New years is a special tradition in the hearts of humans. Whether you celebrate Samhain, Chinese New Year, or are just waiting to see the ball drop, we all have memories of staying up past midnight to toast the oncoming year. Oftentimes, people celebrate with a large party that brings loud noises throughout the night, other times people hold a small gathering with their loved ones as they count down the seconds. Regardless of how New Years’ is celebrated, it is always looked to as a time to make changes in your daily life.

New Years’ Resolutions are a tradition where people try to change an aspect of themselves. For some it may be going on a diet, for others, it may be exercising daily. These resolutions can be made about anything, but there is one common trend you notice, which is that New Years’ resolutions are never kept. Perhaps this comes from a lack of motivation or a spontaneous lack of judgment, but some way or another, New Years’ resolutions are made to be broken. Maybe that is the tradition. Not to keep those resolutions, but to find some way in which to break them. To show that you are able to be who you are in this upcoming year without fear of immediate repercussions. Maybe 2021 will be the year we break the tradition within the tradition.

To say that the turn from 2020 to 2021 was lackluster would be an understatement. There were no extravagant parties, there was no staying up till midnight or counting down the seconds, there wasn’t even any New Years’ toast. For us, the turn of the year to 2021 would be about the same as any other day in 2020. We still woke up the next day in quarantine, the virus didn’t magically disappear as many would hope, and we still had to continue our daily lives online. Yet, deep down, we all carry hope for this upcoming year.

Though 2020 was terrible, we are hopefully given a chance to start anew. With the vaccination for the Coronavirus and some schools planning to reopen, we are slowly but surely moving on with our lives. No matter how horrible this past year was, nor how uncertain this new one is going to be, there will always be hope for the future. Without a doubt, years into the future 2020 will be written in history books. And with that, so should we. 2020 gave us a chance to live life differently. We were able to explore new opportunities and hobbies at home that we might have never made time for before. We were able to spend more time with our families and create a closer bond with our friends.  We learned how to create our own schedule and work with what we know best. No matter how crazy this past year has been, it has opened our minds and our hearts to different perspectives.

And with that, I say we bid 2020 adieu, and open our arms wide for the embrace of 2021.