I am by no means saying that 2020 is a glorious year or that I loved every second of it. It sucks. But I’m grateful for it. I am the first person to say that everything happens for a reason but this year finding the silver lining became harder and harder with every new piece of disappointing news.
My internship with The Maury Show was cut short. Working the SNY basketball broadcasts was cut short. My 21st birthday trip to Nashville. Cancelled. My family vacation to Paris. Cancelled. My internship with the Olympics. Cancelled. Endless concerts with my friends. Cancelled.
I know people in 2020 had it a lot worse than I did. Let’s be real; people lost loved ones, lost their jobs, their homes and I’m complaining about some vacations that didn’t work out. But they were still things I was looking forward to immensely and I was disappointed when I realized the reality of being able to do all those things was slipping away.
There were a lot of tears in March and April. Who am I kidding? And June and July.
But like I said, everything happens for a reason. 2020 needed to happen. At least for me it did and even though there were a lot of tears and dreams being shattered, I am grateful.
As cliche and basic as it sounds, I learned to love myself during those four months in quarantine. I started working out everyday because honestly there was nothing else to do and a girl can only spend so much time on Netflix and TikTok. From working out, I felt better about myself physically and mentally. I learned what self-love really was, I wasn’t faking it anymore.
I found new music that I loved, I made a ton of Spotify playlists, I went on drives and blasted music with the windows down.
I spent time with my family. The sort of quality time we thought we would never get again. With all our schedules being as hectic as they were prior to the pandemic, the thought of all of us being under one roof again always seemed obsolete. Sure I still fought with my brother but we came out on the other side stronger and I truly discovered that he always has my back.
I sit here now, writing this editorial, having just found out that our classes are moving online again and flashbacks of March 13 come rushing back. It’s like we’re in an endless cycle of disappointing news.
Everything happens for a reason. Everything happens for a reason. I have to keep telling myself that. I’ve never had a reason to not believe that and I won’t stop now.
Who knows what the next eight months hold but what I know is that the past eight months have been absolutely horrible, no question about it. But I can honestly say I would not be where I am today or the person I am today without 2020 happening the way it did.
There will always be country concerts in Nashville and croissants in Paris. But there won’t always be nights spent binging Outer Banks with my parents or time that forces me to slow down and appreciate myself.
So I will leave you with three words I never thought I would say: Thank you 2020.
