From the wildfires that plagued Australia to the most confusing and disagreed upon virus called Covid-19 globally affecting the world to America being thrown into political turmoil with protests, riots, and oh ya, Kanye West running for President, it has been an extremely unpredictable year.

Lately I have seen the hashtag #cancel2020 around social media and I AM OVER IT. I get it, it's been an extraordinarily stressful year for all of us. Not knowing if we are still employed, going back to school or work in the fall, whether things in our community are open or closed or opening again, or even how long Coronavirus lasts on plastic surfaces makes going about our day to day lives challenging and planning for the future seemingly impossible. But, as of now, we are not canceling 2020. Isn't it in times of hardships where we see the most resilience? Isn't it in times like these when we really come together with those we love the most and create deeper bonds? Isn't it when we learn that we are humans and dammit we will survive this. Already so many incredible moments and people have stepped up. Unfortunately, their actions are being clouded over by the many negatives the media chooses to report on. It is time to start focusing on all the incredible amounts of good that is happening in our world and learn something from the individuals who are truly making our world a better place.

EveryPixel

Lets not forget that we went to space for the first time in almost 10 years! Let us not forget that the Supreme Court made a monumental ruling that the Civil Rights Act protects gay and transgender individuals. Let us remember and thank every health care worker and essential worker striving to keep us safe and risking their lives to save ours. Let us not forget there is immense progress being made in emotional recognition by artificial intelligence technologies. Lets remember every person we know that shopped and helped others who couldn't get the necessities they needed to survive. Let us not gloss over the advancements being made in green technology such as marine solar (floating solar panels that are used as renewable energy sources) and green hydrogen which could dramatically reduce the amount of carbon emissions in our atmosphere.

We are all people. And if you think 2020 has been nothing but a waste I challenge you to look around. Look at your community, your family, your friends, at the whole world. People everywhere are rising to the challenge to help others in any way they can. 2020 is the year we learned to take care of each other, to be humans again. So, no we are not canceling 2020. It is only half way over. Can you imagine all of the incredible stories that have yet to happen and the individuals who have yet to step up? Can you imagine what you can do?

I'll leave you with this quote by Leslie Dwight about this year "Declare Change. Work for change. Become the change. A year we finally band together, instead of pushing each other further apart. 2020 isn't cancelled, but rather the most important year of them all".