My time in Portland has given me the opportunity to try many new things. For as long as I’ve known for myself, I’ve known that I am not a fan of going with the flow. I find comfort in structure and sticking to schedules. Because I’m living across the country, without my parents, for the first time, there’s a lot of unpredictability. COVID has thrown a wrench in all of the routine I established here in Portland.
When I came back to Portland after spending a few weeks at home, I found out that I couldn’t go back to my internship for a bit. At my internship, I would make food for people that are severely immunocompromised and that got sick very often. Because of this, my place of work decided to have less staff working each day, and no unpaid workers. This meant I needed to uproot my whole routine and schedule to be able to complete meaningful work each day (in a safe way).
In turn, I started to go to the construction site each day and work with my Tivnu cohort-mates. It seems like a small change in my daily life, but it was a big moment for me. Upon reflection, I can confidently say that I was brave. I didn’t want to make any more changes; becoming accustomed to my routine had been hard enough. I’m really proud of myself for being so flexible and I’ve definitely noticed personal growth throughout my gap year (so far) in that regard.
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