Submitted by Julia from Warren Township in Illinois.
Before COVID-19 was classified a pandemic, I went to a conference called Songleader Boot Camp in the middle of February. The first time I'd ever gone was last year, and I can confidently say it was the most amazing five days of my life-and I go to OSRUI!
I went again this year, and as I was more familiar with the environment, I was able to make a lot more friends than I did last year. I spent so much time with so many people and made wonderful memories and conventions. These people live all around the country, I made friends in New York, Tennessee, Texas, California, Maine, and even some in Chicago. We were really sad at the end of the weekend cause we wouldn't see each other, most of us, for another year. Thankfully, everyone exchanged information, and I talk to these people nearly every day.
The other day we were on a call, and someone remarked that if our convention had happened any later, it would have been cancelled, and we would have never met each other. All of us paused. How scary is that? I'd made all these friends and they were really helping through this quarantine because I'm a huge extrovert and always talking to people. It really put things into perspective. I am eternally glad that some great power let me make these friends. It's really important to think about what might not have happened, and changed you so greatly, if it was a millisecond later.
Julia :)