My Journey Through the Year 2020
The year 2020 was a tough one indeed.
For many, it was a year of losses, financial as well as emotional, a year of separation from loved ones, a year of confinement , a year of uncertainty, a year of unemployment, a year of unrest, physical as well as mental and so on…
However, there were many of us, for whom, this year was a year of commitment, a year of perseverance, a year of togetherness, a year of family bonding, a year of gains, financial as well as emotional, a year of quality time with loved ones, a year of growth, a year of development, a year of creativity and much more…
Each one of us, lost someone..may be a relative, friend, sibling, pet, an acquaintance, neighbor or someone close, or even our old self.
We did shed tears, lost out on our smiles, we did witness sad stories, got a couple of heartaches, also learned to mend them, struggled through a few sighs of relief, and finally we did rise up again, a little scarred, wounded, broken but strong!
With all this, came a few blessings in disguise, a few bonuses from life which we would not have received otherwise. In our normal life, before this ‘new normal’, we had missed out on a lot, which we could in a way compensate, in the year 2020. With majority of the people, working from home, families were complete, with all members available for each other. Parents disconnected themselves from the virtual world and spent real time with children and experienced what it feels like, to actually watch them grow, even though only for a year. Children got a chance to live their childhood to the fullest and do what they truly enjoy and learn actual life skills that take them way beyond textbooks and syllabus. Many life lessons were learned at this university called ‘home’ and were practically implemented in the laboratory of ‘society’. This year made us realize what is important and compelled most of us to re frame and reshuffle our priority list. Our bucket list got altered, and was edited to include a few things which we would not even consider earlier. And all this because, this phase was an introspection, a reflection, of what our true self was like and what it has become.
We did outgrow, the number of cases every single day and we also surpassed all the limits, but what we also outgrew is the confined mindsets and all the human possibilities, expectations and predictions. This pandemic made us gain lost hopes, revived our faith in God, it made us believe that prayers are answered and also made us realize that not all things can be controlled. The pandemic also made us self sufficient to a great extent, where we did all or chores our self, and many of us chose to do them even later, may be out of fear, but we did manage on our own and we managed quite well. this also made us appreciate all kinds of work. Things we often took for granted , people who were always there, though with, around and for us, were always considered, but never valued somehow, now more precious for us. May be we were put to test, to see where we stand and also how we stand, how we rise!
With no physical schools, no workplaces active, the whole world connected with each other virtually. This dependency on virtual connections made us remember and want actual physical social connectedness. Even though fun initially, the children do miss school desperately by now. The whole environment, new books, the smell of brown covers, uniform, school bags, break times, friends, all those moments, and feelings, nothing can replace.
The sense of belonging, the love, the attachment, the care, needs to be felt physically and we surely missed out on all of that last year. Our festivals, family gatherings, marriages, events, birthdays, anniversaries, baby showers, even holidays, the only times of the year when the whole family, all relatives from all parts of the country, the world come together to celebrate and be with each other was a low-key affair. We managed and adapted to the Google Meet, Skype, Zoom life and clung onto the various ties, the various bonds we have made and developed over these years and we want to cherish for the years to come with or without the pandemic.
It was difficult in the beginning, but now it seems alright, we are missing our previous life but have also adapted to this ‘new normal’. We have modified the rules, found the loop holes, and have also learned the art of ‘social distancing’ which was new to us initially. We now know the way of being a little away in spite of being so close, to have strings attached but still know when to get them detached. This pandemic seems to have made us practical and wise at the same time. To survive this world we need to know the hacks and I think this phase made someone as emotional as me strong enough to survive this new, changed and ‘normal’world.