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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at PSU chapter.

Dear 2020,

Hi, I cannot wait to get rid of you. You have brought me one of the worst years of my life, and I cannot wait to lock you in the history books where you belong. With 2021 around the corner, I have a lot of things I would like to wish for in this upcoming year, and you have nothing to do with it. The only good thing you did was elect Joe Biden, and even that’s a stretch for me to say it’s a good thing. 

Nothing is allowed to happen to my family in 2021. You put us through too much, and we deserve so much better than you. My dad didn’t deserve to go through a stroke and the exhaustion of going in and out of the hospital. Mom didn’t deserve to almost lose the love of her life. My brother and I did not deserve to almost lose our dad. 2021 better keep the Bausinger name out of its mouth unless it has some praises to sing. 

You really stole everything from the class of 2020, but you’ve taken more from the class of 2021. No football games, no time to see our friends and no time to spend on campus. You took my job from me and you took away my senior year. I won’t be able to sit on Old Main Lawn without a mask on for a while, and that’s on you. 

I’ve spent all of my senior year in my apartment, and while I love my roommate, I’m sure even she is sick of me. Also, I may not have an in-person graduation with my friends and family. The class of 2020 and 2021 deserve to graduate in all of our splendor and glory. I want to walk across the stage to my diploma. 2021 needs to bring some glorious new hope and freedom so we can enjoy life again. 

Alright, let’s talk about the elephant in the room. COVID-19 is literally the worst possible thing you could have given us. Just because the world has a plague every hundred years doesn’t mean you have to follow through with the trend. It’s kind of rude if I’m being honest with you. 

By doing that, you canceled my internship. Yes, I got another internship, but you still kicked all of my friends out of their internships too and robbed us of that experience. If 2021 doesn’t give me a full-time job in my dream field, we’re going to have a chat. 

I do have some hope for 2021, and none of it includes you, 2020. We have a new president coming in who is going to bring us back to a sense of normal. We have a vaccine for COVID-19 on its way that will help bring us back to safety. Above all, my friends and family are still here with me, and we will not let you take us away from each other — even if we can only see each other through Zoom for now. 

I hate you 2020, and I don’t say that lightly. I hope you have enjoyed your chapter in the history books, because on Jan. 1, I will be locking it shut and throwing it in the trash. 2021 might be OK, the situation will improve slowly but surely. 

I won’t let you defeat me, 2020. Just watch me conquer 2021. I hope you hate it.

 

Sincerely,

Allie

Allie Bausinger is a Penn State University graduate who majored in Print/Digital Journalism with a minor in English. She is from "outside Philadelphia," which in her case is Yardley, Pennsylvania. Allie is looking for full-time employment in writing, editing, fact-checking, podcasting, and other areas of the journalism and writing fields.
Arden Ericson will graduate Penn State in May of 2023. As one of the Campus Correspondents for Her Campus at PSU, she is a double-major in Public Relations and French Language. After graduation, she will pursue a career that combines her passion for educational equity, social justice and French.