6 Reasons We Should Celebrate 2020
By: Sandra Michelle
Tags: Life, Mental Health, Self, Self Improvement, Life Lessons

Redundancies

A record high in redundancies has sent unemployment to 4.9% in the UK. With 35% of our total waking hours over a 50-year working life spent going to work, it is no surprise that losing the thing that we wake up for each morning creates cracks in our identity.

I was made redundant in early July and it has changed my outlook on life completely. I finally got a moment to stop in my tracks and actually consider whether what I was doing was taking me to the place I wanted to be. It forced me to understand that I wasn’t actually enjoying my work-life. It offered me the freedom that I could have never offered myself. The freedom to lose the thing that defined me between Monday and Friday, without having made the decision to step away from it myself.

It caused me to pause and reflect, resulting in numerous reevaluations. I finally came to the conclusion that I no longer wanted to be sucked into the vacuum of the industry I was working in and developed a better idea of the way I wanted my life to look.

It brought me to discover the hobby that I actually wanted to pursue as a career and allowed me the time to do online courses that would aid me in the areas I had little experience in. It takes a life-changing event to remove the clutter that’s toppled over our true desires.

Your Daily Life Is Your Life

This year, it felt like every time I opened up Instagram, there was a new celebrity couple excitedly announcing their pregnancy. Of course, with not a lot to do, many couples could have easily come to the conclusion that the long and uneventful months of 2020 could actually work as the most appropriate time to throw a bun in the oven.

However, if we take a glance at the things that ended up being important to us and filling our days with, we can identify what is always there for us. The walks with our dogs, grabbing takeaway coffee, small-talk with neighbors and perhaps, it’s made us more content.

More content with the idea that those around us, are enough. Being separated from loved ones made us understand our need for physical touch and close proximity. It made us acknowledge the fact that man-made short fixes such as Facetime or Zoom just don’t do it for us.

It can be easy to get caught up in a constant chase for productivity and success and as a result, leave the important things in the background. This year gave us little possibility to feel fulfilled in any other way than turning to the only thing left; people.

We’ve begun to be kinder to each other. I notice it with passersby. A greeting or a simple scurry forward to allow a stranger to pass. The effects have touched us all. Perhaps, as we get back to normality, we will choose our own versions of success over the social constructs of it — a lesser-paid job that involves passion and allows us more time for people, over greater pay for longer hours in the office, staring at a screen.

Loved Ones With Differing Views

Jumping in and out of lockdowns isn’t something any of us were prepared for. Words such as ‘furlough’ and ‘lockdown’ have casually crept into our daily vocabulary over the course of this year. We never really had to consider rules or morals as such on a daily basis previously.

The general consensus of refraining from murder or endeavoring upon a bank robbery was something that we could expect of our friends. However, when regular Government announcements began to fill our TV sets with new restrictions every few days, it made us reevaluate our priorities. It blurred lines and forced us to look at the scale that balances our freedoms, the economy, and safety, as separate issues.

We found ourselves having arguments about issues not previously explored. Those whose interests lay with the general health and safety of society became enraged by the skeptics that ended up being their friends and partners. Many of us saw new sides to those we thought we knew inside out. When we are setting a lifetime precedent, it isn’t surprising that spikes in divorces and domestic life became more stressful than ever.

Other social issues also had the chance to come to light which caused a further conflict of interests. Those who were stringent with Covid guidelines but simultaneously cared deeply about and wanted to partake in protests or Black Lives Matter marches were faced with a very difficult decision. Either way, wherever you went and whatever you did, there was scrutiny and criticism awaiting.

Perhaps, these experiences will all lead us to become more tolerant and accepting. We’re all complex beings, each with a diverse range of interests, limits, and loyalties. Doing everything right during this year’s balancing act would be utterly impossible.

Considering Our Surroundings

There was a transition in the Youtube community this year. Those who pre-pandemic were used to working remotely, would use their social lives to make up for their often isolating work lives. With co-working spaces and cafes off the table, their huge houses felt more isolating than ever.

Vlogger Tara Michelle, amongst many others, has expressed her unhappiness in spending the majority of this year in such a lonely way. This isn’t something she’s ever needed to confront before, with a pre-pandemic life offering her a world of distractions. Tara has ended up leaving Los Angeles and moving back to Toronto to be closer to the family.

I for one, took a good look at my environment and asked myself if this way of life was to remain forever, would I want to spend it in this city? In this country? Even on this continent? Where do we wish to escape to? What type of lifestyle do we crave if life was just remote work and family life?

Living in London has always appealed to me because of the hustle and grind. The morning commute, the metropolitan energy, and the smell of roasted coffee beans but without that, I have realized that all I crave is a simple life by the beach, somewhere much less rainy. What I truly enjoy about the city I live in is the lifestyle — not the land. As we get older, our priorities shift and so I must ask myself; will I still enjoy this city when it’s no longer the lifestyle that I’m after?

2020 has given us the courage to ask the big questions. Ones that are so daunting and terrifying that we most likely would have never considered them. Many remote workers are now utilizing this new way of work and Slow Travelling or moving to a place that inspires them to be the best version of themselves — for themselves.

We Found Hobbies

Even for those still working, the extra hours of commute time pocketed and plan-free weekends meant that we had time to read, explore, and venture to new lengths to find passions.

How does one use all of this newfound time? What I didn’t realize about the fact that I somehow always ended up in a museum or gallery was that my seemingly random strolls were actually a search. My soul was searching for the next challenge, the next passion, the next burning desire. And that’s when I came across a Japanese poster at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

I froze. It captured me. Something had ignited in me after all this time. I felt something. I didn’t know what it was, I just knew that it was right. It has now led me to a spectacularly peculiar and awfully sudden interest in Japan. I am now besotted with the thought of witnessing the Cherry Blossoms one fine April and have looked into Japanese work visas. I play Japanese string instrument music each morning and my boyfriend believes I’ve gone absolutely bonkers. Blissful insanity that has re-inspired me for the future.

Witnessing where your mind goes when you are procrastinating or feeling bored is an easy way to figure out if there is a passion brewing within you. One that you didn’t even have an inkling about. And so, for some people, in some ways, this year could be the most life-changing one yet.

Sustainability

This year has truly shown us the effects of humanity. Images of Venice canals suddenly crystal clear, global levels of nitrogen dioxide at record lows, and urban air pollution in China dramatically decreasing has left an ever-changing mark on many frequent flyers. Perhaps, we can move forward with a more conscientious attitude towards travel.

High-mileage travellers have begun putting more thought into their bucket lists. “COVID-19 has allowed me to rethink how and why I travel,” says Erick Prince of The Minority Nomad. The unpolluted blue skies are likely to have struck a chord with many, and it could be a promising moment for companies advocating a more considered approach to travel.

Carbon Offsetting Gifts have become increasingly popular for this year's Christmas season showing positive new mindset developments. We have not only become more aware of the suffering of people around the world but we are taking into account the great damage we inflict on our planet.