Wrapping Up 2020

This year has been just too unique from all the other years. I saw this tweet where Twitter asked to describe “2020 in one word,” so all the famous companies–Netflix, Microsoft Edge, Adobe, Lego, Zoom, YouTube, etc.–were replying with “whyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?,” “Ctrl + Z,” “404,” “Ouch?,” “Unstable,” “Unsubscribe,” etc. After reading this tweet, I was surprised because I never loved 2020, but at the same time, I didn’t hate 2020 nor did I think 2020 is the worst year. I just thought of 2020 as a unique year with both bad times and good times, just like all the other years but with different situations.

As we can all see, many things have changed and happened in 2020. First of all, COVID-19 happened. So we can’t go outside without our masks, we have to maintain a social distance, hand sanitizers and masks are necessary wherever we go, the way some people see Asians (not just Chinese) has changed, etc. There are many more bad effects of COVID-19, and many people in this world are suffering because of them. Because of COVID-19, some people died, lost their close ones, lost smell, etc. Honestly, I could fill a whole notebook listing all the bad effects of COVID-19.

Yes, there are bad effects of COVID-19, but as always, there are also good effects. And the one big good effect that can cover all these bad effects is that we have time. We have time to spend time with our families, to search for our dreams, to get to know ourselves and the people around us better and to do whatever we want to do. Before COVID-19 happened, almost everyone in this world never had time for anything. But after COVID-19, everyone has time, and the thing we have the most is time. In 2020, many bad things have happened, but I want you to know that there are also good things as there’s always a light in the darkness.

For me, 2020 has brought me so many people that I should be grateful for. First of all, my family for being with me throughout this whole year, my friends for bringing me joy, doctors, nurses, and scientists for doing their best to make our world safer, and everyone in the world for trying their best to stop COVID-19. Without these people, today’s world would be very different from now. Thank you, everyone, and I hope you have the best year in 2021! Happy new year!!

Photo by Immo Wegmann on Unsplash