Maybe one of the worst years in the history of the world, quite frankly, has ended. 2021 is the fresh start that a lot of us needed. Even though it was a trial, we can all agree that 2020 has shown us some things that we will never forget. I learned it the hard way, but this past year has taught me some valuable life lessons that I will never forget.
1.Stop Taking Things for Granted
On January 1st,2020, my dad left to go do some work in Nigeria and planning on coming back home in March. Already three months without him was hard, but a week before he was set to arrive home, the airports shut down. No one could travel anywhere, and that three-month trip turned in to 10 long months. While he was gone, it made me realize that he is more important than I ever could have known.
I’m sure some of you can relate to this statement. Maybe you lost a loved one to COVID, or you were in the same situation as me and my dad. Sometimes in life we don’t realize the importance of someone until they are gone whether it be, they have died or just absent. You don’t realize something until it’s gone. And you are left regretting not appreciating that person more when they were here.
2020 just exposed that we don’t just take people for granted, but also some materials things. There are certain luxuries in life that we all think are normal, but some people struggle to have. Such as a job, a roof over their head, a stocked fridge, even plain and simple health insurance. Day to day some of us find these things normal maybe even mundane.
But count your blessings…because not everyone can.
2. Less Stress, Enjoy the Rest
Plain and simple. No use in stressing about things or people that are out of your control. I’m already an anxious person and that doesn’t help when it comes to stress and worrying. I’m 19! At this stage in my life, I should be going out to Whataburger late at night with friends and experiencing college life, but obviously that wasn’t the case. Slowly over the year, I had to learn that some things have no use in being stressed over. Always remember this quote:
“There’s no use in crying over spilt milk”
JAMES HOWELL
What has been done is done. Sulking and complaining will not get you anywhere, but deeper into those negative feelings. Just know that you are trying and that is enough. You are trying your best with what you have been handed and the resources that you have. It’s okay. Just don’t sweat the small stuff.
3.Find Joy in the Little Things
It can definitely be easy to just want to look at the negative. Trust me, you’re talking to a fellow pessimist. But at some point you gotta stop seeing the thunder and just embrace the rain. Yes, things got bad and it just kept snowballing till there was just a blizzard ahead ,but I did smile a bit. The late night facetime calls with my friends and the 6ft apart surprise visits made this year worth it in a way.
We get caught up in the past and in what we could’ve fixed. Instead, let’s just try and see the positive. It was hard to get that to wrap around my head. Each time I tried to find a positive an even worse negative came up out of nowhere. It’s a learning curve ,but it’s one that will stick with me for a very long time.
4. It’s Not Selfish to Put Yourself First
From the beginning of 2020 till the end, I was exerting myself for others. Whether it was for my family or my friends, I was giving a piece of myself to everyone. By the middle of the year, it became taxing. Slowly it took a serious toll on my own mental health leaving me in a bad place. Sometimes, I’d try and do something to make myself happy. Whether it was buying Cane’s or just taking a day to myself, I felt like I was doing something wrong. My immediate emotions were just shame and guilt that I used my own money on myself. I realized that this needed to come to an end.
It’s not selfish to have to put yourself first. If it’s cutting off toxic people or taking a mental health day. That’s okay. It’s okay to want to just have a day for yourself or do something beneficial for yourself. If you are not at your best, then at the end of the day it’s not helping anyone in the long run.
5. You Don’t Need to be Strong 24/7
I was texting a friend of mine one night in December. She asked me how I was doing after having a rough week. As honest as I could be, I texted her back this long paragraph about how I wasn’t well. How my mental health was just falling apart at the seams. It felt like this entire year had just been one challenge and one tragedy after another. I was just tired, and everyone was telling me to be strong, but I just couldn’t be. This entire year, I had been hanging by a thread and I just got tired of holding on. My friend then texted me something that just stuck with me. “You aren’t weak for not forcing yourself to be strong.”
Even the strongest person in the world, can be weak. 2020 knocked us all down and most of us just couldn’t put a brave face anymore. Sometimes pushing down our feelings and distracting ourselves from our problems can just hurt us more. We keep it locked up so much that one day we burst. There comes a time when you need to face the music and let your emotions have its moment. Whether it is with a loved one or just by yourself, let yourself feel. Everyone is allowed to lean on somebody.
As much as I hated this year, we can thank it for teaching us some valuable lessons for the future. All I have left to say is , good riddance 2020. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out…or on second thought. Let it.
Comment Below!!
Thank you for reading 5 Life Lessons That I learned in 2020. This honestly has been the hardest year of my life and I know there are many more to come. Thanks to what I’ve learned and endured I know I can get through anything that comes my way. Remember that everything we take for granted is a blessing to others. Just go with life and live it to the fullest.
Comment down below one valuable lesson you learned this past year and any advice you have for someone who could be going through the same thing.
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