2020: A YEAR LIKE NO OTHER

2020 - what can be said that hasn’t already? It’s the year that redefined ‘unprecedented’; when WFH wasn’t an opportunity to skive on a Friday, but a way of life; that brought people closer together (nothing like the inescapable closeness of being mandated to stay home) and also underscored the gulf of distance between others; it removed the notion of ‘popping to the shops’, purse and keys were now grabbed with mask and sanitiser; toilet paper was stockpiled and essentials were rationed; the best was seen of people, as was the worst; socialising became replaced with social-distancing and as the world went through change, great change was being fought for. 

It was a year without life’s distractions, one where priorities were reconsidered. Life was altered, unrecognisably and just as unexpectedly. We were all further apart, but the world was smaller than ever. Dealing with this new ‘normal’ individually, with a shared focus on survival. Social convention, etiquette and conformity, redundant and replaced with separation and anti-social behaviour encouraged. 

The release of social expectation could have been refreshing. The bubble of home life, especially during the heat of summer, could have been a good time in any other circumstance. Rediscovering the pleasures of domestic life. Attempting to bake, puzzle making, time spent with family as opposed to just cohabiting. It was a return to a simpler way of life, ironically at a time when life was more complicated then ever. 

It was a year when getting dressed was optional. Where pyjamas were transitional pieces to be worn day and night and dressing up involved trading plaid pjs for silk pjs. Where comfort was the prevailing motivator behind outfit choices. Where popular fashion consisted almost solely of sweatsuits. It was a year where desk dressing became a considered means of outfit formulation, (likened also to mullet dressing) with the lens of Zoom being the parameters to construct ones outfits within. 

It was a year where shoes became almost irrelevant, as slippers dominated and those few shoes that did actually make it outdoors were wholly practical, see the Birkenstock’s of summer and the UGGs of winter. Co-ordinating masks with outfits became a thing, as did clashing them, embracing them as accessory as well as all too necessary PPE. 

It was a year that’s now over, but the effects still being felt and look to be far reaching into the future. My thoughts aren’t fully formed. As I write I process further. I mourn the year that was and simultaneously wasn’t. I mourn for all those lost and for all those experiencing loss. I mourn for the businesses that were and are no longer. I mourn for the traffic jams and the discomfort of jam packed public transport. 

I mourn for careless embraces and awkward introductory handshakes. I mourn for unworn lipstick and a vocabulary void of maskne. I mourn for what has been the last year of my twenties and the fun that I had intended to have. But most of all I mourn for the time not spent with friends and family. 

But this year has also brought a lot of gratitude. I’m grateful for my family; for us getting through this together; for us taking it in turns to have bad days and sharing in the good days. I’m grateful for technology and the connections it has allowed us to maintain. I’m grateful for the kindness of strangers, for the courteous step aside, for smiles that reach the eyes and peer over masks. 

I’m grateful for my job and the ability to work remotely. I’m grateful for all of those who are unable to work remotely and have continued to put themselves at risk to save the lives of others, to those that staff essential shops, to those caregivers and teachers and transport workers. I’m grateful to those who worked tirelessly to create vaccinations. I’m grateful for nature and the walks it’s allowed us to take and fresh air it’s allowed us to breathe. I’m grateful for the humorous pauses afforded by memes and gifs and the levity of watching viral TikTok dances. I’m grateful for the escapism of Netflix’s binge-ability. 

It was a year that spoke of new beginnings, a new decade, full of promise. However, the symmetry of 2020 was at odds with the discordance that came with it. The double ‘0’ in 2020, like a pair of spectacles, magnifying life as we knew it, encouraging all to question what we thought we knew. Before the year begun, many spoke of 20/20 vision, the year that was to bring clarity. And even though it didn’t offer it in the way expected, many things have come into focus and should not be forgotten. 

It was the year that life carried on, but was refracted, splintered, resembling pieces of itself, but distorted enough to be unfamiliar. Same, similar even, but different. The masks that bedecked faces made strangers of everyone, only adding to the strangeness of times. It was the year that changed everything, because everything changed.

(Images via: Pinterest & @sarashakeel)