A 2020 rundown in 1010 words. 2020 feels like a Shinra Tensei come to…
By: Brian Albitos
Tags: Pandemic Diaries, 2020, Lockdown Stories, Philippines, 2020 Review

Days on repeat

2020 feels like a Shinra Tensei come to life.

Let’s be real — 2020 has been inarguably a total shit storm. A quick Google search would bombard you with articles on how garbage fire this year had been. From Taal’s eruption, to the pandemic, down to the worsening social crisis worldwide. It’s as if 2020 was hell-bent on making our lives miserable, and we all fall victim to it.

Back in January, we all had so much hope for the new decade. A new semester had started, vacations had been set, and people were flaring to claim the year. By February, I was on my first Feb Fair. And boy, that was *chef’s kiss*. Those were fun times. And NGL, it feels like ancient history because out of nowhere, everything came to a screeching stop. Everything we thought of as normal and safe suddenly wasn’t anymore. Schools suspend face-to-face classes. Friends and families cut off physical contact with each other. And we can’t do anything but watch behind our windows and screens as the world turns into shambles. The culprit? The pandemic.

This may be the umpteenth article on the internet talking about how the year flawlessly directed a disaster film that never seems to know when to end. Because like most people, I long for that moment when I’m going to wake up and everything just suddenly “poof!” back to normal. TBH, I may not have anything interesting to say. But I’m going to write anyway — I’ll just throw random stuff here and there and wing it.

First off, we witnessed how the pandemic exposed a gaping problem that is the government’s incompetence. Instead of immediate and critical strategies to handle the outbreak, it seems that the government doesn’t have its priorities straight. It’s just a perpetual cycle of issues upon issues, piling up on top of each other, not really getting anywhere, and will later be pushed aside after a new mess: the distress of frontliners, police brutality, red-tagging, political unrest, press freedom, corruption — I could go on, but we don’t have all day. It just goes to show how much of a failure the administration really is.

I’m a student, so needless to say, online classes were a pain in the ass. There’s no better way to summarize the semester than “100% would NOT recommend.” There’s so much on my plate: synchronous classes, power and internet interruptions, self-directed learning. Then there are these tight deadlines I have to meet on top of everything. I experienced how my to-do list, unread emails, and cram-full calendar became an utter eyesore. My procrastinative ass really went from sleeping before midnight last September to catching some z’s at 4 am 3 months later. And it is absolutely, for lack of better words, the worst. However, looking outside this privileged bubble reveals the ugly truth behind online classes.

Truth be told, online classes are not for everyone. For one, the availability of devices is a struggle in and of itself. Not all kids have computers or any electronic device fit for remote learning. And if they are lucky enough to have one, there comes this one hell of a mess — internet accessibility. Not every student has stable internet access. Some do not have internet access in the first place. And this double burden not only exacerbates the already crappy education system but also widens the gap between the rich and the poor. That is why students like us took to Twitter to rally our concerns because the resilience card is getting old, and we’re all tired of it. Hashtags like #NoStudentLeftBehind and #WalangIwanan are not just trends on social media. They are outcries, social movement, and a call for accountability. And don’t get me started on how teachers experience the same burden because everyone in the academe; we’re all in the same boat. It’s sad to think that in the middle of a health crisis, education slowly becomes a privilege accessible only for those who can afford it. All we wanted was for them to hear us out. Do better. And don’t turn a blind eye.

If you’re not enraged or scared the least, you blind yourself to the struggles of those who are.

With how many months of being in quarantine, this isolation, lack of social interaction, and loss of daily routine burn us all out. To keep us occupied and keep the quarantine-induced stress at bay, we’ve suddenly become writers, bakers, vloggers. And in this time, with so many screens around us, we can’t help but scroll our feed for God knows how long. It has become an escape more than ever. As for myself, somewhere between the top and second tier of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is my newfound obsession — endless TikTok scrolling. Apart from that, new Netflix releases, monthly online shopping sales, and mellow playlists kept me sane. The year is a hard pill to swallow, but rad music has become our reward. It’s like a terrible movie, but with a lit soundtrack.

There are many ways to wrap up how we have been living our future kids’ history lesson in several months now. But I cannot deny how fruitful the year had been for me. I got to meet new people and make new friends. I started to do things that interest me. And as I enter the twenty-something club, things will only get challenging. I need to learn how to play my cards right, so I can start to seamlessly go about my adult shit.

When Zoom meetings, face masks, and social distancing have become the norm, we devise different ways to somehow restore as much normalcy as before. We may just be pressing a pause button for a while, but even inside our homes, societies reckoned with inequality and purposeful movements took flight.

2020 has been a confusing tug-of-war, and 2021 won’t bring a flipped switch with everything getting better, but there’s no harm in hoping, trying, believing, and trusting. So, you there, the one reading this, take good care and stay safe.

Godspeed.