Some thoughts on… Learning from 2020
When discussing 20/20 vision, we think of people who have strong visual acuity. Although we rarely can visualize the future, hindsight is definitely 2020, i.e. we can clearly peer into past actions this year and learn from them.
With 2020 being a year that most people are happy to leave behind, I was wondering what insights I acquired from the year to take forward into the next one.
First, it was a good year to be working, especially if it was a job that you enjoy and gave you meaning. In a year when millions of people became unemployed pushing towards financial instability, it was sobering to have a position. For those of us privileged enough to work from home, balancing the upside of no commutes with the downside of endless engagement on screens, forced reflection on the value of the work. Even without live student interaction, I realized how lucky I am to be a teacher who finds the work fulfilling.
It was also a good year to get to know your community. Working from home meant that I saw my neighbors more often as they walked the dog, trimmed the hedges, fixed their cars. Talking to live human beings (even if from 6 feet away) meant more given all the screen interactions. They essentially became additional work colleagues, in the sense, that they were the source of “water cooler” conversations – what shows were being watched, recipes cooked, news followed. We had a summer socially-distant block party, received freshly baked sourdough bread, and even got a bag of clams dropped to our door.
Finally, it was a good year to have our voices expressed. From Black Lives Matter, #MeToo, and the national elections, more people were involved in our democratic system. Over 2/3 of the eligible population voted, the highest percentage as well as total number of votes for the past 120 years. Most critically, the younger generation (aged 18-30) is more engaged as they push for change which will impact on their lives. Personally, I see the students more interested in social, economic and political issues, e.g. a former student discussed with me the economic stimulus program for the Columbia Political Review. All this engagement is a beacon for positive, future change.
2020 was a rough year in many ways, but it was one with powerful memories of a life lived. And as Oscar Wilde might have said, the only thing worse than living through a tough year is not living through the year at all. I am thankful we’re still here.
Happy New Year everyone!