Looking Back on 2020

The year 2020 has felt like five years, with the amount of news to last a decade. While there’s still no end to the Coronavirus pandemic in sight, 2021 is finally in reaching distance, and the idea of a new year and a fresh start sounds like what everyone needs. I know this year has been incredibly hard for everyone, but all this time in isolation has caused me to reflect on this year and the moments of beauty that have occurred in the darkness. 

Earlier this year as the world shut down, I, like many people, went into self-isolation; I struggled for weeks with adjusting to this new normal. As weeks turned into months, I started reflecting on my life and who I am as a person. I found myself growing as a person by looking at how I actually felt about things, people, and myself. I realized I’ve been hiding behind my insecurities and the ideologies of my family that I’ve been blindly following and believing. I’ve started loving and accepting myself for the first time and looking more into how I feel about things without outside influence. This year I’ve also created deeper connections to my close friends and family, even from a distance. My family got a new dog, who has captured our hearts and taken over the house. I’ve made some of my best work in the film program that has helped me and my confidence as a filmmaker. I’ve also found more outlets to express my creativity, which has given me a long list of hobbies.  

This year has been full of so much pain and uncertainty, and I know I am not the only one looking forward to the new year. It’s also been a year of self-discovery, exploration and connections that have helped me learn to love myself more than I ever have. I hope that, as 2020 comes to an end, you can look back at this year as more than the dumpster-fire it was and see the beauty this year brought you, even in the smallest of ways.

• COVID-19
• New Year
• pandemic
• self reflection