With the year 2020 coming to end, can we all just collectively take a nice deep breath and pat ourselves on the back for making it through this shit storm? We made it through one of the most insane years on record and there’s no doubt we will be talking about this time in our lives for many years to come.
At this point, we’ve lived through a worldwide pandemic, a divisive election, an unbelievable peak in social unrest due to racial injustice, record high unemployment rates, the loss of homes, loss of family members, and generally just a loss of our old lives all together. We have been through the wringer this year and we deserve to take some time to gather ourselves and start with a clean slate for 2021.
It feels like we went into the first lockdown just yesterday, but also it feels like 100 years ago. Time has seemingly ceased to exist, and we are just out here floating around in the ether trying to figure out our next moves and how we are going to put our lives and our world back together.
This year has been overwhelming to say the least, and wanting to leave this year behind is completely understandable. There’s no doubt that we all feel jipped out of a year that we had such high hopes for. For most of us, that 2020 vision did not turn out the way we had hoped, but that’s okay.
Instead of focusing on the negative aspects of this year, let’s try to be appreciative of all the things we learned. We learned we could be resilient in the face of adversity. We found that we could overcome obstacles and go make it through hardships we may have initially thought would destroy us. But look at us, fighting off 2020’s demons left and right.
Growth comes from struggles. If we can view all the lessons we learned this year as gifts instead of a big ol’ lump of coal, we can change our mindset moving into a new year. Let’s thank 2020 for revealing parts of ourselves that we didn’t even know existed. If we can make it through this nightmare, we can make it through anything.
There’s a quote by Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, that always sticks with me whenever I’m feeling out of sorts and like things aren’t going my way, and it seems so fitting for how things have played out this year.
“If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present.”
The present is a gift, the past is done and over with, and the future is yet to be lived. We can’t go back and change events and worrying about the future is pointless. This year has taught us that we can overanalyze everything and try to manipulate our realities to evade the impending doom, but all that does is bring unnecessary stress and worry. If we can just consciously switch our perception towards the chaos around us, maybe this year won’t be a total loss.
As we end this year and this semester simultaneously, take some time to regroup and allow yourself to mourn your old life. When the clock strikes midnight on December 31, pack up this year into a little metaphorical file cabinet and stash it away to make room for all you stand to gain in the new year. But also make sure to live in the present along the way.
The holidays are a time to celebrate life, love and family. And after the year we’ve just had, we all deserve to give ourselves the gift of gratitude. Negative thinking will only prolong our suffering, and who has time for that anymore? Take what you can from these past 12 months and leave the rest out in the cold.
See you later 2020, it’s been real but we’re all glad to see you go. And please whatever you do, don’t come back.
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