Things I Was Sad to Say Goodbye to in 2020

You read it correctly...

There are things I will genuinely be SAD to leave behind in 2020.

It's like having a breakup with a really toxic boyfriend; I was miserable for a lot of my relationship with 2020 and wanted to leave it so badly, but now that I have, there are a few things I'm beginning to miss. Don't get me wrong, just like a lot of my exes, I'll be happy to never cross paths with this awful, sad, bizarre year again, but there's no denying that we created some wonderful memories.

Hidden in all the ugly events that took place in 2020, I found a lot of beautiful moments that were overlooked and will forever have a bad rep. Because of this, I have decided to share a small list of some of the greatest bits of 2020.

1. "Quarantine" Quality Time

Particularly towards the start of the pandemic, many people were spending nearly all of their time at home for one reason or another. Whether the reasoning for this was a positive itself or not, the actual time spent at home was therapeutic for a lot of people. Workaholic parents were spending more time getting to know their own children, newlyweds who hadn't sat down for a meal together since their honeymoon were preparing all three together, and dogs who typically spent their days napping in their kennels were running around the yard more than ever before. With everyone's schedules being cleared up, it felt as though we were finally getting the extra hours in the day that we are always asking for. Though we likely never want to face anything like it again, the extra days, weeks, and even months that the virus gave us created a lot of memories.

Pictured: My mom, sister, aunt, grandma and I on a group FaceTime call

2. Getting Creative

Some people, myself included, used this extra time to pick up a new hobby. I started painting, drawing, and doing anything crafty that I had the materials for. This isn't exactly what I mean by "getting creative" though. Whether you became Van Gogh during 2020 or not, you probably were creative and flexible in other ways. For example, zoom school? How sweet was that? I got an extra hour of sleep each day because I didn't have to drive to campus and find parking. It was amazing! Sure, things were different than the typical classroom environment, but my professors (most of them) were clever and developed great online tools to keep us all engaged. It wasn't ideal, but it kept us all on our toes and eager to see the next innovative change that would be made.

3. Intimate Gatherings

This one may be a positive that applies only to me, but I for one LOVED gathering in smaller groups. I'm not a fan of large crowds -never have been- and social distancing guidelines were the perfect excuse to avoid them.

4. Selflessness

Like anything, I can't say this one applied to everyone, but to those that did experience the selflessness of others, it made a world of difference. As someone who has worked primarily in service jobs throughout 2020 and prior, I can say I started to see a greater amount of good in the people I encountered. More people were practicing patience, gratitude, and displayed overall kindness to a degree that they typically would not have. The masses were more mindful of the way they were treating others and more conscious of others' feelings. The push to love on all essential workers at the start of the pandemic created one of the most loving workspaces I have ever been in. While some have begun to neglect these practices once again, I will never forget the time in which those I was surrounded by were more selfless than ever before. As someone who still works in the service industry, these actions will be deeply missed.

5. Collective Rage

I know, collective rage? Really, Liv? Hear me out for this one though. Yes, there was a whole heck of a lot to be mad at this year. We were mad at politicians, our workplaces, the numbers in our bank accounts, and all things of the sort. Most of the time, we didn't all see eye-to-eye on any of it. However, boy, were we all pissed off at one point or another at that stupid virus and the turmoil it caused. If nothing else, we could all agree on the fact that this pandemic did us dirty somehow, and like a group of high school girls, nothing brought us all to the same page quite like our common hatred did, and that, my friends, is one of the only things on this planet that has been so widely agreed upon.

I'm still not too sad to wave goodbye to 2020, but it certainly had some redeeming qualities, and if nothing else, it was an utterly unforgettable year. My hopes for 2021 are to continue to hang on to some of the positives that came from the previous year and to add to them as we move further from 2020. Don't stop spending quality time with those you can, thinking outside the box, scheduling smaller gatherings for your overwhelmed pals like me, acting selflessly, and of course, collectively raging.