Sugar-coated or not, this year has been terrible. 

The list goes on and it goes without saying. It has been difficult to stay positive, but somehow we will begin the transition from 2020 to 2021. No matter what you may believe, there is light at the end of the tunnel. 

When given the question, “what are you grateful for this year?”, many people look stumped. Because of the events of the year, many people have been turned away from all the good; and the good is what should keep us going.

“I’m not sure what I’m thankful for,” one person said. “At Thanksgiving, we were going around the table, and I literally scrambled for something. There was so much worse this year that, I feel, people don’t even realize the good things.”

It’s true that many terrible events could feel like they outweigh the good, especially when humanity was forced to stay indoors in quarantine for most of the year.

But, that quarantine allowed us to take moment to essentially ‘stop and smell the roses’. It gave us time to think about our mental health, and sit back and reevaluate our lives. 

“I realized just how much doing school, sports, and every other extracurricular activity really impacts my overall health,” another anonymous person said,  “In quarantine, I got to get more sleep in, which really helped me learn how to balance my life more once school is over.”

2019 may look light a great year now, for some.

“I remember thinking in 2019, ‘man, could my life get any worse?’ because I was in a depression,” a junior stated. “I felt that I couldn’t escape from all my responsibilities. But now, my wish so to speak kinda came true. I mean, obviously, my responsibilities are out the window now. And my depression is actually so much better.” 

But it’s okay not to be okay, which is hard to remember sometimes. As with most things, bad things can turn out to be good things. Here are some examples of this, just from 2020 alone:

• In Italy, dolphins have started to enter the canals because of how clean the water is now.
• Drive-in movies made a comeback, and drive- in concerts were invented.
• Restaurants shared their recipes, such as the Cane’s Chicken Sauce, so we can now make it at home.
• Lady Gaga gave us a new album.
• We rediscovered our love for old hobbies like baking and gardening.
• Americans rushed to adopt and foster pets in need amid the pandemic.
• TikTok helped the younger generations bond. 

And there’s many more here.

Regardless of how you feel this year, just think about when it’s all over. The economy will boost, as more and more people will spend money to travel, shop, and do things with their friends. And it will end; don’t listen to those who are negative. If you ever need encouragement, just do some research. There is so much good this year.

Let’s change the narrative; and strive to be positive, no matter the circumstances.