It’s easy to say that 2020 wasn’t like anyone imagined. Australia caught on fire, police failed to serve and protect black Americans, many beloved celebrities and history makers died, and, of course, our world went into a semi-respected lockdown. With 2020 finally coming to an end, people everywhere are looking towards 2021 to be a do-over for the horrors that came before, but we’re not off to a great start. Within the first six days, Trump supporters made history violently breaching the Capitol buildings’ walls for the second time in 200 years. Trump faces a second impeachment with a week left in office, and many Americans anxiously await Inauguration day for the chaos to subside. Still, I have hope that 2021 will set things right. I mean, we can only go up from here.
Of course, the hardest issue to resolve in this country is today’s political climate. 2020 was bad enough, with Trump discrediting the use of masks and science to protect the American people, thus shoving us further down the metaphorical hill that is COVID-19. The Trump administration then also wasted taxpayer money trying and failing to prove voter fraud in the November Election and ignited a life-altering wave of fury that would be unleashed at the start of 2021.
Luckily, there’s finally a light at the end of the tunnel, with a COVID vaccine quickly being rolled out to try and undo some of the damage caused by COVID, Trump, and party-loving Americans. Small businesses will reopen, death rates will decrease, and the economy will improve. Plus, 2021 is predicted to bring about another “Roaring 20’s”, when people celebrate being able to touch each other by throwing lavish parties and dancing the night away. While that seems bittersweet considering how long we had to go without it in the past year, I, for one, am excited to be able to hug my friends and family again.
I think that there are still things to hold on to from 2020 as we go into 2021. 2020 has taught us a lot about how we need to change to move forward as individuals and as a country. Instead of agonizing over the tragedy that immediately followed the start of a new decade, we can remember the history makers who paved the way for us, like Kobe, RBG, and John Lewis. We can honor the sacrifices made for the BLM movement and remember those who lost their lives to police brutality. We can learn from clashes with people from other political parties so that one day we can finally LISTEN to science and to one another instead of trading insults. Finally, we can look forward to what the Biden/Harris leadership will bring as the Trump reign comes to an end.
2020 was a year that I’m sure most people want to forget, but that means leaving behind the life lessons that we had to learn. Through the never-ending bad, there is still some good to hold on to, and I can’t wait to see what this new year will bring.
