The Early Curveball

Dear Class of 2020,

Up until now, your life has probably gone pretty much to plan. Or at the very least, you knew where you'd be for the next few years, and you were following a playbook similar to your friends', and one that your parents could definitely get behind.

Absent a global pandemic, your adult life was always going to be a bit more improvisational -- asking you to apply all the knowledge and wisdom you've gained to a wide-open playing field of options. There weren't going to be semesters or regularly scheduled breaks or neat milestones to reassure you that you, surely, were on the right path.

This is something college graduates everywhere learn, but it particularly bothers the Type A souls among us who believe they, of all people, can plan their way forward. Even if you did have that perfect job or fellowship or entrepreneurial idea coming out of Harvard, it might not have been perfect for long. Something completely unexpected could have happened — at the very least, you might have realized that path wasn't for you after all. More extremely, it might decide for you (yes, even Harvard grads lose their jobs). Or you could fall in love with someone in a foreign country. Or need to go home to take care of an ailing parent. Or stumble upon the next big thing. Like many of us alumni, you would almost certainly have had to pivot, rethink, and reset at some point.

But here's the secret: good or bad, those points are the most interesting, and vivid, and exhilarating, and they're the ones that shape you well beyond the 32 courses you took at Harvard. Just read 10 pages in the Red Book, and you'll see that it's true.

For your class, that unexpected curveball got pitched early in the game. And it's certainly more disruptive for some of you than others. But maybe your opportunity is now — to try something new, to pick up some skills, to pause and think, to be part of this historical moment (perhaps the biggest of our generation). I keep coming back to Isaac Newton, who spent two years away from Cambridge in quarantine — and came up with the theory of gravity. The world needs great minds and energetic hearts right now. Let history shape you this year — you'll be better for it.

I have plenty of practical advice to offer, but I can do that separately. I will say, briefly, that in the workplace, those of us who graduated in the recession of 2009 can always spot each other. We work hard, and we're humble, and we don't complain when the snacks run out or there aren't enough standing desks. We're happy to work, to be employed, to be productive, and to have a community of people doing similar stuff to what we're doing. We take on the weird, ambiguous projects that no one wants to do, and we make them awesome.

We strive, and we set goals, but in pencil. We hug our loved ones and we keep a responsible savings account. We keep in touch so we can inspire and care for each other. We always respond when a younger Harvard grad emails us to ask for career advice. And we look forward to our next reunion, when we'll hear stories we never thought we'd hear.

Giuliana Vetrano ’09 was a History concentrator in Kirkland House.

This piece is part of a series of letters written by members of the Harvard College Class of 2009.