Summertime madness

So, I’m left with two weeks of summer break. Certainly bittersweet to say the least; there are many uncertainties heading back to school in this heightened alert situation but at the same time I can’t wait to see my friends and be productive again.

As I look back on the past three months, I’m thankful for every opportunity to try new things and get back to old ones. At first I wanted very badly to have an internship, but I ended up freelancing, which honestly is something that I have no complains about.

I got to work remotely and control my own hours (as long as I got stuff done) and still have the time to spend with my parents. Am grateful to my client for being the best first 'proper' client I can ever ask for. He’s really gracious and just overall amazing to work with. There were also small copywriting and photography gigs here and there, which allowed me to diversify my work.

The gym has become a huge part of my life since late last year, and I’m super relieved to touch a barbell again for the first time in 4 months. As of now, gyms are closed again and I’m really considering just buying weights online. Regardless, I hope to at the very least maintain my baseline strength until I’m able to set foot in a gym again.

Summer break, while a respite from hectic academic life, did not mean I was completely out of touch with school happenings. Was privileged to serve as a Student Ambassador for my faculty for a number of virtual events that were targetted at potential freshmen. I’ve always loved being in ambassadorial roles, which I feel gives me a great sense of satisfaction when I helped a younger person make an informed decision.

I also handed over my club committee to the next batch. It’s been a great run the past year and I definitely learnt a lot from being in a leadership position as the vice-chairperson. I just wonder if we could have done more for the club and student body if there weren’t as much safe management restrictions, but I guess we made do with what we could.

Over the break, I did many other small achievements as well, like properly learning some guitar theory, started reading, volunteering a ton for a youth metal health organisation and of course, starting this blog. I’m glad I didn’t let a singular commitment tie me down, but rather I do a variety of things that made summer vibrant in its own small way.

Most of my days were spent at home due to the heightened alert, but there were pockets of instances where I met friends and hung out. It wasn’t the social life I had envisioned, but it is what it is and I’d say I made the best of whatever the world gave me to make a summer out of.

I definitely hope the next break will be much better, but till then it’s back to school, albeit in these peculiar, extraordinary times.