It Goes On

Author: Sneha

A year is ending, and as we all know it’s the bittersweet 2020 that we all have been eagerly waiting to say goodbye to (How not to end a decade ft.2020). It’s been 366 days since our last countdown. The last time we had our party poppers ready for the clock to strike 12, we had no idea what we were in for. No clue that we would all quickly be shoved into our homes for safety and that the next time we would go out without having to protect ourselves was probably next year. Well in actuality, we can’t be sure that the year that’s only hours away will bring us that joy, and we can’t even be upset with it. Vexing, isn’t it?

What we do know however is that the people that left us this year aren’t coming back.

The ones that made it back from the ICU unit are the ones that had their life swinging between life and death and that they won the battle.

The ones that had the virus and didn’t know it themselves because they never had any problems are blessed in a way. The virus and China were the highlights of the year (honestly China what did you do!?).

All that aside, the fact remains that every year we lose someone, maybe to death, to misunderstandings, to distances and whatnot.

Every year something bad happens, something we wish didn’t have to happen to us; something we wish we didn’t do to someone else.

Constantly yearning to meet the people you couldn’t.

All these things are the kind of things we wish to leave behind. Somehow, we end up believing that with the new year, the new dawn, those things won’t matter anymore. That it will be washed into the past and that you now have nothing to do with it. You see, that thought is flawed. There is no such thing as starting the year with a new you without your baggage. Whatever you did this year is going to follow you for the rest of your life, just like the things you do every other year, whether you like it or not.

Hey, don’t fret. All the bad things aren’t the only stuff you get to take to the new decade. You get to take all the good things too. The bonds that didn’t break this year. The people that became closer than before. The hobbies you revisited or the new ones you started this year. All the binging of every kind you did from movies to books and food. The mini family reunions (I mean, almost everyone I know went to meet theirs at some point). The joy you felt when you were eating food that wasn’t made at home after so long.

Even though we all thought it would be impossible to meet new people or feel truly connected even if we did, we did meet new people. The closest we got to ‘hanging out’ was a video call. 

In conclusion, 2020 may have been a disaster in a million ways. But it wasn’t all bad though. Some parts of 2020 were definitely warm and memorable. There are a few things you could do only this year, only because of the pandemic. We began to cherish our daily routine and love all the people that were almost always by our side a little more.

Let us just hope and pray the year and decade that is coming has good things to offer us and that the whole pandemic situation becomes better. That we can go back to our old routines again and finally meet all the people we couldn’t this year.

Also I would like you to remember that no matter how every year goes for you, things just keep going. All you can do is make the best of it. This is me wishing you a lovely and splendid new year that brings as many delightful memories for you as it can and asking you to not give up! May all your tomorrows be better than your yesterdays.

Happy new year!