Letter from... Tampa

By Megan Kovach, Senior Executive

I’ll never forget the day when my dream of moving to London came true. 

After months of hard work and lots of prayers, the time had finally come to see if my VISA application to the UK was a success. 

I knew the odds were not in my favour (*cue the Hunger Games voice*) to get sponsored as a ‘Skilled Worker’ under the UK immigration system, due to the fact that I was young, fresh out of Uni, and trying to immigrate to a country during the peak of Brexit. 

Even though it was a long shot, I had the support of my agency and a heart full of desire to return back to London and begin my career. 

I sat in my kitchen during a sunny day in Florida, patiently waiting for the mail man to deliver an envelope that held my entire future. 

Inside that envelope was one of two things: a Tier-2 working VISA granting me access to move to the United Kingdom, or a letter denying my application and destroying the dream of living and working in London. 

My stomach was in knots as I slowly began to open the envelope to see what my future awaits.

Just like any supportive mother would, my mom grabbed the camera and started recording as I opened the package and fell to my knees in tears – my application was approved; I got the VISA.

Out of thousands of applicants from across the world applying to the UK, only 1,200 VISAS were granted during that time, and for some unknown reason, I was one of those 1,200. 

From that moment on, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that London was calling and my story was no longer supposed to be written in America. 

Flash forward one year later, and I’m back in my childhood home quarantined in Florida during a global pandemic with our country’s borders closed and a travel ban placed against the UK. 

Although I was beyond thankful to be home with family during these testing times, I began to fear that my dream of working in London was slowly fading away with each Florida sunset. 

As the only American, I traded in my business suit for a bathing suit and started working remotely from my home in Florida. 

The only connection I now had to London was through a computer screen. 

The past five months have been the most interesting to say the least….

From the fear of a global pandemic caused by an unknown virus the world has never seen, to being a Doctor’s kid watching your Dad go to work during the midst of it all. 

To your country igniting in a Civil Rights movement like no other, and let’s not forget Kanye West’s declaration to run for President of the United States during the upcoming election. 

Whatever the case may be, this year has been a whirlwind for us all. 

As I pack my bags and prepare to finally return back to London, I reflect upon the top three lessons that quarantine has taught me:

1. Keep your loved ones close 

After watching my Dad work in the hospital throughout this pandemic, I now have the upmost respect for families with loved ones as soldiers. Having to live with the fear that someone you love is risking their own life every day to help save others brings a perspective like no other. 

This quarantine has taught me that there is nothing more important than family, and to always hug your love ones, because you never know when the world will turn upside down and you’re suddenly faced with fearing the unknown. 

2. Learn the difference between trying your best and trying to be the best 

This lesson was a hard pill for me to swallow. When starting out in your career, the eagerness and determination to rise to the top gives you the ambition to work hard and reap the success that follows. Plus, we millennials are accustomed to instant gratification and want things in the here-and-now. 

However, working from across the Atlantic on a five-hour time difference placed limits on certain aspects of my job. There were meetings I missed out on and projects I just couldn’t be a part of due to the fact that I was in another world. 

Throughout this quarantine, I learned that you must always give your best, but there doesn’t need to be a constant pressure to become the best. Working from Florida humbled me to learn that it’s not always about you and there’s is a bigger picture at hand. Sometimes taking the work that is needed and not wanted can make the biggest difference.

3. Kindness cancels fear 

We’ve all experienced fear in a way like never before. Fear of dying, fear of getting the virus, fear of losing your job or a loved one. The mental and emotional ramifications of this lockdown has placed fear at the forefront of our lives. 

With so much going on in the world, we all feared the unknown. Without being able to offer any kind of solution, quarantine showed me how little acts of kindness could be the cure and comfort to help cancel out some of this fear. 

I witnessed how reaching out to others, offering words of encouragement or lending a helpful hand began to shine a light on some of the darkness going on in the world and showed people that we are all in this together. 

As I write my last letter from Florida and start saying goodbye to the clear blue skies and sunshine to head for Heathrow, I’m thankful for everything that quarantine has taught me. 

Although the virus is very much alive and Florida is bursting with more and more cases, we are now equipped with a sense of peace as we look back on all that we have learned, while leaning towards the future with the promise that the best has yet to come.