Dear Carlz
You’re on cloud nine right now… sitting on this beach in Dubai with that sun kissed skin, sipping cocktails jheeeeze!! Enjoy it, because pretty soon it will be over and this moment will feel like something your story telling brain just conjured up. Enjoy the time you’ll spend with Nanny in Dominica this year. Give her an extra hug when you leave and tell her how much you love her over and over again because you won’t know when you’ll next get to see her! Yes, 2020 is going to be a tricky one. It’s going to be full of ups and downs and lots of that thing you hate ‘CHANGE!’ You’re going to have to navigate it and figure it out as you go along but then again, so is everybody. Yes EVERYBODY.
I keep hearing you declare that 2020 will be ‘your year’, ‘the year of 20/20 vision’… well I’ve got news for you, it’s only going to happen if you buy stocks in Zoom, invest in a hand sanitiser company or buy copious amounts of toilet roll right now!
There is a global pandemic on its way, its called covid-19 and it will change life as you know it. All the things you do without thinking about like popping in to see your sisters or hosting those Sunday get-togethers will be on pause for about 2 years. You’ll be told to ‘stay at home’. Sometimes you’ll feel like you’re losing your mind where the only place to find your zen is in the car! While at other times your unsociable ‘I love my own company’ self will be glad to not have to be anywhere but at home. You’ll communicate with family and friends through a screen, you’ll miss their energy and glow in the room. You’ll have a new level of respect for teachers and parents who choose to home school – thanking the universe for wine, elderflower gin and Crabbies ginger beer!
You’ll make up fun quiz nights for everyone to join via Zoom… (word of advice though maybe rethink that guest list – inappropriate jokes + family and friends = awks!).
You will discover TikTok and spend hours learning dance challenges that you’ll mess up 100 times before recording one OK video, but that’s ok. You’ll have fun and laugh and that’s what will get you through. Whatever you do, don’t fall into the productivity trap! So what if you don’t want to bake bread, or get those abs you’ve been so desperately trying to find for the last 5 years?! – it’s OK! Your gut hates bread anyway! Instagram will be full of this, people hammering zoom sessions day and night, writing hit after hit – you know the drill but it will all work out. Spend time writing songs you love with the people you love – trust me its going to pay off big time. You’ll jump on the ‘zoom session’ train later than most and you’ll feel like you’re way out of your comfort zone at first, but believe it or not you’ll actually grow to like it. Shows and performances will be cancelled and you’ll really miss it, but things will get better and you’ll be back out there before you know it. Learn to play the piano – you and I both know this is long overdue girl, but don’t give up! Keep at it!
Focus on things that make you happy and cherish the time you have because the next two years will come and go quicker than you could ever imagine! You’re a warrior. I’m proud of you. You know you got this.
Love you always!
Carla Monroe xx
