Twenty-twenty started out just like any ordinary year because we saw people and did everything in person. We even had an in-person IC. Until early March, everything seemed fine, until the World Health Organization declared what eventually would become the deadliest pandemic in a century. March 13, 2020 was a day that altered the course of history. That day, we would be entering a 2 month lockdown due to the spread of coronavirus. School would be online for the rest of the year, and we would have to do all of our daily routine online. A “new normal” we never thought we would have to experience. When the 2 month period ended, we would have to wear masks and stay 6 feet apart from people for the rest of the year.

I went back to school in August in person, and it is my senior year. We will have to wear masks to school. I am scheduled to graduate in May, and hopefully I can still have a graduation and receive my high school diploma!

Then, shortly after lockdown ended, the United States erupted into chaos over the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Rayshard Brooks, and all the people who have died at the hands of police brutality. We educated ourselves tremendously by staying up to date on the latest current events, and a lot of the stories that were shared on our Instagrams got no attention from mainstream media!

This year, we became more engaged and informed on the societal discrimination and oppression minorities in America are faced by every day, and we voted in large numbers!

All of this has led to lots unfriending over politics. That is not who I am as a person, and bias is not a true value America was founded on. We must remain civil and engage in active conversations and be willing to listen to all sides of an issue.

This is history in the making. We will be the kids that will be read about in history books in the foreseeable future.

In 2021, I’m hoping it is a time to call for peace, unity, civility, and healing. Hopefully we can all be together again in person.