared on Day 1 of Virtual Camp LiveGirl, we shouldn’t be aiming for a return to normalcy, because that normal wasn’t working. I have truly been in awe with the response that she, Alison, the other interns (shoutout and love to Emma, Ria, and Rae!), and the counselors have embodied through the creation of virtual camp - physical distancing couldn’t stop them from cultivating a supportive and empowering environment for the girls (and even taking advantage of the virtual environment to invite more fierce female speakers!). I’ve left each day inspired by the power of their sisterhood.
There is nothing we can do to reverse the chaos of COVID-19’s impacts that have shaken the world, but what we can do is take the opportunity to step back and question the ways in which we’ve lived our lives, and how we can make positive changes both for ourselves and those around us. That could mean taking a gap year, it could mean starting to attend protests to use your voice and take action, it could mean getting involved with an organization like LiveGirl that aims to make a lasting impact on each and every girl. Take advantage of this opportunity for reinvention, this moment in history; I challenge you to use this present pause from “normal” to think about where you would like to see the future. LiveGirl will be cheering you on!
