Reflecting On Summer 2020!! :)

Hey everyone!!

Hope you all had an amazing week and weekend. Isn't it hard to believe that August is just about over?! And with that, Summer 2020 is drawing to a close. And what a weird summer this has been. This summer has certainly been different from any other summer in my life, and I'm sure that just about all of you are probably feeling the same way. While this summer did not have a lot of the usual events and fun things that I look forward to all year and always love so much, I still think it was a pretty great summer because I did still get to do a lot of fun and creative things, and things that I may not have even thought to do otherwise! So in this week's post, let's reflect a bit on this summer and look back at what we have accomplished! :)

Firstly, I will acknowledge how most of us probably do feel a sense of loss, since many of the fun summer activities that we usually look forward to were either not able to take place or looked very different from what we are used to. I always love to go to fairs and carnivals, for example, and nothing like that was really held this summer. I know that concerts and outdoor events of all kinds were largely cancelled or were structured very differently, and this just made them not as much fun for a lot of us. Our beach days involved masks, pool parties looked very different if they happened at all, and we were just not able to really even see our friends and hang out with them in the ways we are used to. I have done my best throughout this summer to still keep in touch with friends and to see them in safe ways when I can, but out of an abundance of caution for myself and my family, I did not get to see them in person much at all this summer. For someone as social as me, I certainly am feeling the loss on that one!

On a more personal note, as many of you, one of the things that I have been looking forward to the most for such a long time now has been to see the new SpongeBob Movie in theaters, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge On The Run. This movie was supposed to be released this summer, and now not only is it delayed until early 2021, it is not being planned to be released in theaters at all in the USA anymore. This is a deep personal loss for me, since everyone who knows me knows how much I love SpongeBob!! I'm sure that the movie will still be absolutely amazing however it is shown, but I'm not quite giving up hope yet that it might still be released in theaters here one day, which is why I have started a petition to get it put back into theaters... please sign it if you can, contact me for more information on this!! :)

Anyway, now that we have reflected on all of that stuff, let's take a look at all the positive things that have happened this summer!! I know this summer was not what we were expecting, but I still do feel that many of us made the most of it in some very creative ways, and I do feel a good sense of accomplishment from all that I have been able to do this summer. So, let's think of some of the great things that we have still enjoyed!! :)

For one thing, I feel like I definitely made a lot of great progress on Best Feeling Ever over this summer. Over the course of this August, we held four full weeks of Zoom meetings, meeting six times a week!! I thought that all of these meetings were very successful, and we tried out so many different types of activities and events that were so much fun. From our General Meetings to our Workshops to our Game Nights to our Service Nights, to Movie Night, Arts & Crafts Night, Escape Room Night, Meditation/Yoga Night, and everything else we did, I had so much fun sharing these with all of you, and I really feel that you enjoyed them a lot as well. It has made me so happy to see all of you having so much fun at these meetings!! We definitely got a lot of great stuff done, and I couldn't be happier with how our first set of meetings turned out. I know that this is only the beginning for all of us!! SO excited to see all of the great things we do from here on out!! Thank you so much again to everyone who helped make these meetings so awesome!!!! :)

But more than just that, I also feel that this summer was a time of great personal growth for me. I definitely bonded with my family a lot over this summer. I tried some new hobbies, and just took a bit more time for my own rest and relaxation. I spent a lot of time trying to look inward, and I discovered a lot about myself. I made my own self-care, mental health, and happiness more of a priority than I have in the past, and I really do feel that that has helped me a lot. Like just about all of us, this summer forced me to slow down a bit and to think about all that I really do have in life, and this helped me to be more grateful and to appreciate all of my blessings just a little bit more. So I definitely am very grateful for that. This summer was one of introspection, reflection, and heightened self-awareness. It wasn't the summer I was expecting, and it certainly was different, but I think that it was just as beautiful in its own way. <3

So, how do you feel about this summer? What did you get to do during it? What were some creative ways you came up with to make the most of it? What were some new things you tried, maybe some things that you might not have considered if it were not for the COVID-19 pandemic? Did you reflect a lot during it? What did you discover about yourself during the summer? If you would like to share any thoughts or feelings, I would absolutely love to hear them!! Please feel free to reach out to me at any time and share them, would love to hear them!! :)

Also, just a quick update about our Service Projects that we have been planning - for all of the latest news on those, please make sure you are subscribed to our Newsletter so that you can get all the latest updates and see what we are working on and what we are planning on doing! We always welcome your input and your thoughts, as well as any ideas you might like to contribute. Thank you so much!!!!

Thank you so much everyone, for helping me to make the very most of this summer and still make it pretty great, and for just being the amazing people you are!! You are all so incredible and I am so beyond grateful to have you in my life. Thank you so much again for all that you do, always know how truly loved and appreciated you are!! You are all so amazing, and I am sending so much love and hugs to all of you!! Always keep being kind and loving to yourselves and to others. Always remember I am here for you for whatever you need or if you just need someone to talk to, so please feel free to reach out anytime!! I love you all so much!! Keep staying strong, and keep being the amazing and beautiful people that you are!! This is only the beginning, and together, we can do this!! SENDING INFINITE LOVE TO ALL OF YOU!!!! :) <3

Your friend forever,

Adam Silverstein :) <3