Pearls: Allegory of the Oyster Cave

By Megan Clista, Manager of Social Media

My latest inspiration budget spend? A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.

A generous 491-page mental break from my usual murder-book binge.

If you haven’t read it, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is famously about nothing. If you have read it, you know that’s not true. You also likely admire it, even if it took you months to get through. (No? Just me??)

What’s it really about? A young girl recounting mundane, micro-moments of her life in Brooklyn.

The writing is simple, but dueled with the richness of tragedy and personal growth. Whether the main character, Francie, would care to admit, her life is romanticized in every which way.

Just like the tree outside her window that continues to grow despite its cement surroundings.

So now that I’m back in an office, for the first time in two years, I can’t help but wonder: What’s my tree?

It may seem that cement, office walls are just as bland as the city sidewalk. But, contrary to popular belief, this flexible, no-obligation Lawrenceville space has been a breath of fresh air for me. Did I just compare our office space to a tree’s photosynthetic oxygen? Is this entire blog an ‘allegory of the Oyster cave’? No, but pretty close.

Here’s why. AKA: My list of visceral, sensory-based micro-moments and Oyster-cave quirks that I’m romanticizing like Francie Nolan:

1. The nervous, child-like butterflies on the first day back. Feels like the first day of school.
2. Group walks to the next meeting feeling like a badass with the power of your team behind you.
3. Speedy typing from everyone around you. Are any of us actually working?
4. Going to lunch with colleagues (and simply taking breaks to make conversation).
5. Shutting down the computer EOD, and leaving the office to forget about work and focus on life. Seriously, I struggle with this with WFH.
6. *Jazzy, elevator-ish office playlist in background* and drowning it out with your own music. But seriously hearing something other than yourself talk all day is so nice.
7. White noise of the building fans blasting. Yeah, I actually like this.
8. A small smirk I catch myself making when someone I don’t know laughs loudly in the communal space.
9. Where is Jeff? And Laura’s 50 sneezes a day. AKA things you don’t know unless you work in-person with your colleagues.
10. And, finally, the gaps on my calendars that come from chatter and small talk — they’re underrated.

So while many no longer fancy office life anymore, I love love love it — at least for now.