2021

Dear 2021,

Another year has come and gone. It's a time we should cautiously celebrate, the year 2020 is over. But many of the problems we experienced in 2020 will continue into this year. We still have a raging pandemic which has taken the lives of over 1.5 million people; may they never be forgotten. There is still social and political injustice around the world. With both of these which have each led to many deaths, we mourn those we lost. We can never forget the pain, much of which we shall still have, that this year has caused us. While we reflect on this past, we must also use it to develop a better future. What have we learned from this pandemic? What have we learned from the social and political conflicts that we are experiencing? And, what are we going to do about it?

If we choose to do nothing, then we are responsible for the issues of tomorrow. If we fail to act, we cannot blame our successors, for they too will experience the results of our faults and those issues that come in the future, and will have to make a similar choice. We have learned so much over this past year, from the state of the globe, to who we are as people. We must utilize this new knowledge in order to help change the world for the better.

We may wish to forget this year due to the negative theme of it. But in the end, the events of this year still helped shape us to who we are, and for that, we can never forget. While much of the events that happened this year may be reflected as to be greater those events that were good good, we must still look for that light side.

In science, we have massively increased our knowledge in vaccine development and pandemic control. We as people learned to adapt to a world of virtual interactions. As a world we came together for one of the first times, to work for a common cause. While these are just a couple of examples, join me in recognizing a bit of good in this past year. Not just the societal positive impacts, but the individual impacts this year has had. Let me make clear, this year has caused us pain. We will not get back those we loss. We will not get back what has been taken from us personally. But we will however remember the attempts we made to make this year just a bit better. Whether it was learning a new hobby, trying to get back in shape, finding ways to do your part, reaching out to friends and loved ones, or however we tried to cope with the pains of this year.

In the end, let us be optimistic for this new year. Let us hope for the continuation of vaccine development. Let us hope that justice is served where needed. Let us hope that we can maintain our relationships with those we love. And lastly, let us hope that 2021 will be a better year.

Sincerely,

Farida Aryani, 1/1/2021