With 2020 coming to a close and the start of a New Year, we are all hopeful for a better year than 2020. We all have many, many stories about 2020 that will no doubt stick with us for the rest of our lives.
No matter your age, your health, or where you live in the world, Covid-19 has affected us all and our lives during 2020 have been changed in a way never seen before. Over the entirety of the year, it has claimed the lives of over 1.9 million innocent humans, many of whom, are health care workers who are risking their own lives to help save the lives of others. If anyone here has lost a family member or friend to this virus, I am truly sorry, and please, please, please reach out to me if you need anything or let me know if there is anything I can do to help.
This year has also taken from us, multiple influential figures in the sports, entertainment, and government worlds. This year we say goodbye to:
• Kobe Bryant
• Chadwick Boseman
• Alex Trebek
• Ruth Bader Ginsburg
among others.
However, this year has also been the start of change which will no doubt continue into 2021. But this change came at a price. Innocent Black Men, Women and Children, we killed as the result of police brutality before the change started. However, people around the world stood up, and banded together, across genders, across religions, and across racial lines, to demand change, because that's who we are and we won't stop fighting until there is racial, religious, and gender equality in every aspect of our every day lives.
In the past 2 or so months, there has been some good news. Around 5 or 6 different companies across the world have announced the release of their Covid-19 vaccines. With vaccinations across the world starting to ramp up, let's hope that we can finally beat this virus. But, this does not mean that we can let our guard down. We must still stay socially distanced (6ft+) and wear masks, as well as avoid large gatherings. On top of this, the vaccine won't start to show widespread impact until over 70% of the population was been vaccinated, which won't for another few months, if not more. This is a team effort. EVERYONE has to participate, EVERYONE has to follow the guidelines, because when you don't, not only are you messing everything up, but you are putting the very lives of others at risk.
All in all, 2020 has been a very rough year, and that is a major understatement. It has had its ups and its downs, though mostly downs, but this doesn't mean that 2021 has to be the same. 2021 will become what WE chose to make of it, OUR actions will be at the heart of what 2021 will be. 2021 can be another 2020, but it doesn't have to be. OUR everyday actions this year will have much greater implications, than ever before. So let's go out there (following guidelines), and show 2021 what we are made of. And let's make it a great f-ing year.
Wishing you all a great 2021,
- Swifty (Imperial Dodo)
Dispatch Version: https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1484536
