Cheers to you, 2020.

The year of unprecedented challenges led to unparalleled personal growth and resilience.

As someone who's spent the past four years always on the go - from one place to the next, one class to another, one internship to a new one, the COVID-19 pandemic upended life as I knew it as of March 13, 2020. I imagine it did the same for those reading this article, too.

Suddenly, I had much more time on my hands. I was saving up to 3 hours per day that I would've otherwise spent on transit. I went from averaging six hours of sleep a night to a healthy eight, and was fortunate enough to be able to continue my two professional positions and multiple classes from my apartment. Then, college graduation came, and with it, one of my worst fears: graduating unemployed.

Like the millions of other college graduates who spent all spring hyper-applying to full-time jobs, I too spent hours networking like crazy, customizing each of my applications, and staving off imposter syndrome. As the months of job searching continued, I began to rethink and reevaluate what I was looking for going forward - both professionally, and personally.

As someone used to always knowing what's next and running towards it at full speed, 2020 has challenged me for the better in this regard. This year has allowed me the time to reflect on my past experiences and think deeply to set purposeful goals for the year ahead. I am finishing out 2020 as a more patient, empathetic, and resilient person than I was at the start of the year, and am a better version of myself (and job candidate!) because of it.

This year, I was most grateful for extra time to reflect, starting a new chapter moving to Berlin, and the privilege to do all of this soul-searching from the safety of my apartment amid the global pandemic.

What were you grateful for this year?

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About the author: Kaidlyne Neukam is a May 2020 business graduate from American University in Washington, DC, and recently relocated to Berlin, Germany for personal and professional opportunities. Connect with her on LinkedIn to see where she goes next as she continues her full-time job search.