From one global threat to the other, the influx of worrisome news has arguably caused many people to feel anxious in ways, facing new challenges that were far beyond their imagination. After all, how many of us could have imagined all of this to happen within our lifetime let alone in six months. But with that turbulence came a wave of stillness, awareness, and activism.

For the first time in a long, long time, everyone is forced to significantly slow down their lives and with that, came some clarity. This year is a wake-up call for everyone. I believe that it can serve as a turning point for reformation and new beginnings.

For once, people now have the time to educate themselves on the injustices and suffering of many communities across the world. This brings hope for learning how to treat each other better and to be the voices to drive incremental change.

It showed us how social and connected we are through our isolation. It has also given a much deeper understanding of our mental health struggles and the true meaning of ally-ship and solidarity. It has shown us the flaws in our approaches to tackle climate change and the consequences of our unsustainable industrial growth.

For everyone, this year has held a different meaning in the ways it will impact how they choose to ‘resume’ their lives or better yet, adapt slower policies to become the ‘new normal’. With months of reflection and self-actualisation, it’s time for us to understand that ‘going back’ to how we once lived our lives is not a realistic nor desirable outcome.

Things have obviously not been working so smoothly ‘before’ and from this point forward, we are provided with an opportunity to make the right choices.

Maybe I am coming from an unrealistically optimistic response to the instability we’ve experienced as a community, but I would love to believe that this year will teach us to be more humane, more empathetic and aware of each other and our planet. 

Love and solidarity to all those experiencing uncomfortable metamorphoses to their better self.