2020: How it turned to be the biggest nightmare?
By: Anushree Lad
Tags: Never Give Up, Pandemic Diaries, 2020, Journey, Feelings

Photo by Arindam Saha on Unsplash

Part of the journey is the end — Iron Man from the Avengers Endgame

Well, the year 2020 started pretty well and ordinary, like any other. New year parties and celebrations all over the world. You and I alike bid goodbye to 2019 and welcomed 2020 with new hopes and new resolutions, which I am pretty sure no one was going to stick to.

Being high school students we had entrance exams and on top of that BOARDS. Although this time I wasn’t scared of boards at all like the first time. This experience is unique in its own way.

Boards, done. Entrance exams, almost done. Vacation mode, ON.

But who knew this so-called awaited vacation is going to be so long and unique. I had imagined relaxing and explore a new city in India. But guess what?

Photo by Gary Butterfield on Unsplash

Nationwide Lockdown…

All the shops, malls, schools, colleges, and offices were shut down. Some were in their house with family and some were stuck somewhere else away from home. It was difficult for everyone. This was the first time in my entire life I was experiencing something like pandemic and lockdown.

Photo by ABHISHEK HAJARE on Unsplash

What did I learn from 2020?

Like everyone else, we were also trying to follow the trend, like dalgona coffee. I learned to cook and bake various dishes at home in limited resources as there was no other option.

2020 gave us enough time to think over a lot of things that we were knowingly ignoring. It allowed me to try my hands on various things I was not doing otherwise and also it taught me to be in one place with the same kind of people and be enclosed in four walls.

We had just shifted to a new place so we had our relatives over our place like my aunt ( and her family) and my mother’s brother. They were all stuck at our place so we all enjoyed each day together. The bond within grew stronger as the day passed. And now that they are not here, we miss them a lot.

What did I miss in 2020?

The very first day of COLLEGE is always special. You are out of school and starting on a new journey, a step closer towards your career, and its ONLINE :(

The orientation was online, being a design student it is difficult to learn drawing from the screen. Moreover, when something is online, the personal touch is lost. But given the circumstances, I and my friends alike did not get the online thing in between and enjoyed it as much as we can through online sessions.

18, is one of the special birthdays in life, which was again celebrated at home without any friends over.

The traditional method of shopping could not be followed which is one of my most favorite things to do. Online shopping took over.

What good did 2020 do?

2020 introduced vocal for local. It introduced me to some amazing teachers and people around me.

Although everything was online, I was introduced to a lot of new terms and concepts. And got to learn a lot from various Webinars and big personalities. Getting educated in terms of the LGBTQ community was also a new thing. There are a lot many things going around us every day, we are just not aware of it. 2020 opened my eyes and mind to a lot of different concepts, terms, communities and made my vision broad which was in a way very narrow.

CONCLUSION

In the end, 2020 was a disaster for a huge number of people. There were not one but many obstacles along the path, that may be the pandemic followed by a cyclone and what not. We lost many lives, some people lost their jobs and livelihood, some faced depression and mental illness. Everybody had their own different ups and downs and I alike dealt with it in our own unique ways.

In all, I would say, 2020 gave lifetime lessons which we will never forget. It would be not so much right to say it was a nightmare but in the end, everything will be nice and everything happens for a reason.