2020 Changed Everything...

2020 seriously gave us all a knock on our heads (and really everywhere I guess)... with COVID-19, lockdown, elections, BLM, poverty, earthquakes, deaths, and fires, this year is probably one of the worst years recorded in history. And to think that this was supposed to be the start of a new decade- newly evolved ideas, new people, new music, newer technology, and newer ways of life. But in spite of all the hardships and deaths looming around us, this year brought a change in people: it helped us become more positive, thankful, stronger and helped us know that we could get through this year together, even if we thought that we couldn't... 🤯

If we all remember, everyone was celebrating the new decade, the new year: 2020-- and so we start with January. Our year started off with the assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, who had been planning to be part of an attack on American soldiers. There was also Brexit happening, and Boris Johnson became the new PM of the United Kingdom a while before (they exited on January 31st) and if we all were following celebrities, we would know that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry announced that they were leaving the Royal family on January 8th. And then we should all remember how Selena Gomez's heartbreak with Justin Bieber inspired her to drop a new album: Rare, on January 10th (I can't get over a few of those songs... can you?). There were also the Australian wildfires, which if you would remember, turned the sky red and made everything look like hell (sad for sure, but it's true). And then the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in China, and last but certainly not least-- we lost Kobe Bryant and his daughter in that devastating helicopter crash on January 26th (there is only one emoji, for my emotions right now... 🤯🤯🤯).

February is where things started getting crazy, but if you look at the future, you are looking at a lot of crazy (it is what it is, sadly)... first of all, there was Donald Trump's impeachment (Jan. 16- Feb. 5), and it wasn't just the USA going crazy about it, it was practically the entire world (I wonder how Mr. Trump felt). Not only that, there was coronavirus, which had started raging like our California wildfires, now in more places than just China. Then Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to prison for probably one of the worst types of crimes (don't Google it, it's gross... I promise you that your world won't dissolve if you don't). AND DOES EVERYONE REMEMBER WHAT TOILET PAPER IS... those were some rough times. And it's impossible to forget the absolutely stunning, dazzling, and show-stopping show that J. Lo and Shakira gave at the Super Bowl this year... like c'mon, Shakira's "hips don't lie" if you think about it (😉, you guys see what I did there?)... 

March is where COVID caused shutdowns EVERYWHERE. Children took to their computers and struggled through online/distance learning, but definitely learned a lot through the experience. And if we remember on March 9th, there was a stock market crash, triggered by the pandemic. And then there was Breonna Taylor's death on March 13th, which sparked the extremely well-known BLM movement (#BLM, the black fist), causing riots, loots, and major violence throughout the country. In Italy, the situation with coronavirus was only growing worse, and there were toilet paper shortages around the US (but seriously, what does COVID-19 have to do with toilet paper?). Also, the Tokyo Olympics were postponed (which is sad, because it broke the "every 4 years" record that has been going on since the Olympics started). The games are supposed to open on July 23, 2021, and close on Aug. 8, 2021 (according to NBC News)... 🤯

Of course, in April, the world wasn't doing any better. There was a devastating increase in COVID deaths and reported cases around the world. There was the Syrian Prison Riot, where members of ISIS tried to escape their cells by ripping off doors and breaking things down (and several did escape, which is scary). Then a group of Indian police officers was attacked by another group of men trying to cross the border during the lockdown, and one of the men in the second group took out a sword and got in a fight (like seriously- a sword...), and chopped off the hand of one of the Indian officers. Then there was a shooting in Novia Scotia, protests in Israel, another shooting in Lebanon, and we all thought Kim Jong-Un was dead (he's alive now, don't worry everybody)... now that I am looking at it, this month had a lot of violence in it... 🤯

Now you might remember how the entire world was officially under lockdown, quarantine, stay-at-home order, whatever you want to call it in May. Murder Hornets were spotted in the US, giving a good amount of bees a fright (they're 2 inches, and destroy bee colonies in just the blink of an eye... bees have the right to be afraid 🤐). And then there was a BIG BIG BIG thing that happened which caused looting, violence, protests. George Floyd died on May 25th, under the knee of a white police officer, and I don't think that I need to explain that anymore. There was also a shooting in Texas at a gathering of about 600 people (a few were injured). Donald Trump also fired Steve Linick, the State Department Inspector General. Then on May 17th, there was another shooting with 17 people injured, this time in Louisiana... 🤯

         

Then there is June, when schools let their children on summer break, not that they kind of weren't on break already (distance learning was basically zoom-meetings in your PJ's). Then we were watching BLM come by as though no one had ever heard of it. On the other side of the world, there was a fuel spill in Russia, where 20,000 tons of fuel had spilled into a river. In Nigeria, 81 people died on June 10th, after a suspected Boko Haram attack in a village. 7 people were also kidnapped. But that's not it because 2020 wanted to really hurt us all a lot 😁😑. There were anti-government protests in Lebanon and it wasn't pretty: some protesters threw rocks at police forces, others tried to climb the security fence surrounding the Prime Minister’s house (according to CNN). A beloved Bollywood actor, Sushant Singh Rajput died a mysterious (known to be suicide) death, causing investigations and a wave of emotions to his fans. Yemen was going through a humanitarian crisis, Beijing went under its second massive lockdown and there were major Locust swarms throughout India, which destroyed a lot of crops... 🤯

In July, we didn't get rid of the Coronavirus (yes, I just stated the obvious 😶). Five people died and six more were injured at a South African church after being taken hostage by gunmen on July 11th. 40 suspects were arrested and the rest of the hostages were freed; during police investigations, more than 34 firearms were collected. A bus driver killed 21 passengers and injured 15 others intentionally in China (he was sad for some reason, so he had to become a murderer and then kill himself 🙄🙄). Another cathedral (Nantes Cathedral) caught on fire on July 18th, and wasn't as bad as Notre Dame. Then on July 25th, there were attacks everywhere in Nigeria, leaving dozens and dozens of people dead (it's not like we haven't heard that before *cough covid cough*)... 🤯

Doesn't August only feel like it was yesterday? I mean there was summer and now we are all getting ready to wake up early and zoom in our PJ's again. There was a massive explosion in Beirut which killed over 204 people and left the city in ruins. The Apple Fires which sparked on August 3rd made the job of firefighters extremely hard. Then the very next day, Hurricane Isaias made landfall in the Caribbean and East Coast of the US. On August 10th, there were landslides that left 43 people dead and many buried. Then, Governor Newsom (we should all know his name 😒) declared a state of emergency because of our fires, and Donald Trump declared a major disaster in CA on August 23rd, releasing federal aid to help fight our wildfires. And then to top off this natural-disaster prone month, there was flash flooding in Afghanistan which killed at least 70 people and injured more; and guess what... these people were asleep when the floods came in... 🤯

 

In September, there was a small glimmer of light in the darkness (IT WAS MY BIRTHDAY 😁). Then there were campaigns and debates and all that fun stuff for the 2020 US Elections. But sadly, coronavirus was still not gone (I'm still stating the obvious, I know) and deaths were beyond anything we have ever seen. Then on September 1st, BLM protests sparked up again after a black man was fatally shot by a white policeman (like I said, we've seen that happen before 😒). 50 demonstrators were later arrested in Portland when the city went into its 100th night of protests (they actually counted, can you believe that?). Then Ruth Bader Ginsburg, an outstanding and courageous lady, died due to cancer on September 18th. And on September 23rd, Breonna Taylor's case went to court, and the policemen involved were released from the case (people were outraged to hear this). Also, Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden had their first presidential debate and I watched it. It was kind of like history class, where two big babies were whining at each other for no particular reason. And no joke, I kind of felt bad for the people watching the debate, especially the moderator, Chris Wallace... 🤯

October was Halloween, which was obviously very different this year. A peace initiative made by the US government was successfully implemented between Israel and a few different Middle East countries, an achievement marking a historic event. President Trump and Melania Trump were diagnosed with COVID, but both recovered quite quickly, praising the astounding work of their doctors. We were still seeing violent BLM protests because people didn't know how to calm down (😒). There was a lot of coronavirus going around, and the amount of COVID cases and deaths was still breaking records again. Early voting, the US election, and campaigning was also happening in October, and celebrities were stepping in, urging people to vote. There was also that little *cough cough* situation with Kanye West, who announced he would be running for president a while before. Also, Joe Biden announced his running mate would be Kamala Harris, making history, being a woman, and that of color (a remarkable change in the US politics). Then on October 27th, there was a shooting in Philadelphia, where police fatally shot a black man who was allegedly wielding a knife... 🤯

In November, we had Thanksgiving-- COVID numbers increased significantly. November 3rd was election day, and there was marching, protesting, and voting happening. Joe Biden was projected to win, which caused disputes and Donald Trump did even say that if Joe Biden won, that would be because of voter fraud and nothing else. He also said that he wouldn't contribute to a peaceful transition of power, which had us all worrying about what Donald Trump was going to do. Then a riot was declared in Portland after many businesses were broken into, during protests. This month was recorded in US history again, as DOW Jones crossed the 30,000 mark in the stock market. There was also a shooting in North Carolina, at a bar at the end of the month... 🤯

Here we are, finally: December. Schools got out for their winter breaks, and people were busy this month. Joe Biden has won the presidential election (to be confirmed by Congress in January), even though a majority of Republicans refuse to admit or acknowledge this win. On December 4th, a federal judge ordered the Trump Administration to reinstate DACA, an act that protects undocumented children in the USA from being deported. Also, marijuana was legalized which caused a great deal of anger online, but we didn't see riots (thankfully). On December 14th, Americans were heartbroken to watch the US top 300,000 COVID deaths. But thanks to scientists, doctors, and researchers, a vaccine was released this month-- a huge win against this monstrous virus! It's bringing hope in some of us, but others aren't willing to take this vaccine yet, only because it was made at such speed. Then towards the end-ish of December, President Trump pardoned 15 people. "2 of the 15 were convicted of lying to the FBI during the inquiry into the President’s 2016 campaign. Other pardoned were security guards involved in the 2007 massacre in Iraq and some ex-congressmen," according to BBC. And lastly, on December 25th (Christmas morning), there was an intentional explosion in Nashville, Tennessee; this explosion injured many people and burned many buildings and cars. As of December 26th, police believe that the body they found was that of the suicide bomber, who caused the explosion in the first place. And to add the cherry on top, we have New Year's Eve 🤯😁🤩!

Some famous people who died this year 🕊️:

Alex Trebek, Sushant Singh Rajput, Irrfan Khan, Rishi Kapoor, Sir Sean Connery, Whitney Ford, Kobe Bryant, Gianna Bryant, Johnny Nash, Eddie van Halen, David Prowse, Kenny Rogers, Michale Lonsdale, Barbara Windsor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Diego Maradona, Cliff Robinson, Pop Smoke, Naya Rivera, Chadwick Boseman, and SO many more

So that was this year, maybe not ALL of it, but the most important bits. And it was harsh, rough, tragic, horrible, and words can't even describe what we went through this year. But that's okay because we made it. And next year, people won't be happy that it's 2021, they will be happy that it isn't 2020 😉.

So, in conclusion: 🤯

 

HAVE A HAPPY AND BLESSED 2021 🤩🎆🎈