What We’ve All Been Waiting For: Hi, 2021
A lot has happened this year. But also, nothing has happened this year.
From what it can feel like, a good portion of the “a lot” was mentally exhausting and often devastating. It’s hard to make sense of time when every day for the past nine months has blurred into one continuous “Groundhog’s Day”-esque stream. Many would like to forget 2020, but we all know we never will.
The first COVID-19 case hit the United States in January. In February, President Trump was impeached (you heard that right—that was this year). March brought the lockdowns many hoped would last just two weeks. Then the cancelations came—the Olympics, graduations, in-person schooling, live music, weddings; the list is infinite. Then came the largest civil rights movement in history after the death of George Floyd in May. The protests surged well into the summer, and the movement continues on. Fall brought an intense election season plagued by voting concerns due to the ongoing pandemic. In November, after many anxiety-filled days of waiting, we finally elected a new president after four long years—although some, including President Trump himself, continue to disagree. The streets of every major city in the country looked as if we had just won a war. And in December, the government approved several COVID-19 vaccines, giving hope to the world just as the United States hit 300,000 deaths due to the virus.
Your days may have seemed like one long “Blursday,” but so much was packed into this year. So, what do we want to take with us, and what do we want to leave behind going into 2021? It’s easy to make lofty goals every January 1st about what you plan to accomplish in the coming year. These resolutions are often things like fitness, finding love, saving money, going “green.” In a normal year, it’s estimated that less than 8 percent of people end up keeping their resolutions. The number is already low, but I wonder if that shifted at all in 2020.
Almost laughably, goals like “travel more” were instantly smashed. But even the other goals I made seemed like too much to handle most of the time. Although I had a lot more time on my hands than I anticipated due to the lockdown, I didn’t always have the mental space to dream as big. I wanted to start running again, and I did from time to time, but the weight of everything else kept my legs from moving more than I would have hoped. I had a strategic plan of reducing my carbon footprint (once and for all!). I ended up making a few new eco-conscious habits, but god, the thought of adding one more thing to my plate seemed like just too much on many days.
I did a lot of other things, though. I watched a lot of movies with my roommates. I got weirdly into making homemade ice cream. I graduated college (???). I bought every hair tool on the face of the planet to try out every TikTok trend (just to stay home and look cute). I took a lot of walks. I started writing a lot more. Maybe I felt the need to document everything, or I just needed an outlet—who knows. I spent more time with my family than I ever planned. I swam in a bunch of lakes.
It doesn’t seem like a lot—that’s because it really isn’t. This year stripped away expectations and replaced them with a patience I’m still working on.
I think we’ve all been waiting for this day for the majority of the year. The idea of 2021 feels like an opportunity to start fresh. Deep down, we all know the reality that this virus and all the other problems 2020 posed will not just go away as the clock strikes midnight on the first of the year—we’re bringing those with us. But something else we’re bringing with us? A new perspective, too.
This next year will indeed bring more challenges (fingers crossed for a couple less, though). We know that going in. On this last day of the year, let’s try and shift our focus to what is really important. Take a look at those goals you’ve written down. If you do one thing, don’t beat yourself up if you don’t accomplish them. If 2020 taught us anything, it’s that shit happens. The illusion of control has never been more present in our lives, so I say we just roll with it. You can go into this new year knowing that even if you don’t “accomplish” much by today’s standards, that it wasn’t a waste. I can tell you that I’m much happier to have blissfully floated in a lake on a hot day than to have accomplished any of my 2020 resolutions.
You lived, you learned, you became more resilient, you shared laughs and smiles (albeit, many virtually). That’s enough. If I learned anything this year, I’ve learned that sometimes that’s more than enough.
Let that give you some peace, and let’s all move forward in 2021. We won’t move on, as this year was too important to ever forget, but we’ll move forward, and we’ll keep going. We always do. Cheers.
–Ann Vrooman, Content Director
