Sometimes it takes an acute experience, something completely unexpected like a pandemic, to get us to pay attention to the journey rather than the destination.

In March 202 when the COVID-19 virus exploded across New York City and the city entered shelter-in-pace, Dee Jardine was living in a tiny basement apartment in Manhattan's Upper West Side. Her work turned remote, and most of the people she knew left the city. Having nowhere else to go, she buckled down for an expected eight- to twelve-week period.

By the end of that spring, feeling isolated and anxious, she started writing an essay a week and posting these to her private social media to give some purpose to the unending days. Writing these essays not only brought shape to the weeks but also helped her readers process what was going on differently. These essays became an act of defiance, of perserverance and discipline, of creativity and commitment, and of community-building. Despite the trauma of the shelter-in-place order, personal and community losses from the virus, and all the subsequent disruption, these essays document moments of courage, faith, joy and personal growth during a time unlike any other in recent memory.