Well, we’ve almost made it. I sit here on the 20th day of the final month of the 20th year of the 20th century 21st century. To say 2020 has been a year for the record books would be equivalent to me telling you that the Earth is round. Or that there are 24 hours in a day. Or that mashed potatoes are delicious. It’s so obvious and doesn’t need to be said, but alas, I’ve said it.
I will never forget the events of March 11. I’m resting comfortably on our oversized couch watching the US Women’s National soccer team play Japan in the She Believes Cup. Christen Press has just absolutely punished Japan’s goalkeeper for a mishandled throw-in by sending the ball screaming into the back of the net, giving the US a 2-0 lead. Instead of celebrating, I turn to my now-husband, inquisitively, and tell him I just saw something weird on Twitter. The Chesapeake Energy Arena has very mysteriously and suddenly evacuated all fans just moments before OKC Thunder and Utah Jazz were scheduled to tip-off. The next couple of hours unfold like a movie script: the NBA suspends its season; all NCAA conferences, one by one, suspend their men’s basketball tournaments; Tom Hanks tests positive for COVID-19: the ‘new’ virus that’s, well, gone viral.
Since that day, more than 16M Americans have tested positive for Coronavirus, and almost 300k of them have lost their lives.* The economy collapsed. Unemployment climbed to its highest rate in the post-World War II era. Schools closed. Travel shut down. Concerts, festivals and weddings were cancelled. The most high-stakes and controversial election in US history divided our great nation. And on top of this, the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Jonathan Price, and Walter Wallace Jr., a handful black Americans killed at the hands of police, brought about pain, anger, and a greater awareness to the systemic racism and injustice that exists within the country. Even as I type this, it still doesn’t seem believable to have endured so much this year.
Open any social media app at any given point over the last several months, and you’ll see countless posts blaming 2020 for tragedies, unfortunate events, and mis-happenings. Indeed, “F*uck 2020” might as well be the mantra this year, and everyone seems to be wishing we could turn the clock forward and put 2020 in the rearview. I personally don’t see how January 1, 2021 will be any different than December 31, 2020 (aside from a monster hangover), but some swear it will be better.
For months, I’ve bit my tongue when met with snide comments about how awful 2020 is because, well, despite the glaring flaws in it, I loved parts of 2020. I married my best friend of 7 years this September. With my social life shut down, I focused on fitness, and I recognize a marked difference in my strength and endurance. I got really comfortable with working from home – something I previously loathed and dreaded. And because I worked from home, I strengthened my already tight bond with my dogs. With everyone else shut in, any time I actually left the house, I got to my destination in record speed. And most importantly, I grew as a person when I woke up to the injustices of our society and acknowledged my white privilege. I felt an urgency to do my part in evolving our society and help others in way that I hadn’t before.
Make no mistake, I realize how lucky I am to end 2020 with my health and career intact, especially when millions of others have not been so fortunate. I cannot imagine the personal hardships that many people… many of you… have endured. But, to utter the words, “f*ck 2020” and acknowledge only the bad would be an incredible disservice to the good that transpired. Not only have societal challenges brought out some of the best in humankind (peep Good News Movement), our world has, in fact, changed for the better while seemingly standing still.
And here’s proof to back that controversial statement – my list of 20 Good Things That Happened in 2020.
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Air pollution is down. Our country is poised for a +9% decrease in emissions this year – the lowest level since 1983 – thanks to a drop in transportation (#WFH) and travel. Source.
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And speaking of ‘clearing the air,’ as of July, Sydney, Australia now runs on 100% renewable energy. Source.
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Women shattered glass ceilings. Sarah Fuller (Vanderbilt University) became the first female to play and score in a Power Five NCAA football game. Kim Ng (Miami Marlins) became the first General Manager of a Major League Baseball team. Rashida Jones, president of MSNBC, became the first Black American to run a major cable news network. And Kamala Harris was elected the first female Vice President of the United States.
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And speaking of broken glass, Chris Nikic became the first person with Down syndrome to cross the finish line of an Ironman triathlon. For those of you not familiar with the event, it includes a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-marathon run, and only the most elite athletes are able to finish it. His father, Nik is quoted as saying, “Ironman has served as his platform to become one step closer to his goal of living a life of inclusion and leadership.” Source.
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Political offices became more diverse than ever. In addition to VP-elect Kamala Harris, President-elect Joe Biden hired an all-female White House senior communications team. Sarah McBride (Delaware) became the first openly transgender state senator. And Mondaire Jones (New York) and Ritchie Torres (New York) became the first gay Black men elected to Congress.
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Brands became more diverse, too. Band-Aid released new colors to match different skin tones, and Crayola launched “Colors of the World” – a 24-count box of colored crayons matching a diverse array of skin tones.
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Hollywood took great strides forward when Parasite (South Korea) became the first non-English language film in Oscar history to win the award for Best Picture. The movie also took home the award for BestDirector, Best Original Screenplay, and International Feature Film, making it the winningest film of the 2020 Academy Awards. Source.
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Disney Pixar introduced us to its first LBGTQ character. Officer Specter, a self-identified lesbian, is featured in a scene in the middle of the main character’s quest. Although it received criticism, Officer Specter represents the first step of the Mouse House’s much-needed path to diversity and inclusion within film.
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As the world fought to slow the spread of Coronavirus, scientists raced to develop, test, approve, scale, and distribute vaccines, and high-risk Americans begun receiving them earlier this week.* Slow-clap for the fastest vaccines ever created – and they’re +94% effective.
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On August 25, Africa was declared Polio-free after four years without a case. According to the World Health Organization, “With this historic milestone, five of the six WHO regions – representing over 90% of the world’s population – are now free of the wild poliovirus, moving the world closer to achieving global polio eradication.” Source.
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One month prior, WHO announced the lowest spread of Hepatitis B in children under 5 in decades. In fact, it dropped to under 1% – down from 5% in the early 2000’s. Source.
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Despite one of the most catastrophic economic collapses in U.S. history, the stock market was able to recover with unprecedented speed. In fact, it’s nearly recovered all the losses suffered during the coronavirus pandemic. Source.
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Following the murders of black Americans at the hands of police, our country acknowledged that we have a problem. A June 2020 Monmouth University poll found increases across all races in the belief that law enforcement discriminates against Black people in the U.S. The same poll found that 76 percent of Americans considered racism and discrimination a “big problem”—up from 51 percent in 2015. Source.
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…and many decided to live in the solution. As a direct result of the Black Lives Matter movement and its protests, statues glorifying confederates and imperialists around the world were removed. In fact, almost 20 statues were taken down within three weeks of the first protest (Minneapolis). Source. Furthermore, police departments in California, Texas, and Nevada banned the use of chokeholds. And “Breonna’s Law” passed on June 11, bringing an end to no-knock warrants in Louisville, Ky, and inspiring other states (Virginia, Pennsylvania) and cities (Indianapolis, Orlando) to pass similar legislation.
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On the heels of state legislation, democrats in Congress unveiled sweeping legislation to reform police. The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020 proposes forced use of federal police body and dashboard cameras, banned chokeholds, elimination of no-knock warrants, lowered standards for qualified immunity (protection against civil lawsuits), and withholding federal funds from local police forces who do not make similar reforms. Source.
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Following the #MeToo movement, some states made it easier for victims of sexual assault to seek justice and closure for the crimes committed against them. California suspended the statute of limitations for three years and expanded it for childhood victims of sexual abuse. Under the new law, victims will have until age 40 or five years from the time the abuse was discovered to file civil lawsuits. Additionally, Illinois removed the statute of limitations on criminal sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual assault, and aggravated criminal sexual abuse, regardless of the age of the victim. Source.
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More animals were adopted this year than ever before – probably. While there is no national stat line for this, anecdotally we know that many shelters struggled to keep inventory this year, and some rescue organizations report that foster and adoption rates doubled in 2020. As a dog-lover, nothing makes me happier than writing this 🙂
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Nurses and teachers were finally recognized for being the everyday heroes they are. Watching footage of New Yorkers cheering for first responders from their city balconies still gets me every time. It’s such an awesome display of gratitude and unity, and I don’t recall seeing anything quite like it since September 2001. And, Marvel took praise to new heights when it released the first comic books to honor nurses.
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With indoor facilities shut down, cities across the nation closed public streets to give way to outdoor dining and shopping. Not only did this provide cabin-fevered consumers safe out-of-home activities (with a side of Vitamin D), it gave small businesses an opportunity to survive during an economically challenging time. I don’t know about you, but this is one aspect of 2020 that I will truly miss.
Photo source: Wall Street Journal, New York City’s Restaurants Are All In on Outdoors. -
Despite the lack of concerts, Hollywood productions, and sporting events – or major events in general, pop culture yielded some really awesome gifts this year. Taylor Swift dropped TWO albums. Hamilton graced our hearts – and our living rooms. After a 23-year wait, we got a 10-episode peek behind the curtain into #23’s life and extraordinary career. We celebrated African locales, styles and music with Beyoncé’s Black Is King. Reunions from The Office cast members, Parks and Recreation, F.R.I.E.N.D.S., and the cast of Mean Girls gave us all the nostalgic feels. And TikTok made us a little less Bored In The House and gave us a reason to dance.
This December 31, as you pour a little out for the thousands of lives cut short in 2020, make sure you raise a glass to fellow humankind who advanced our society scientifically, politically, and socially. To wrap up this year – and this post – I will leave you with this quote:
The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to overcome, to endure, to transform, to love, and to be greater than our suffering. – Ben Okri
Happy new year, everyone.
*As of the date this post was written (December 20, 2020).