Ending 2020, A Year That Took Away More Than it Gave; Entering 2021 With Resilience And Hope!

The year 2020 is ending today. Most of us would be glad that this year is coming to an end. It's been a different, difficult year. This year has taken more than it has given to humankind. While we bring in 2021 with some hopes (like we also did for 2020), let's just take a look at what the year that went by really was about, from the point of view of emotions.

To be honest, 2020 will well be going down in history as the most emotional year with human beings having to face a roller coaster of feelings. This year took away a lot of our friends, our near and dear ones, our family members. That dining table in most houses has an empty chair as the year gets over. While these people were numbers and statistics for countries and the world, those who lost their loved ones will never be able to forget the year, even though they would want to not remember 2020. Year Ender 2020: The Year of COVID-19, Lockdowns, Crippled Economies & Now Hope as We Ring in 2021.

Then, on the other hand, 2020 was also about people fighting death and coming back to their homes, something they would have not imagined. As the pandemic gripped the world, many on ventilators would have only hoped to get back home even though they may have imagined the worst. Well, some of them did come back home. They would always remember 2020 as their entourage with death and be glad for what they have today as they enter into 2021.

2020 was also a year of jobs lost, dreams shattered, plans cancelled and businesses shut. As COVID-19 outbreak hit the world, countries started going into lockdowns. This ended up in several businesses across the world taking a hit - some shutting down, some announcing pay cuts, some giving out furloughs and others laying off workforce. India saw its worst migrant crisis as migrant workers took to the streets, walked hundreds of kilometres, only to get home, where they knew they would be safe. It was a soul-stirring sight that could give anybody sleepless nights. Year Ender 2020: The Year of Struggles For COVID-19-Hit Global Economy & Hopes of Revival.

Home! The year was about staying at home, working from home, playing at home, partying at home, coffee breaks at home, working out at home, basically, everything at home. As the pandemic struck, we were made to stay home for everything that we wanted to do. After almost 9 months at home, how many of you want to just get out? How many of you are missing your workplace, something you may have thought you didn't quite like? How many of you are missing seeing people, even though you have been anti-social? But that hasn't been the case with many others, who were stuck away from home for months, who couldn't get to their homes to celebrate or to mourn.

For everyone who lost something, there was one who may have gained something this year. While one family mourned the loss of its member/members, another welcomed a child. While one woman announced a pregnancy, another continued to deal with infertility, hoping to make that announcement in the next year maybe. For every person who lost a job, there was one who began a new venture and hopes to flourish in 2021. For one person's curse, there was another's gratitude. 2020 was a fight, a fight with this pandemic, with our emotions, with ourselves.

As we enter into 2021, let's give a moment to the lives lost in 2020. Let's thank our doctors and nurses, who were fighting the battle from the front. Our parents and grandparents told us stories about wars and partitions. We millennials would have stories of a pandemic, a war with the unknown, that took away a lot, yet completely changed our way of looking at life. We would not really want to remember 2020, yet we wouldn't forget this year. All we're taking into 2021 is resilience and hope and maybe, no resolutions, this year.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 31, 2020 01:07 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).