What will you tell your kids about 2020?

If you are reading this, well done. You have survived 2020.

Sure, you can keep saying how relieved you are that such an awful year is behind you. You can complain about all the things you did not get to do. The birthdays you did not celebrate, the holidays you did not go on, the friends you did not get to see.

Or, instead, you can change your tone.

The optimist in me cannot help but look at all the positive lessons we can learn from this year.

Below is a snapshot of some of my takeaways that I would like to share with you:

The Lessons I Learnt from 2020

In 2020:

• We started making eye contact with one another as masks covered our faces.
• We became OCD germ freaks and kept everything sparkly clean.
• We got our hands soaked on sanitizer gel… and then on hand moisturizer.
• We renamed Coronavirus COVID-19 to protect the Corona beer brand name.
• We were always positive about being ‘Negative’.
• We observed as the United Kingdom left the European Union and #Brexit-ed at last.
• We created the elbow bump.
• We became experts at analysing data and statistics – even those of us who hated Math in school.
• We no longer frowned upon those who ordered take-out all the time.
• We took all classes, events, and meetings online.
• We met our co-workers’ families.
• We proved to our bosses we can work from home even whilst wearing pyjama bottoms.
• We kept talking on mute and saw co-workers go to the toilet on Zoom.
• We created the concepts of ‘social distancing’ and ‘online fatigue’.
• We swapped clubbing for TikTok challenges. We all tried 'flossing.'
• We subscribed to Netflix and switched going to the movies for home cinema.
• We became less na?ve as we started second guessing the veracity of news - #fakenews.
• We learnt what it feels like to be in quarantine - and how to properly spell ‘quarantine’.
• We wiped out supermarket shelves and left a large stock of toilet paper for our kids to inherit.
• We still protested amid a pandemic because #BlackLivesMatter always.
• We taught our parents to do online shopping and how to use FaceTime.
• We turned our kitchens into the studios of ‘MasterChef’ and ‘The Great British Bake Off’.
• We developed our trading skills on the island of Catan.
• We went for long walks and started counting steps.
• We read more books.
• We launched that business idea we kept telling everyone about.
• We got a dog. And then we took our dog on a walk 20 times a day.
• We got our hands dirty and tried doing some sort of DIY.
• We found a new way to blow out our birthday candles with our hands.
• We created a home gym and a home office.
• We turned our living rooms into live-in rooms.
• We home schooled our kids and heightened our admiration for all teachers across the globe.
• We finally explored our home country and went on holidays without taking a single flight.
• We reduced our carbon footprint and the planet became slightly greener again.
• We realised we hated our jobs… and then we changed jobs (yes, it happened!)
• We finally met our neighbours and had our friends over more than ever.
• We visited our grandparents from outside their windows.
• We tracked the red and blue US elections for a whole week and saw Donald Trump lose his re-election.
• We spent more time at home and more time with our own thoughts.
• We (finally!!!) started caring about our mental health.
• We spent more time with our core family and also spent a long time away from loved ones.
• We said it would be over in a couple of months and we learnt to manage our expectations better.
• We learnt to adapt, expressed more solidarity with one another and became more grateful for what we had taken for granted in previous years.

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The year of 2020 has given us a unique opportunity to learn and grow like no other year before it.

For many generations alive right now, it is the first time our human fragility was put to the test. The lives that were lost, the businesses that closed and the relationships that ended - caused not by an economic crisis but by a highly contagious virus. A virus whose fear propagated quicker than its actual infection rate.

As time goes by, hindsight will allow for endless books, articles, and documentaries to tell the story in a myriad of ways. We will point fingers at different culprits and resort to endless data and figures to portray a gloomy point of view.

What about YOU? What will you tell future generations?

Tell them it was a year of disruption. That the (simple) fact of not being allowed to be physically close to each other made even the not-so-touchy-feely among us long for a big, warm hug.

Tell them why you now hug them every time you see them.

Tell them that only those who survived 2020 are able to understand why and how it changed the way we interact with each other forever.

My wishes for 2021? That we keep doing most of the things we did in 2020.

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About the author - Patricia Guerreiro

Economics graduate, CEMS alumna with an MBA from IE Business School, Patricia is a former Management Consultant turned Executive Coach. Having uncovered her true passion and drive in guiding others to becoming the next best versions of themselves, she now focuses on helping people find a job they love and creating better leaders and teams. 

Check out her LinkedIn profile to know more or to get in touch.