Summer of 2020! Where do I even begin? The year 2020 will be etched in all our memories forever. Life has taken a completely new shape and form for all of us everywhere in the world. For me personally, we have been stuck at home since March. However, looking back now, if things did not happen the way it did, my summer would have looked so different.
If I had to list some of the most significant things that DID NOT happen this year, I would begin by telling you that I turned 16 in April and missed my sweet 16 celebrations. I was scheduled to attend an architecture summer camp I was accepted for in UCLA this summer and I was so looking forward to it but in April, I got to know that it would be cancelled too. And lastly, I was volunteering in Good Sam Hospital and was looking forward to advance into patient services once I turned 16, and that too was called off. I did not have a clue what I would do in the summer of 2020. But today if you ask me I think the summer of 2020 turned out to be the most eventful for me.
As you know I have been interested in arts and crafts right from childhood. And I started a small entrepreneurial initiative of handmade cards in sixth grade. You can see my card designs here! But as I grew older I developed an interest in photography, interior design, home décor, different DIY recycling projects and most importantly baking. I was baking cookies and banana bread 4th grade onward. And one thing led to another and this year I started Meraki-X just as an avenue of documenting the thousand myriad things I have been doing.
I started off with a series of handmade cards with uplifting sentiments that you could order via Meraki-X and send to your friends and family in these uncertain times. I also started writing, taking photographs of different DIY projects and created a YouTube channel to demonstrate some of them first hand for my audience.
Around late spring, I was planning a post for Mother’s Day. My mom loves everything French and hence I thought of making this French cookie box. And for the first time I baked macarons. My mom had warned me to not be disappointed if they failed because, as she says it is a “temperamental” cookie. However, they came out good. I would not say perfect especially since I have easily baked a thousand macarons this summer and I can only call the macarons I make now perfect. But my initial success motivated me to try more. Before I knew I was baking macarons every night and thinking of unique flavors and fillings every waking moment. And if I look back now slowly and steadily the “Meraki-X Macarons” brand became a reality.
I am now sold out every single week and people are constantly ordering macarons from me. I have received so many heart-warming messages from my customers that they absolute love the macarons and are looking forward to new flavors. This is something totally unperceived and unexpected and honestly, I don’t know if this would have happened if we were not in quarantine.
As the summer followed, I got my Food Handler’s certificate. I worked with my Dad to set up a formal food business. It was a lot of work and all the extra time I had in my hands helped me to navigate through and understand the various legal requirements of setting up a food business in California. I have been constantly making changes and introducing new things to the Meraki-X website and have learnt so much when it comes to working on a WordPress platform and managing a website. I would not say, I am good at this but I am learning the ropes of what it takes to be an entrepreneur. And things can become overwhelming but also comes with a sense of accomplishment that nothing in this world could be compared with.
Meraki-X has empowered and enabled me to give back independently. And Macarons are my super power now. Not only have I mastered them, I have been able to give back to causes close to my heart (including Black Lives Matter) through the sale of macarons. Macarons have a certain luxury and enigma attached to them which makes them incredibly attractive and salable. And this fact alone enabled me to also formulate and contribute to “The Meraki-X Mission”. You can read about it here.
Besides Meraki-X, another interesting thing happened this year. I interned with TrialX this summer. TrialX is a technology pioneer which provides solutions and builds platforms to bring patients and researchers together and accelerates clinical research to find cures for millions.
I was on boarded and started with a python coding boot camp. And I was weaned into a project where I annotated different medical trials and basically defined hard-to-understand words and terminologies so anyone reading them would understand the purpose/design of the trials. I did a final project where I designed a terminal based email client interface through python, which allows the user to send and fetch emails and even download attachments from any email received. I was guided by two mentors and even though the project was remote, I was initiated into the culture and ecosystem of a work space in real time.
So, as you can see I definitely utilized my summer! And now as school starts (even though remotely) I am going back happy knowing that I did the best I could staying at home. I think at the end of the day it is all about how good and how soon we adapt to our environment and do our best. However, in my heart, I am glad that this was not a year I graduated out of middle school or high school and I so pray that the summer of 2021 should be absolutely normal.
Until then, we keep doing our best!
Gratitude Macarons for Seniors
DIY Dried and Pressed Flowers Greeting Card
