2020 Review
So, 2020. Not what we were expecting (if you were expecting it, why?) In 2019 I was traveling all over the world; in 2020, I rarely left my house. Last summer, I studied with people from Mumbai, Beijing, and Tijuana; this year, I barely saw my extended family. It was not a great year, but it was not a bad year either. I'll explain that later.
First, though, a review of what I did.
Early January saw my return to Spokane for the first time in six months for school. It was a tough return. I was still adjusting back to life in America, trying to reconnect with friends that, for the most part, I hadn't seen since school let out the previous summer, and it was cold and snowy-a typical depressing Pacific Northwest winter. By February, though, I had broken myself out of the funk. I started going to the gym early in the morning again, and I was in the best shape of my life. I re-found my group and was going out and life it was looking up to be a good semester.
That obviously did not happen. Spring break came, and we all headed home for what we expected to be only a week. That week became a month, then another, then the rest of summer. 2020 became the year of the pandemic.
Being immunocompromised, my family took covid-19 seriously, especially the first couple of months where we were still learning about it. Nobody left the house. We walked around with masks, even before they were recommending them. I think I left the house less than ten times before July.
Yea, it sucked. I lost time in college, which I was still paying for, and lost my internship opportunity, which would pay me. But I was still fortunate. My family didn't have to worry about bills; we could stay home and hang out in our backyard. The biggest problem we had to deal with was boredom and getting sick of each other. I understand the privilege I had and still have because of this, and I am incredibly thankful for it.
Lockdown wasn't all bad. The times I was able to hang with friends were fun. I got to spend more time with my family, which I don't know how much I will be able to in the future. I started writing again seriously. And the weather was pretty nice.
At the beginning of August, I drove back up to Spokane for school. My lifestyle didn't change much; just now, I could quarantine with my friends, people my own age. Which meant a drank a whole lot more beer than I did at home. It was good to see these guys again.
I was able to stay up in Spokane until November. At that time, cases started to spike again, and with the vaccine on the horizon, I decided to head back home. That's where I have been until we drove up to Bodega Bay yesterday afternoon.
Like most people, I set some goals at the beginning of this year, and like most people, I failed at most of them. Covid gave me a good excuse, but for the most part, I wasn't doing too hot with any of them before the pandemic hit. Covid may have canceled the marathon I had signed up for in April, but I still hadn't begun to train for it in March.
I was able to accomplish a lot this year despite covid and my laziness. I read 50 books and wrote my own, which comes out this March. I put together my two best semesters of college GPA-wise, though whether that's due to the classes becoming easier online or because I had fewer distractions remains to be seen. I finished some online courses, gave a few talks, and got a lot better at beer dye and super smash bros. Altogether, I got a lot done.
Next year comes with a lot of uncertainty. I have one more semester before I graduate, and after that, I don't know what I am going to do. I don't know where I will live, where I will work, or what the world will look like pandemic-wise. I'm not worried, though. If I've learned anything from this pandemic, it's that I have already have it all. I have a fantastic family that will be there to support me no matter how bad I fail. I have a group of friends that I look up to and can count on. I've been lucky enough to travel all over the world. I've loved and lost, succeeded and failed, and have few regrets.
I owe most of this to my family, friends, and simply being at the right place at the right time, and for that I will always be thankful. Even though I haven't seen most of these people this year, they've made the presence known, and I am grateful for all they have done. I hope they know that.
My grandmother has a saying, "If you want to make God laugh, just tell him your plans." God's going to get a good chuckle with this one then. I may not know where and what I will be doing in 2021, but I do have some goals. I am going to publish my first book in March. I will graduate college with a 3.5+ GPA, take the LSATs, and begin the process of applying to law schools. I will try to read at least one book a week, two more than I did this year. My final goal is to get to a point where I can honestly say that I am fluent in Italian. Hopefully, God isn't laughing too hard.
I'm excited for 2021. Vaccines are near. I graduate and start a new chapter of my life. It still may be winter, but the days are getting longer, a new president will be sworn in, and spring is on its way. Here's to the roaring 20s.