Checkpoint – How Is 2020 Going?

Brooke

Hello everyone!

The amount of things that have happened in 2020 so far is disturbing, astounding, and insane all at once. I’ll list the major events here real fast in case you might be forgetting any of the main points (not necessarily in chronological order):

  • Fires in Australia
  • COVID-19 pandemic which led to quarantines all over the world and economic downturn
  • Impeachment trials for President Trump
  • Death of Kobe Bryant along with his daughter and other passengers
  • Murder hornets
  • The horrible killing of George Floyd and many peaceful protests advocating for the Black Lives Matter movement as well as some violent riots
  • Ebola outbreak in the Congo
  • Stock market plunge and unemployment rates rivaling those of the Great Depression (I’m not an expert on the economy and I believe the state of both the stock market and the unemployment rate have already improved though)
  • Overall poor leadership from President Trump (my opinion) as most recently seen through him hiding in his bunker and building a wall in front of the White House

So, yeah. 2020 isn’t going too great for the world, as most of you probably know/think if you’ve been keeping up with the news. But what can we do now?

The first thing is definitely to VOTE in November– if you are eligible to vote, please make sure you are registered and are going to do so. We will not see change unless we vote for leaders that are going to take action and advocate for our rights/have the people’s interests at heart. Sadly I am not eligible to vote and I will not be for a couple more years, but I will be able to pre-register to vote in August when I turn 16. I think the laws about when you can pre-register might be different depending on what state you’re in, but if you are a teenager wanting to pre-register, please do that when you are eligible!

The second thing is to keep in touch with your friends and family and check in on them. Some people are reacting differently to the events happening in the world than others, so some people may need a lot more support from you. It’s especially important to have some interaction considering how long everyone’s been in quarantine.

Please try to keep in mind that we cannot lose hope in the world/the future just because of these unfortunate and tragic events that have happened lately. If anything, we need to keep our heads up and fight even harder for the issues we believe in. I know some of the things that have happened this year such as fires and the initial spread of COVID-19 were uncontrollable, but for the political issues it is so important to be an advocate and use your voice in some way. Things will get better and change will have to happen in some capacity if we keep fighting for it.

This is probably the hardest thing to do (MUCH easier said than done), but try to maintain a positive outlook and find the silver linings in recent events. It’s been difficult for me too and I’m definitely not perfect as far as being the most positive person, but I’m trying my best. Whether it’s appreciating your daily walks or the fact that you have some free time to catch up on reading or the FaceTime calls you have with your friends, find that thing that brings some joy and normalcy to your day.

I’m always here to chat with you guys if you want to leave a comment or contact me through the Contact page on this blog. I know it’s been a tough past few months, but we can do this. If our world can make it through everything that’s happened in 2020 so far, we can make it through anything. Please stay safe and healthy out there.

Brooke

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