My reflections on 2020, and Hopes for 2021
2020 has been an unprecedented and crazy year. It certainly is the most memorable year in my young life, and I’m sure it’s the most memorable year for people much older than me as well. 2020 brought unprecedented and swift change to our lives. Within a matter of days in March, we were ordered into our homes due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. I remember on the weekend before the USA largely locked down, I was sitting in a Detroit restaurant for a birthday celebration. The streets of Detroit were humming. Life was normal. I recall talking about the virus at the restaurant and remarking how it was affecting my stocks, but I never even considered that my life would dramatically change in the next week. In fact, on March 10th, a couple days before the country went into a panic, I was in a campaign office in Pontiac preparing for election season. We discussed planning canvass launches with volunteers and holding campaign events. Only a couple days later, events like that were tossed to the way-side once the extent of the coronavirus crisis was realized. Many others in our country have similar experiences. Cancelled weddings. Cancelled vacations. Cancelled graduation ceremonies. 2020 was a watershed year in our nation’s history. A year that marked unprecedented economic destruction. A pandemic that brought death and despair to a nation. A divisive election. Resistance to pandemic mitigation measures. Yes, 2020 has been tough. It’s been a pretty bad year. However, 2020 has taught me many lessons.
Perseverance
At times during this year, it felt like everything was pointless. There was no light in sight. Everyday had bad news. However, 2020 was a year of perserverance. Our essential workers perservered under the toughest conditions. Our teachers persevered by navigating extremely difficult virtual school. Students perservered by still engaging in the learning process from home. Our restaurants persevered by adjusting their business to the pandemic by expanding outdoor dining and navigating the endless ever changing covid mitigation rules. Sure, it might have been easier for all of us to simply quit. However, that’s not what we did. We still stayed strong through all of this. We tried to stay connected to family. We have tried to make everything worked. It’s not the same, but persevering is a lot better than throwing up one’s hands and complaining.
Focusing On What I Can Control
In the early days of the pandemic, I often was irate and saddened by the drastic changes to everyday life. However, as the pandemic has trudged on, I have taken a new approach to my attitude this year. I have started focusing on what I can control. I can’t control COVID. I don’t make the decisions regarding mitigation strategies. I have no control over external factors. Therefore, I am not going to stress about these things. What good does it do for me to sit and complain about things I have no control over? Throughout this year, I have still tried to enjoy my life as best as I could and have focused on what I can control. I have gone to the beach. I visited Washington DC and northern Michigan. I stayed connected to my friends. I worked on a political campaign over the spring and summer. I read a few books. Instead of sitting and complaining about the situation, I have tried to have as much normalcy as I could under these conditions, and have been thankful that no one I know has been severely impacted by covid in the economic sense or the health sense. I am part of the 2021 senior class, and our senior year has been ruined by COVID 19. However, instead of me complaining about the situation, I have realized that I have no control over the external factors. I am just thankful that I will be graduating, even though the senior year has been extremely messed up.
Hope
2020 has been difficult for many. People who have lost their businesses. People who have lost loved ones due to COVID 19. People who have simply just had their lives turned upside down. The year has been extremely difficult, yet we know that there are brighter days ahead. There must be. If we don’t have optimism, then we will go insane. 2020 did bring the disease of COVID-19, but 2020 has also brought COVID vaccines. Vaccines that will likely bring an end to the pandemic at some point. Yes, 2020 has changed our lives. Yes, 2020 has likely changed the world in a permanent way. However, things will get better. Even in the midst of all the darkness of 2020, there was still light. We must harness that light to guide us into 2021.
2021
My hope for 2021 is that it will be a year of change — in a good way. I believe that 2021 will mark the gradual return to normalcy that we all crave. People will begin traveling en masse. Restaurants will be full. 2021 will be like spring at the end of a dark winter. The flowers will bloom again, and society will flourish again. As I wrote in a previous article, 2021 will arguably mark the beginning of what I dubbed “The Roaring Twenties” With regards to me, 2021 will be a year of drastic change. I will be heading off to college, starting a new life. 2021 will be a year of change for me in a good way as well. I know that even though life seems dark right now, I know 2021 will be better. You can’t get much worse than 2020 in my view, so the only way to go is up. As 2020 is drawn to a close, I am hopeful for the flowers of life to bloom again at some point in 2021. I know they will. We must continue having hope. As the clock strikes midnight on Jan 1 2021, let’s pop the champagne and kiss our significant others. Let’s herald in 2021, a year that brings much promise and hope.
Happy New Year
Nathan Clark
