Every year right at the stroke of midnight we celebrate the year that was – its pleasures, the good fortunes, even its pains. We celebrate because we know we got another chance to start, a refreshed hope that the new year will be brighter and better. That’s how we all envisioned 2020 will be like, but fate had other plans.
2020 started with news of an unknown disease from China, in the USA (and perhaps everywhere) political upheaval was brewing up, and there were rumors of impending wars. But it was in late January morning, when upon hearing of Kobe and his daughter Gianna’s death, that 2020 seems to be telling us she was just starting.
With a president going back and forth treating the virus a fairy tale (while the rest of the world all ready scrambling how to survive), it took months before government gave in and decided to “really” act and local leaders enforced lockdowns. But the “invisible enemy” have already crept in, Covid-19 infections and deaths have grown in the USA (other countries were already in the middle of their own lockdowns and some have even started flattening their own coronavirus curves). Many were left in awe and many also were still in denial believing that the situation will never affect them.
We remember the following summer months to be slow moving, shops were closed, LA traffic gone AWOL with empty streets, it’s as if something was creeping in and we did not know if and when it will end. The many unknowns impacted the economy, many businesses closed, and thousands lost their jobs.
Americans will be forever be etched in history as a people who succumbed to toilet-paper-panick-buying in the midst of a pandemic.
This year also shown great social unrest with the Black Lives Matter, racism, and cancelled cultures. 2020 exposed a big division in the American people nobody knew existed. USA elections became the most binged-watch show in television not just in the America but across the world (relatives/friends abroad daily asked for updates). Political toxicity was at it’s highest, we’re all feeling the fatigue and wondering when the year will end.
2020 however also toughened us, this year have shown the resilience of mankind and our ability to adapt.
Technology indeed connected us in 2020.
One of the biggest ironies of the year was that it forced us to reconnect with our families/friends more that ever. Our pets for sure were and are still in heaven 🙂
Technology enabled us to be productive ensuring business as usual while working from our homes. Gone were the days of waking up early to face traffic (going to work), 2020 shown us on our pj’s taking zoom calls, still able to deliver while looking after our children attending their own classes online. A new normal was possible after all!
For most casual tech users, they finally learned how to use it for their own betterment. We searched how Covid-19 works, how to cut our own hair, we even re-learned how to properly wash our hands. Google and YouTube were no longer just apps for casual purposes, they became tools how we survived 2020.
As we close 2020, may we not lose its teachings, may we build on our own growths, continue to find strength, and strive to be better in 2021. I read somewhere, “Tough times never last, but tough people do.”
Happy New Year!
set it good 
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