Dear 2021,
You were welcomed in an unconventional way unlike years before you, to say the least. Every year, skies are adorned with bright firework sparks, champagne glasses are clinked, kisses are shared, and laughter reigns whilst the entire world revels at midnight for the new year; a fresh start, a clean slate. But you did not receive the same treatment, or rather, could not receive the same treatment.
The little things we once took for granted like boisterous parties in herds or even heartfelt gatherings with family members, were harshly stripped from the bare hands of the unsuspecting and undeserving. Covid-19, as we know it, is a global pandemic that presented egregious outcomes for grieving families, fluctuating economies and distressed officials, making headline after headline for months. Not to forget the wildfires, unjust deaths and explosions that broke out across the globe and increased xenophobia, racism and higher tension than ever before, dividing the masses.
To be fair, your counterpart did birth sanguine proceedings amidst the chaos, like the resurgence of Black Lives Matter, life-changing elections and even vaccines created to counter the deadly virus. Lessons were learnt by all stuck in these unprecedented times, lessons we hope to learn never again as we waved our goodbyes to unaccomplished goals, cancelled plans and even the ones we loved. Video calls became the sole interaction for most as masks and social distancing emerged as a phenomenon. The beauty of grace, strength, gratitude and altruism graced the hearts of many who faced loss, grief and pain in the most difficult of times.
So 2021, it is not on you to end the pandemic that you have been left to witness and it is not on your part to return anyone their lost time, but I plead to you to be kinder to us than 2020 ever was. You may be considered ‘the light at the end of the tunnel’, tasked to heal the hearts that have been hurt, to put worries and anxieties at rest, to repair the widespread disruption, to answer the sincerest of prayers and biggest of dreams, to find the answers to questions that were never yours to answer and to mend the deepest wounds of circumstance, that you played no part in causing. That’s probably too much for you to do, yet somehow it is what has been expected of you.
You have been given three hundred and sixty six days to change the world, hopefully for the better and not the worse. Your arrival hosts great expectations for many who waited with their list of resolutions in hand, to better themselves for a new beginning. You have a reputation for changing attitudes, as the majority use your date on the calendar as the starting point of personal growth, so aid them in fulfilling their goals and bring them the euphoria they were once robbed of. Let your time be filled with as much love and tranquility for anyone and everyone who has been through a period of uncertainty and pain.
It is almost certain that the normal we faced in years before 2020, will take a long time to return to and it might not be whilst you are in charge. Acceleration of recovery is impossible as we know it, but there is always hope for the better. Thank you for igniting the flame of determination behind all the hearts fueling for a change; a change in ourselves, a change in the world and a change for all. The significance a new year possesses varies from individual to individual, but regardless of belief, there is no doubt that it does spark something special. Detachment from failures and mistakes of the past, pave the terrain for a new perspective and a fresh take on a beautiful beginning, that you have been given the power of indicating.
With that, I know that standing in the eye of the hurricane is no easy feat, but I do hope that you bless all of us with a better year. Thank you for being the little tinge of hope, that we all so desperately needed, to calm the storm.
Yours truly,
Yet another person for you to please