This year has surprised us in so many ways. No one can say this year is not what we expected it to be, but I feel that everyone will leave 2020 with so many important lessons learned. So many important lessons that we would have never learned if we weren’t quarantined or couped up in our homes more than usual.

We learned “what are plans?”

We all had plans for 2020 whether it was to travel, go back to school, find a new job, meet new people, try a new hobby etc, but 2020 had other plans. Simple plans to go to brunch are no longer possible without you thinking about possible consequences. We were expecting to be home for two weeks and two weeks turned into months. This year has taught us that time waits for no one. Things will not wait for you to be ready and when you are ready to do it. What is crazy is that we all thought we had it all figured out, but in reality we can’t control all aspects of our life.

We learned to be more selfless

We all had a lesson in selflessness. Thinking about others and putting others first has been a huge part of 2020. We had to sacrifice our own wants, so that others could be healthy, go to work, and keep the world moving. We had to break hearts and disappoint loved ones to keep them safe.

We learned the importance of sitting with our thoughts.

When you are constantly moving and working, you never really have time to sit with your thoughts. 2020 has been a time where we really had time to reflect on our thoughts, where we want to be, and honestly what we don’t like about ourselves. It the reason for the rise in depression. People are more aware of their feelings now, and have definitely been affected by several events in the past couple of years.

We learned the importance of acceptance and unity.

Even from our homes, humans have tried to stay united and be more accepting of another. Even though there has been hate, there has been a lot of support from all of the place. People are starting to feel more comfortable in being their true self because of the outreach and support the 2020 has brought to many people. There is still a lot of work to do, but there has definitely been a positive shift towards the right direction.

We learned the importance of taking it one day at a time.

We all want to plan our futures, but the truth is that nothing is more important than what is going on in front of you. Take advantage of the special moments that are occuring before your eyes and take a moment to stop and smell the roses. It sounds silly, but sometimes we never really do stop and appreciate the beauty of what is in front of us until it is too late. Appreciate what you have and never miss an opportunity to show someone that you truly care.

There were so many lessons learned this year. What do you think is one of the most important lessons of 2020?

What future learning do you think we need to have in 2021? It’s all about growth right?