2020: The Year Of…

While it was a challenging year we won’t soon forget, here are a few positive gifts 2020 brought.

2020 was quite the year. As fireworks in the neighborhood burst with color on January 1, 2021, I reflected on how 2020 was finally over – the year that people couldn’t wait to be done with after just two months in. As we are now a few days into 2021, I’m taking a moment to look back at the past year. While in “normal times” the days, weeks, months and years seem to fly by without more than a couple things to distinguish one year from another when looking back, 2020 is certainly a year we won’t be forgetting anytime soon.

Even though this year was filled with uncertainty and fear — a year of struggle for so many of us, whether that was losing a job or income, worried and struggling with our own health and/or that of our loved ones, missing human connection, dealing with the disappointment and stress of cancelled plans, and experiencing feelings of isolation, anxiety, and so much more — I’ve been reflecting on how 2020 also brought us some unique gifts.

Besides all of the challenging things that this year brought — a global pandemic, lockdowns, a sudden shift to remote work and learning, mental health challenges, natural disasters, social unrest, protests, and riots, political battles in a starkly divided country — I also wanted to take the time to reflect on the positive things that came from this year. With that being said, I also want to note that I am aware of and acknowledge the privilege that I’ve had during this time: a safe place to live, access to healthcare, a job, and the ability to work from home, among other things. While an unimaginable amount of lives have been lost, millions of people are still struggling, we are still in the middle of the pandemic, and there is still much work to be done in our country and world, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on some positive things that I got out of this highly challenging year.

For me, 2020 was also a year of:

Slowing down

Usually our calendar is booked out months in advance, filled with events and outings and gatherings and plans, in addition to the usual work week, chores, routines, etc. With the sudden lockdown of nearly everything, suddenly we were faced with something we previously had never had so much of: time. Time to ponder what we wanted to do, how we were going to fill our time. It was a time of puzzles and baking, reading and taking up new hobbies, and an overall s l o w i n g down.

Getting creative

It was also a year of getting creative — not just creative in the kitchen (homemade bagels, ravioli, and tortillas, anyone?), but also getting creative with how we could maintain human connection despite closures, distance, and stay at home orders.

Without the ability to hang out in person as frequently as we used to, my two closest girl friends and I began sending video messages to each other and have continued to do so almost daily since March (!) — becoming a sort of video quarantine diary — life and friendship in the time of COVID.

Things like virtual dance parties became a thing — which I did for my birthday in April. My fiancé DJed a livestream set of my favorite dance tunes while my friends and sister all tuned in and we had a Zoom dance party together. Or virtual watch parties via FaceTime, whether it was watching a family favorite with my sister on the 25th anniversary of our childhood favorite A Goofy Movie, a Christmas tradition like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (or a Laker game) with my family, or binge watching The Bachelorette and Love Island night after night with my best friend.

Ah yes, the year of virtual everything: virutal book clubs, virtual group workout sessions, virtual Mario Kart battles, virtual happy hours… even virtual holidays, opening presents and having mimosas “together” via FaceTime and AirPlay streaming to the TV, or having virtual baking sessions. This year (all via FaceTime), I made tortillas for the first time, with my mom; my parents, sister, and I made and decorated Christmas cut-out cookies; and me and my two best friends made rugelah, a Jewish pastry, in celebration of Hannukah. With my laptop perched atop the espresso machine, all of us in our respective kitchens, it wasn’t quite the same as being together in the same room, but it was the next best thing.

We were forced to get creative with how to get our basic needs met — connection, movement, joy. With gyms and fitness studios closed and so much sedentary time, I found sanity in walks in the neighborhood and online classes: barre, yoga, boxing, dance. Unable to go out dancing at bars and clubs, we turned our place into a club instead, complete with a myriad of lights and homemade drinks — just minus the people.

Music

For me, this was also a year of music. Had it not been for music, I do not know how I would have gotten through it. Specifically, BBC Radio (shoutout to Annie Mac, Trevor Nelson, and OJ Borg) and Defected Records’ virtual festivals.

After a trip to London in 2018, my fiancé and I increasingly began listening to BBC radio more and more, and it’s almost exclusively all we listen to these days. The accents, the news, and the traffic updates from a world thousands of miles away helps us feel strangely comforted and connected, and fulfills a bit of the travel bug that we haven’t been able to fulfill this year.

When the first lockdown happened in March, I was suddenly working from home for a job I had just started a few weeks prior. Everyone was confused, worried, and panic-buying giant bags of rice and family size packs of toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and any and all cleaning products. All stores and businesses that were deemed non-essential were closed, and restaurants offered take-out only. Gatherings of all sizes were banned, masks were mandatory, and we were ordered to stay home as much as possible. It was a strange time when an eerie sense of danger was looming, and no one knew what to expect.

But like clockwork, every morning at 11:00am, I would turn on BBC Radio 1 and listen to the start of Annie Mac’s show. While it was a scary and uncertain time, it felt comforting to know that every day, across the ocean, they were going through the same thing, Annie Mac was going to take us on a musical adventure, and we were all going to get through this — together.

Through the first lockdown, through the George Floyd protests, through the second lockdowns, through the divisive political headlines, through all the days and nights and holidays spent at home, away from our loved ones, she and the other radio hosts were always there, simultaneously bringing a soothing comfort and much-needed escape from what was going on in the world.

In the kitchen, making my espresso, my breakfasts and lunches, working from home, staring out the window, dancing in the living room, making dinner in the evenings, having a glass of wine while reading a book by the window, home home home home home, always home, always with the BBC on to keep us company — discovering new artists, new songs, new genres, listening to interviews with musicians all around the world, all of us going through the same emotions, the same struggles.

Songs like Frankie Wah’s uplifting “Come Together” brought feelings of hope and connection, while Arlo Parks’ beautiful “Black Dog”, focused on mental health, embodied the quiet loneliness and melancholy this year’s isolation brought. I loved getting lost in slowthai, James Blake, & Mount Kimbie’s uniquely ethereal collaboration “Feel Away”, and KC Lights’ “Girl” brought me pure euphoria and joy. (I’m realizing I could write an entire article on songs that got me through 2020 — stay tuned!)

And lastly, Defected Records’ virtual festivals were the other piece of the music puzzle that brought hope, connection, and joy in the form of DJs, beats, and dancing. Simon Dunmore, Melvo Baptiste, Sam Divine, Monki, David Penn, Purple Disco Machine, Dennis Ferrer, A Track, Bob Sinclair, & more became staples in our household this year. We’d wake up early, turn on the stream on our TV, and have mini celebrations and dance parties of 2.

Reflecting on the things that truly matter most

The final gift that 2020 brought was the reminder of what truly matters most in life, and the opportunity to reflect on all we are grateful for. For our loved ones – no matter how close or far they may be physically. For health, food, shelter, and access to healthcare. For technology, which made us able to feel more connected than we ever could have previously. For many of us, we took a look at our lives and shifted our priorities. Maybe we realized some things we thought mattered a lot, don’t matter so much — and things we took for granted, matter a lot more than we thought. Quality time spent together, love, and each other. ❤

May 2021 bring health, hope, optimism, and more coming together to help and support one another. Happy New Year!