By Editorial Board
-Editorial-
The beginning of the year is usually a time when spirits are high and people are motivated to change their lives.
Fitness centers see an influx of people wanting to lose weight (our very own Columnist David Ficarri is aiming to lose 25 pounds.) Motivational books fly off the shelves. People around the country are making goals that will hopefully change their lives for the better.
But this new year is unique. It's unique because 2020 was one of the most stressful years for Americans in decades. Between COVID-19 and the fallout from that (losing jobs, working and schooling from home, businesses shutting down), one of the most strained presidential elections in recent history, and everything in-between this year has been one blow after another.
Some people are hoping this year will bring in positive changes, especially with the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden. Others are saying that nothing will change and possibly even get worse.
As it goes, we’re supposed to learn from our mistakes and try to move past them by not repeating the same thing twice. But humans have a funny habit of doing that anyway and repeating the cycle over and over again until we accept it as a way of life.
Although 2021 might be a smidgen better than the last, from a realistic point of view we can’t expect a massive shift to occur. It’s pretty clear that we’re still going to have our fair share of challenges going into the rest of the year.
We might never go back to in-person work environments. We might never see restaurants rebound to what they were before the pandemic. We might not see any changes under the new presidency (and worst-case scenario, things get worse.) We might always live in fear of the next outbreak.
But while we may not be able to do much about it on a big scale, we still have control over OUR lives. We still have to be accountable for our individual actions. Even if we can’t change anything else around us, we can still change our outlook on it. Right?
If you’re only pessimistic and looking at the bad side of things, that’s all your life is going to consist of.
It will be difficult to see anything good as the first half of this year pans out, but it is out there.
And for goodness sake, let’s please learn from our mistakes as a country and a community. (Wishful thinking, I know.)
Let’s make this year a better one.