“Covid-19 has pushed me emotionally, physically, and spiritually. I am a staff member of the Dartmouth Center for Social Impact, and also an ordained priest who supports a faith community in Fairlee, and a mother of two young children. My husband just started his fourth year of medical school and is in the Vermont Army National Guard. He spent the past year mostly working and learning in hospitals, but for the first couple months of the pandemic he was called to help oversee a covid field hospital in Burlington. During those months I was the only parent and friend my kids had. I was the only person who could hold and nurture them. My younger child was two when quarantine started and caring constantly for children that young takes a lot of attention. However, I also care so deeply about the work I do both at Dartmouth and my church and I did not want to lessen my commitment to those spaces.
Balancing all these roles was incredibly challenging, and I could not have done it without the support of my various communities. I would get calls asking if I needed help with groceries or dinners, and people would offer to read to my children over zoom so that I could take care of household responsibilities without worrying about them. My community saw that I was balancing a lot of responsibilities and stepped up in any way they could to help me and my family.
Despite being a leader at my church, I am also deeply cared for and inspired by my congregation. Emotionally, they helped me find my own personal strength even when I was feeling my most overwhelmed. The way people come to their own predicaments with such calm, curiosity, and openness reminded me that I could embrace those traits as well.
At Dartmouth Center for Social Impact, I am surrounded by youth who are driven to improve the world in so many ways. Watching these students stay passionate and determined despite the uncertainty of the pandemic, I was constantly reminded that I could also persevere. In the fall of 2019, one group of students created a playlist of songs that make them happy and fortified their own resilience, and as I sat in my house during lockdown I frequently found myself using it to tap into the joy that these students have and so readily share.
Despite the stress of this pandemic, it has also given me wonderful gifts. I have heard my children laugh more in the past year than I have during all the rest of their lives. I now feel a deeper connection and sense of trust with the people I surround myself with. I have spent so much more time outside on our land. I am grateful for all the lessons I have learned this year, and for being pushed to be the best version of myself possible.” –Leah Torrey, Bradford, VT
Happiness Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0uyOj25xewQ40VOWqVSLtJ?si=8cc06cdc16384c62
