Reasons for gratitude: What we’re most thankful for in 2020

Hear from the Different Perspective team as we reflect on the past year

As we approach the holiday season, there’s something big on our minds.
What’s that, you ask?

It’s gratitude.

We think you’ll agree when we say that 2020 has been a rollercoaster — globally, locally, personally, and professionally.

But along with the many challenges, it’s also been a year filled with great projects, inspiring conversations, and rewarding collaborations.
 

What we’re most grateful for

Ivy: The importance of being intentional in your growth by looking for learning opportunities constantly—if you’re not learning, you’re not growing!

Greg: Patience, kindness and understanding go a long way.

Eloise: To focus on the good, and the things I can do each day to keep improving, helping others, and moving forward. I’ve also learned the importance of reaching out (virtually!) — even something as simple as a quick text message has the power to brighten someone’s day.

Laura: I’ve learned to take joy in something every day—no matter how small! Without any big events or outings during quarantine, I really started to take joy in small moments like a nice meal, a good TV show, or a meaningful conversation with a family member or friend.

Priscilla: The main thing I’ve learned is not tangible, but really how adaptable we can be. Has it been easy? No! There were moments of stress, fear, anxiety… But with time and understanding, we can adjust, adapt and keep moving.

Hugo: I learned you can do a lot with the “found time” from not having to commute to the office. I also learned that in our industry, technology allows for us to move forward without skipping a beat. Life is not all about work and with the new “found time” you can create healthy routines that benefit you personally as well as professionally.

Ashley: This year I’ve learned a lot more about social media strategy and content creation through my internship at DP and some online courses. 

Lauren: I think learning to slow down and appreciate everything around me has been a huge plus that’s come out of the pandemic situation. Spending my days with a little less urgency allows me to live more in the moment, and that sends a positive ripple into everything I do.

Marco: I learned how pleasant it is to spend more time with my family. We discovered new ways to have fun: games, play time, movies, etc … I learned to give more value to the simple things.

Ivy: I recently got my HubSpot Email Marketing and Content Marketing certifications and my Google Analytics certification. I’m excited to apply what I’ve learned to my work.

Greg: I never used Zoom before. Seriously though, I learned how to listen. Everyone has a story due to Covid. I’ve learned a lot listening to these unique impacts and not assuming that the struggles they had were the same as everyone else.

Eloise: I’ve had the opportunity to dive deeper into Facebook Ads, which has been challenging, rewarding, and a great ongoing learning experience! I’ve also been doing remote volunteering outside of work which has given me extra confidence in my strategic thinking skills.

Laura: I’ve really developed my blog writing skills during the past few months. I had no prior experience formally writing a blog, so it’s been rewarding seeing my writing skills improve and the process becoming more and more efficient with each blog I write.

Priscilla: I never liked video conferences before. Most of our prospect, client and team meetings were in person before the pandemic (unless they were not local). On top of learning how to use the different virtual meeting tools (Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams…), I’ve learned how to conduct virtual meetings, making sure everyone participated and I also gave a few speeches via Zoom to different groups of people.

Hugo: It’s not really a skill, but creating new habits and hobbies to keep my mind and body occupied. Working out, running, exploring surroundings, cooking, or even “couch potatoing” without feeling guilty about it. A skill I believe I developed was how to deal with stress, so my new habits and hobbies played a role in keeping my mind focused on the goal which was keeping the company going.

Ashley: Recently, I’ve improved a lot on my writing skills. Writing for an online magazine publication, Her Campus, and for DP has helped me a lot to become better at blog and article style writing. 

Lauren: This is extremely dorky, but I play a lot of World of Warcraft and I’ve been learning to lead groups of players, mainly friends right now, with the eventual goal to lead 20+ person groups. Anyone who knows me knows I’m pretty quiet, so this is definitely out of my comfort zone, but in a good way.

Marco: During the past few months I was able to study more about UX (user experience), and I was able to put this into practice in some recent projects.

Ivy: It’s extremely rewarding to see the ideas we collaborate on progress from concept to creation and exceed the client’s expectations!

Greg: The most rewarding DP moment has been watching my teammates. I’ve been amazed and very encouraged by the flexibility and adaptability everyone has shown.

Eloise: Seeing the team come together virtually to bring new projects to life, and feeling that I’m making a valuable contribution to the success of our clients.

Laura: My most rewarding moment at DP thus far was the first time I saw one of the blogs I had written published on a client’s website. It was extremely rewarding to see my hard work pay off, and what I had written being used to represent a company.

Priscilla: Since we started working from home, we’ve had a few fun Zoom events with the team, but the real fun happened when almost all of us went to an alpaca farm for a yoga class. It was so good to see everyone in person, take a relaxing yoga class in nature and pet the cutest alpacas, of course!

Hugo: Being able to keep the team together, adapting when needed, and going back to regular when financial support arrived.

Ashley: Creating my first social media calendar and writing my first blog at DP was a great experience! It’s really rewarding to see the content I produce posted online and on social media.

Lauren: It’s always rewarding when a client loves a design that I created. Whether it’s a logo or a website, or something smaller, it always feels good to have something approved and to know that it’ll be used to help them and their business in some way.

Marco: To work on projects that challenge me as a developer.

Ivy: My cat, Lily, trying to steal the show during team Zoom meetings by getting right in front of the webcam.

Greg: Ivy’s cat.

Eloise: Being distracted too many times during Zoom calls by squirrels outside my window!

Laura: I haven’t had anything funny happen to me personally, but one evening my mom was on a Zoom call and our dog, Lale, jumped up on the sofa behind her without her realizing. Everyone on the call started laughing, and my mom couldn’t figure out why until she turned around to see Lale stealing the show!

Priscilla: Both of my dogs spend my work day in my home office with me. They stay pretty quiet most of the time. My dog Lucy is 14 years old and she has this old dog cough that happens from time to time which can be awkward…

Hugo: I would put Greg’s old man ponytail at the top of the list! Also the fact that the neighbors’ landscapers would ONLY mow the lawn when I am on a Zoom meeting. And lastly, a recent meeting we had where a person, instead of turning off the video, placed a piece of cardboard over his camera but it would fall from time to time and he would put it up again.

Ashley: I love when peoples’ pets are behind them or walk across the camera on Zoom classes and calls. It’s a cute distraction!

Lauren: Nothing crazy has happened but I recently moved back home where my parents have two dogs. So adding my dog Cosmo into that mix creates some chaos and funny moments. Cosmo isn’t quite used to having access to a dog door, so he didn’t realize that it was locked one day and smacked right into it when he was in a hurry.

Marco: My dog ​​jumped on my lap during a meeting and, as he is quite big, he knocked my computer to the floor!

Ivy: My health, my family, my home, and my job!

Greg: I’m thankful for my family’s health and a Covid-free year within my family. I’m also thankful that the DP team has stayed together and didn’t let the challenges break our team apart due to any personal challenges they may have faced.

Eloise: Health, happiness, and being able to stay connected with loved ones until we can meet in person again.

Laura: I’m most thankful for my family and our health right now. I feel very grateful to be quarantined with them so that we can safely spend the holidays together. I’m also thankful for my friends and the fact that technology can keep you close with people even when you’re far apart. 

Priscilla: To have been able to keep all of our team members employed and being able to continue to run our business despite all the challenges. I am also very thankful that my family, team members, clients and close friends are healthy. So many people lost loved ones this year and my heart goes out to them.

Hugo: To actually get used to working from home, acquiring new clients during the pandemic, and having the whole team still with us.

Ashley: I’m really grateful for my friends and family right now. 

Lauren: My health, my family’s health, and the ability to keep working. I’m always thankful for these things but I feel especially lucky this year for obvious reasons.

Marco: I am grateful to be in good health, to have not lost anyone to COVID-19, and to have my family with me at home.

Ivy: The Robinson just opened a cafe and coffee shop in their downstairs area in Downtown Orlando—soooo cute! And delicious.

Greg: I rediscovered the joy of fishing on my boat with my son. 

Eloise: Lukas Nursery in Oviedo has a beautiful butterfly encounter where you can sit and relax as they flutter about. There are also adorable quail running around, and a special room where you can feed native Florida butterflies from your hand.

Laura: Even though it’s not far, I’ve discovered that I really enjoy working on our screened-in porch when it’s not too hot outside. It feels great to get some fresh air and enjoy the view of the lush green foliage and flowers in front of me. 

Priscilla: We were able to take a short trip to Austin and explored the city by walking around its neighborhoods, visiting the parks and seeing all the awesome street art. A great city with a lot to do and see outside!

Hugo: I “rediscovered” running, and how much I like it. It’s great how free I feel when I run, how rewarding it is (being able to run to Clermont’s lake and listen to my books). The only problem is my hips don’t lie 🙂

Ashley: Since the pandemic, I’ve started cooking a lot more. It’s been really fun to learn new recipes and try new foods! 

Lauren: I started roller skating! I used to skate a lot growing up (but always on rollerblades) so when I noticed the popularity coming back for classic roller skates, it inspired me to get a pair of my own. 

Marco: I took advantage and caught up on my reading.

Ivy: Hawaii!

Greg: Going to the office!!!

Eloise: The U.K. to visit my family.

Laura: I’d love to visit somewhere like New York City with lots of people rushing around and activities to enjoy. I’d want to go to restaurants, see a Broadway show, and go to lots of stores around Times Square without worrying about the virus!

Priscilla: Australia to see my brothers and nephew!

Hugo: This is not a fair question for me 🙂 I have about 10 trips already planned. My top 3 (in no particular order) are: Brazil, Spain, and Australia/New Zealand. All places that I have been, but would love to go back!

Ashley: I’d love to visit the Amalfi Coast in Italy!

Lauren: Some of my friends and I are planning to go to Montréal because none of us have ever been there. Going as a group after not seeing each other for a year (or more) feels like the most fun option for a trip.

Marco: When this is over, we have already planned a trip to São Paulo with many of our friends.

We wouldn’t be celebrating our 16th year in business if it weren’t for our clients and partners.

Thank you to everyone we’ve had the opportunity to work with during this year. Some of you we’ve known for a while, and with others we’re just beginning our new, exciting relationship.

Thank you, one and all! You inspire us every day, and we’re incredibly proud to be your trusted marketing partner. Here’s to your continued success!
 

We’d also like to thank our team for their hard work, talent, and energy. It’s thanks to them that we continue to improve each day.

To celebrate gratitude, we asked everyone on the DP team to reflect on the past year and share their thoughts.

Hopefully it will give you the chance to get to know us a little better—and maybe even give you a laugh or two!

Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving, filled with loved ones, happiness, and laughter.
 
With gratitude,
the Different Perspective team
 

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