Dear 2020 — you’re a fraud and you know it.
It would be easy, to sum up, this year in one little phrase — a total s**t storm. I mean who would have any positive vibes to write about a year that has been at best disastrous? We all know how things played out for a major part of the past 10 or so months, a bit longer for some of us in countries that were unfortunate enough to be hit early on by the pandemic.
A good friend recently challenged me to take on a retreat. She mentioned it will be a good way to reevaluate, reassess, and recharge before the turn of the new year. Heeding the advice, I have been crouched up in solace, at a corner in my little apartment for the past few days. In an attempt to reflect and make sense of the past year.
I must admit, it’s rather been a struggle to collect my thoughts on how to best sum up the events of the past few months. What a year this has been. I must from the onset acknowledge the sad reality that millions of families across the world are grappling with the loss of a loved one to this pandemic. For these families; the year has brought about nothing short of despair and heartbreak. The scars from the loss of a loved one, still quite visible in the empty homes, empty beds, empty seats at the dinner table. All serving as a constant reminder of the ravage the pandemic has left. My heartfelt condolence, thoughts, and prayers for all who have lost a loved one.
In a year characterized by darkness, we all sought to find a light. 2020 felt like going through a series of underground caves or tunnels. Those that are normally dimly lit, providing the explorer with just enough visibility to navigate the twists and turns as one sojourn to the unknown. The year reminded us of the sheer will of humanity to persevere and soldier on.
As the year started, I remember I was quite upbeat. I came in ready to further my career, get my hands down on building my lifelong passion for entrepreneurship, and finding that someone to build a future with. This was going to be my year. I chuckled when the clock hit midnight on New Year’s Eve. Little did I know what was to unfold in the coming months.
I would be forgiven for this naivety, as the first two months of 2020 were magical. I was in a pole position to ride the wave and have one of those years where I would one day tell my kids — 2020, this is the year when I met your mother amongst many other life-transforming stories. Things were going great; I even had that proverbial hop in my step when the year began. Not even the winter darkness could dim my shine. This all seems like a decade ago now. In my account, January and February were in a totally different year if not decade.
I believe billions across the globe came in with the same mindset, after all this is part of what makes us human. The ability to set course on a purpose-filled life. We live with hope for a better tomorrow. This year has been exceptional, but regardless of our challenges, we have survived, we have fought together, albeit not without the need for an occasional push here and there. But generally, humanity has once again proven we can unite for a greater purpose.
At times courage can be portrayed through acts of kindness and humility. As the virus kept spreading across communities around the globe, for the first time in my life, I noticed totally empty streets. Cities were deserted, airports became a mere shell of themselves, trains and buses drove around almost empty. Our love for humanity made us accept the ultimate sacrifice of sheltering ourselves in order to protest each other. Our collective efforts to social distance and quarantine have indeed been a key tool to fight the pandemic. Putting others ahead of ourselves, such acts of kindness have been instrumental to preserve human life.
One would be forgiven for wanting to write-off the year as a bleep occurrence. It is my belief that in times of despair, we dig deep and find that inner fire to propel us even further. You must reach deep within to find that hidden gem, going the extra mile. One way or another, mankind has been able since time immemorial to see opportunities in challenges. Take for instance how quickly we have been able to get the vaccines. Normally such research would take at least a few years before we have any meaningful outcome. But through this experience, we have now set precedence on how to find innovative ways to speed up research and development.
2020 has been a year of a lot of transformation. Traditionally a lot of things that we did physically or via analog means, have now all been digitalized. I could be mistaken, but the year feels like the largest digital mass transformation known to mankind. The changes have been massive, from the widespread adoption of wireless payment, government services becoming digital and both business and private life communication being conducted on platforms like zoom, skype, and the like. We found innovative ways to remain connected with our families and friends.
Personally, this year has pushed me to discover some new frontiers. Untitled’s Cut was a pet project born out of lockdown conversations I had with friends over the last few months. I never really had the time to gather my thoughts and breathe life into this project. But due to the lockdowns and restrictions, the year accorded me an abundance of time to explore other passions. And here we are now, working through issue №26 of what has been an incredible experience. I got to say thank you to everyone who has stuck around to read through the articles, it has been a lot of fun and I hope we can continue the journey so far into 2021 and beyond.
Finally, I was thinking about 10 years or so from now when the new norm is no longer new. When it will be vintage to meet physically, hug, or shake hands. Acts that could be classified as being so last century. If my kids are to someday ask about how 2020 was, I would simply summarize 2020 as being a fraud of a year that sucked the life out of humanity, but also gave us hope in a hopeless place.
© Untitled’s Cut
