Colin Powell School
Colin Powell School Staff Engage in Intentional Group Reflections on Year of Pandemic
As the Colin Powell School marked one year of working remotely due to the pandemic, Finance Director Kendra Wright shared her reflections on the unexpected challenges she faced and what she learned in 2020. Her candid reflections inspired others to share their thoughts, as well. Since Kendra’s initiative, the Colin Powell School has set aside time during each week’s staff meeting for two team members to share their reflections on this difficult year.
A moment of reflection on the year 2020. I, like many, saw the beginning of a new decade, 2020, as a jump start to a fresh slate of life. The highest of all, mother nature, had another thing in mind. After moving back from the West Coast in Spring 2019 and getting my feet back familiar with the soil here on the East Coast, hustling to find a job and securing the perfect opportunity in August 2019 that aligned with my future goals, and competing in the fast-moving New York apartment market and going on a limb and saying ‘Yes’ to an apartment in November 2019 that unknowingly would become my safe haven, I’m settled in my new place and ready to explore. Then March 2020 changes the direction of how I thought my story would go.
At the start of March 2020, I’m physically on campus working at the Colin Powell School in the Finance department. Students are around and then suddenly they disappear. Friday, March 13, 2020, I’m told to pack everything I need to work remotely, give or take a month or two. I leave from seeing my colleagues each day, students moving about on campus, and my office. I am restricted to a hideout location, my apartment. The pandemic has escalated, everything has shut down, and I am trying to grasp what has happened as things have transpired so quickly.
I hear sirens constantly, blaring PSA messages: “Stay Home”, “Keep six feet apart”, “Wear a Mask,” and so on. I’m feeling the pain and hurt of brown people losing their lives for just jogging, or just quietly sleeping in their homes or having a knee placed on their neck. A new foe, “anxiety”, has come to greet me, my worries, fears, and troublesome thoughts. I brainstorm to find the best remedy to ditch this new opponent and to help me handle the uncertainty of the pandemic and the world we live in. My medication is that I turn inward and focus on stillness. Strengthening my mind, body, and soul to higher levels. Consciously evaluating my thoughts, listening to my body and finding productive ways of feeding my soul. I am on a marathon towards healing and peace.
2020: you were a transforming year. You increased my appreciation and love for people, enjoying more of my own company with myself, and new levels of patience. The direction that 2020 made my story go in allows for new beginnings, experiences and opportunities that I anxiously wait for. I thank you 2020 for the intangible rewards and gifts you have given me. You were something else and your imprint will be everlasting on the hearts and minds of every living human being on this Earth. Farewell!