2020, am I right?

2020, am I right? I think each and every person can say this year is not what they expected or wanted and we are glad to leave it behind us. As we all welcome in 2021, hopefully quietly and with caution, I’m sure we are all reflecting on exactly what 2020 meant to us.

For me 2020 started out as an extremely hopeful year, everything seemed bright and happy ahead. There were vacations and milestones to look forward to and everyday life was going great. Then it became a year of all around change. Change in my love life, career, and everyday routine. Change isn’t easy and adding a global pandemic and nationwide quarantine to it can drive anyone crazy. I speak for almost every 20-something year old out there when I say all I wanted to do was just go get drunk at a bar with my friends and forget about all the change for just a night. But with change comes perspective and reflection. You learn from change.

Though bad may outweigh the good this past year, each and every one of us learned something. We learned that being alone is okay, it won’t kill you, and sometimes being your own company is the best company you could ask for. We learned to embrace our emotions and feel them thoroughly, because we all had a lot of time to spend in our own minds and hearts. We learned to embrace our passions that maybe we have been putting aside for too long. I have seen so many people this past year truly showing the world what they love, whether that is fashion, fitness, cooking, writing or even tie dyeing. It has honestly been so inspiring! It took a pandemic, but so many of us have finally reached a place where we are taking the chance, seizing the day and making the most of our passions. I have seen people reveal with brutal honesty and strength the struggles that they have faced this year, financially, emotionally, mentally and physically. Even though we have been physically isolated, people have connected and related to one another in a way we never have before and in deeper and more meaningful ways. That has to be something!

It is so easy to look at 2020 and see the bad but I have seen kindness. I have seen neighbors helping each other and their community. I have seen people become more aware of other’s struggles. I have seen people realize the true importance of family and friends. We have come up with so many new and creative ways to be there for each other and show that we care, and maybe that is how we need to remember the year that took us all by surprise. That is not meant to minimize or in any way overlook the bad. The bad is exactly what put the good in motion. It was a wakeup call and taught us all some lessons we needed to learn, and we still have a long way to go.

As I look into 2021 I don’t have any big resolutions or a real plan for the year, and that is okay. We all got through a year full of things we have never experienced before and were not prepared for, and we have come out on the other side. We all accomplished some amazing things in the past year, which were simply surviving with minimal sanity and learning about ourselves. My hope for 2021 is that this continues. That we reflect and learn and grow individually and together. From my perspective, this coming year isn’t about the big goals, it is about taking small steps and continuing to check in with ourselves and others along the way. It’s okay if this next year we don’t get the promotion or the new job, we don’t take that dream vacation or meet the love of our lives. If all you do this next year is continue to learn and grow, that is amazing! We have seen that life is short, so if you’re happy with yourself and the little things in life, then you’re doing great sweetie 😉

And with that, Happy New Year to all and let’s hope this year there is more good than bad!