Written by Kristen Pletcher, Photography by Abby Gregory
Australian wildfires, a global pandemic, protests, and the presidential election are the defining words of 2020. The past twelve months have warped the way I view time passing, every day somehow turned into the same and I can’t be the only one who is tired of the monotony. However, as the new year is upon us, it is important to reflect on what this past year has taught us and move forward with a little more compassion.
These past few months in lockdown have taught me a lot about myself. One of the biggest lessons I have learned about myself is that even with all the time in the world, I still do nothing. I’m pretty good at knitting, and it only took three episodes of “Criminal Minds” to convince myself that I’m a criminal profiling protégé. Yes, these are small things, but having the time to get to know myself was something that I had never had the liberty to do before.
I learned that love spans states and countries, as cheesy as that sounds. Staying in contact with people is more important than almost anything. FaceTime calls with my friends kept me sane, and different social apps allowed my friends and me to watch movies together in real-time from our different houses, which is almost as good as watching together in person. Spreading picnic blankets six feet apart at the park with family and friends allowed us for that desperate feeling of normalcy. We got creative, we had to. Finding new ways to stay connected in this time of disconnect has been one of the things I cherished the most.
We have all adapted to this new way of life. Floor stickers keeping us six feet apart in stores is expected, one-way aisles in grocery stores are common, and face masks are now fashion statements. If 2020 has taught me anything, it is that humans are incredibly adaptable. We will push through the hardest times to not just survive them, but to experience life within them.
Most people have been counting down the days until 2020 was over, I’m right there with you, I can’t wait to start fresh with the new year. And while it is very easy to move on from the insanity this past year brought us, let’s all reflect on the difficult year, what we learned about ourselves, about those around us, and about our world and take those lessons with us into 2021 where hopefully, things will get a little bit better.
