In reflecting on 2020, it is so easy to summarize it as a lost year. It’s easy to say “COVID ruined everything, we all stayed home and watched Tiger King, the end.” I don’t want to minimize the impact of COVID-19. Over 80 million people have had COVID worldwide, and over 1.7 million people have died from it. It is serious and so many people have lost their lives, lost loved ones, been seriously ill, lost their jobs, or struggled in isolation this year. I also want to acknowledge that I personally have been privileged enough to make it through all of this, so far, relatively unscathed.
However, that’s not the only story I want to remember about this year. I want to remember the other things too – not just the pandemic, but the other things, large and small, that I did this year.
In January, I was still in Detroit for the holidays. My mom and I went to MOCAD and saw “Robolights Detroit” (above) and it was weird and wonderful and reminded me of the Heidelberg Project. We went to the DIA and saw a whole exhibit about “The Wedding Dance” (below)
In February, I ran a half marathon. I honestly struggled here – I had planned to run the full marathon, but I didn’t make the time for training that I needed to – I had other things that were higher priorities for me, but I just felt really disappointed in myself for not doing the full marathon. Still, it’s better that I did the half marathon and avoided injury, when things could have gone badly if I had tried to do the full.
I voted in the primary election. I remember this was the first day when the pandemic seemed more immediate – it wasn’t in Mississippi yet, but we were seeing the news coming out of New York, and it started to seem scary.
Right before the pandemic really hit here, I went on a trip to Little Rock and Hot Springs, Arkansas. We went to Little Rock Central High School (above) and Hot Springs (below).
While I was in Arkansas, I got the phone call saying that school was going to be cancelled on Monday because of COVID. Things suddenly got much more immediate with the pandemic.
Throughout the pandemic, I’ve been doing zoom calls with my high school friends. This group of friends is spread out across the country, and I don’t get to see them in person much – the last time I saw any of them was last fall, at a friend’s wedding. Social distancing and everything made everything go online, so why not hang out with friends I don’t get to see much? One of my friends has even organized an online quizbowl league, which has been a ton of fun.
I learned how to knit when I was twelve – my great grandmother taught me how. I don’t knit much anymore – I definitely use it as a coping mechanism when stressful things happen. When I was in college, there was a mass shooting in the town where I lived, and I definitely started knitting, not even for any particular thing I wanted to make, just because I needed to calm myself down.
When there started to be talk of a shelter in place order, I went out and bought yarn for a sweater. And then I finished the whole sweater.
Another pandemic habit I developed was going on walks. Long walks. I put on a podcast or called my mom, then walked for at least an hour. One time, on a walk, I saw a giant snake. Another time, I found a potted plant on the curb, picked it up, and took it home and repotted it. It’s a peace lily. It’s doing well.
I ate a lot of great breakfasts this year. Working from home some days, having less going on on the weekends, I had a lot more time to make excellent breakfasts.
In June, I renovated my bathroom. It was a ton of work and I’m really proud of the results.
In the beginning of the pandemic, I started gardening. I’ve gardened before, but I haven’t gardened much in Mississippi. I grew basil, ground cherries, peppers, sweet potatoes, and a bunch of other stuff.
For Labor Day weekend, I went camping in Alabama. I went hiking and this family at the campground complimented how well I put up my tent in the dark.
In October, I went to Nashville and met up with my parents for the weekend. It was so nice to see them – I hadn’t seen my parents at all since I was in Detroit for Christmas and New Year’s.
In October, I sold my Mazda and got a new to me car!
In November, I waited in the longest line of my 2020 experience to vote in the election. This was everyone behind me in line, and I was only about halfway to the front.
In November, I made comics (or illustrated journals?) about the election and the fact that the entire country was waiting on three states to count their ballots.
This year has given me the chance to read so many more books than I would have read otherwise – I read a lot as a kid and a teenager, then stopped reading for enjoyment so much when I was in college and while I was starting out teaching. This year, I read the so many books from the unread stack of books in my bedroom, and my mom gave me her library card number to use OverDrive, where I borrowed so many ebooks. You can take a look at all of my 2020 reads here.
I also got much more consistent with my workouts in 2020. I took a break from running after the half marathon, walked a lot in the spring and summer, and then when school started I got back in the gym and started strength training. I’ve grown to really like it – I like feeling strong, I like being able to lift more than I was able to lift yesterday. It also motivates me to eat healthy – I’m making sure that my meals include more protein so that I can build muscle.
This post needs to be wrapped up somehow – I can’t say that 2020 was a good year, but it also was not 100% bad. Maybe just…it was a year.
2020 was a year.
Samantha Macy