My 2020 Reflection...

To put it bluntly, 2020 was a tough year. Lives have been lost, companies have shut down, unemployment rates have risen, and uncertainty was at the forefront of every conversation last year.

I remember the start of 2020 being filled with celebrations & ambitions for the year ahead. With people welcoming the start to a “new decade” and having “20/20 vision” for their goals to come. Then the news of this Covid-19 virus started creeping through the bushes. At first, we disregarded its importance: after all, it was a matter China had to deal with and had nothing to do with the rest of the world. However, we seemed to forget that in the global society we live in today, everything travels fast. 

There are many important things that have come to light this year for me to reflect on. One of them being that turning a blind eye to a problem seemingly irrelevant to us is not the way forward. Whether we speak of a virus, black lives matter or war in Iran, in our interconnected world today everything has a knock-on effect which will impact us one way or another. 

Soon, with cases rising exponentially, country after country began enforcing national lockdowns, ordering people to stay at home and closing their borders to international travel. For the first time ever, we experienced a true global event that directly affected every single nation in major ways. Even our infamous World Wars did not have such an impact. Although World War I & II were drastic events costing the lives of millions, the countries most involved remained the great powers and their allies. However, 2020 was different. It was not about which country had the greatest military power, political influence or even wealth. All sense of authority was stripped away when we were left to fight the invisible enemy and our nations’ GDP ranking, literacy rate or defence spending became nearly irrelevant.

Yet amongst all this chaos, I have never felt such a sense of unity.

For once, we are all going through the same struggle, at the same time, whether old or young, black or white, rich or poor. Locked inside our homes and forced to spend time with our families, friends, flatmates and most importantly ourselves. Inspiring moments of solidarity and creativity occurred when left stuck inside the four walls of our house. We can speak of public DJ sets in Argentina across apartment blocks, clapping on the hour for front-line workers in Europe or viral trends of #TogetherWeWin across Asia. Although not all of it has been smooth sailing, learning to adapt and live with these restrictions has been challenging, but it’s been a team effort. A team effort as we turn to each other for support and figuring out ways to cope during these unprecedented times and feelings. 

Although a memorably rugged year, 2020 has had its silver linings. The greatest reward I draw from last year is the breaking down of surface barriers. With the biggest elephant in the room getting larger in size as the days go by, the human element within people rose to the surface. I found myself having real genuine conversations, one after the other, with friends, colleagues and family about the world we live in. Topics such as mental health, mortality, gratitude, amongst others, were dived into, which under normal circumstances would have just been skimmed through. Revealing one’s human side has been encouraged in the workplace, allowing us to voice our feelings, be ourselves and most importantly be candid with each other about how things are going. From my experience, people seem to care more for one another. Our consumerist mindsets have levelled down, leaving space for thoughts that expand our way of thinking. With fewer distractions, come real people, and with real people come true conversations. Conversations which I hope to carry into 2021, 2022, 2023 and beyond.