A letter to 2020

Dear 2020,

Sadly you won't be remembered with delight or smiles as humanity has gone through some of the worst growing pains. We will, unfortunately, remember you as a lesson of growth, understanding, and as a reminder for the future years to treasure the small things and people we love around us.

São Paulo, Brazil, March 18th

São Paulo, Brazil, March 18th

The end of you has come and everyone has lost many things, people, and their minds around you. You gave us from January 1st, where you marked with anguish a beginning of a brand new decade, that many looked at with hope and a year to make their dreams come true; to instead a follow-up of months of sad events. People wondered if you could get any worse, emotionally speaking I can say for many, that your year felt like an ongoing rollercoaster of unexpected events, which weren't needed at all. Your year had people losing their dream jobs, loss of income support, which pushed many workers and their families further into poverty and loss of their houses and making it difficult to put food on their tables. You managed to increase the suffering of women in abusive houses, while the world was in lockdown. You locked down our creativity and freedom and chances to love and live. Lockdown in psychology determines, post-traumatic stress symptoms, depression, confusion, anger, fear. The most vulnerable people are those who have mental health issues, but when you're having people still express love and support in a variety of ways, it can make those periods of quarantine more bearable. Some of us read, others meditated, others struggled to concentrate on zoom classes, some people had the opportunity to heal, others grieved their losses, some cried or laughed, and some discovered new passions and created. Overall, your year still had students all over the world not have a proper graduation ceremony, as a way to celebrate with their families the end of a path and achievements, you had families and friends missing birthdays, you had families saying goodbye to their loved ones for the last time with a phone call, plastic bag or a window dividing them.

Wantagh, N.Y., May 24th Olivia Grant hugged her grandmother, Mary Grace Sileo, through a plastic drop cloth hung on a clothesline.

You had following a string of wildfires happen, airplane crashes in Iran and Pakistan, the death of basketball legend Kobe Bryant, the deadly explosion in Beirut, various natural disasters, brutal killings of Nigerian men and women from SARS officers, the killing of George Floyd on May 25th, which gave me profound and utter sadness, but also anger to change things as for how unfair the world can turn out to be. Even though your year gave us so many challenges we still find our truest essence as humans to navigate through unexpected difficulties and come together, to spark ideas to march, help, peacefully protest for the BLACK LIVES MATTER movement, and show support.

I do feel as if you needed the world to catch a breath so you gave us the loss of Donald Trump. I happily celebrated the win of Joe Biden as he became the 46th president of the United States. I admire every soul on making it to the end of this year, it doesn't matter if everything you planned out didn't go as you think, it matters that you still had the patience and capacity to try and stay as a whole, mentally and emotionally, as you went through something bigger than anything and you adapted and carried on, with hope. I admire and remember the doctors, nurses, and researchers that worked so hard to find the vaccine, that carried hope through so many challenges while seeing pain everyday.

I take my leave from you today 31st December 2020, with yet something positive that no matter how painful and sad your year has been for many, “we will never have this time ever again.” This year gave us time to devote to our loved ones, if quarantined together. And it placed us in front of the truth, of who really are the people that genuinely love us and care for us, even from afar.

New York, April 16th Kristen Dirks, an I.C.U. nurse

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase." -Martin Luther King

Minneapolis, May 27th. A woman at a protest against the killing of George Floyd

I put my faith in better days, in our generation and new generations, for love to be the only thing to remain with less hatred or coldness. The coming of a new year doesn't mean that things will switch over night, and we won't control every aspect of the world, but you can decide not to be reduced and determined by them. I have been scared of the time that has slipped away, but I have found that many things in life usually come as a lesson or a blessing, I am sure you've heard that before. We have all gone through a lot this year and I can't unfortunately tell you that at midnight of 31st 2020 it will all stop, realistically bad events will still happen around the world, but we can change how we perceive it and how we educate ourselves to change the next years. Now, in order for all of us to take care of the world, singularly and consequently all together we firstly must take care of ourselves, mentally and emotionally to gather energy to make things for the better, as you can and how you can. We live in a democracy, this means "ruled by the people”. It is therefore important that everyone should have a say in what is decided. From politics to decisions that affect our everyday life from schools to travel to our environment especially, to voting, campaigning, signing petitions and educating yourself as much as your mental and emotional energy can allow and take.

Be thankful for what you have and you will end up having more, If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never have enough. 2020 was a lesson on how grateful we should all be for the things and people we have in our lives. I understand that coming from a year like we had, you can ask me,"from where do i start? as i feel lost!" and I will tell you that, only when you are lost you begin to really understand yourself, feeling lost is a perfectly normal thing and every soul in this world goes through it, it is a sign that you are evolving as an individual. It is important to take time for yourself and find clarity.

I hope you go through immense growth in 2021, I hope you are sweet with the weak and in need, ferocious with the bullies and wicked minded, generous with those who genuinely love you and care for you, ruthless with those in charge, that give nothing but wars instead of guiding, love and hope.