20 Things I Learned In The Upheaval That Has Been 2020

2020 had a rocky start for me, it seems to have only gotten rockier. There was a great amount of upheaval in the first part. I felt as if I lost a large part of myself and tried to see it as shedding an old skin to grow into a new stronger version of myself. I dove headfirst into a life of indulging my inner fantasies and desires. What came back to me was an amount of uncertainty equal to the amount of indulgence.

And then a global pandemic hit and I found myself in an even greater amount of upheaval. With this came even more uncertainty. I began to feel as if I was floating through my daily life. I accepted this feeling as part of the natural ebb and flow of life and allowed it to happen. That feeling slowly drifted away and I was left looking back at what I had done with my life in this first quarter of 2020. As I went through those experiences, I realized all of the valuable life lessons I had learned. Some were advice or sayings I had heard all the time and had finally seen the truth in them for myself. Others were conclusions I had come to on my own (but a high potential they are those sayings that others have said, I just don’t know the people saying them specifically…).

I originally set out for this to be “20 Things I Learned in the First 20 Days of 2020,” but life had more to offer than I had originally seen, as it often does, and there was more to reflect upon than previously intended. Now it is “20 things I Learned in the Upheaval That Has Been 2020.”

There are many articles that will give personal anecdotes behind each lesson. I want you to apply your own personal experiences to these phrases I have deemed lessons. Make them your own.

Here are some things I learned in the first part of 2020.

1. The people around you say a lot about you.

2. They also become a large part of you who you are. Choose them wisely.

3. Anger doesn’t add anything to a situation.

4. It’s okay to break.

5. Letting go is hard, but possible.

6. Recognizing what you don’t need can be more powerful than knowing what you need.

7. The light is there at the end of the tunnel, sometimes it’s hard to find the switch.

8. Sometimes the one you thought would die for you is the one killing you.

9. A response isn’t always necessary.

10. Clapbacks feel good in the moment, but provide no forward movement.

11. What someone says about you says more about them.

12. Don’t be afraid to reach if you haven’t spoken to someone in a while. (Provided you didn’t stop talking to this person because you found that person to be toxic.)

13. Having someone to talk to is vital. Having multiple people to talk to is a blessing.

14. Work is important, but it shouldn’t consume your life.

15. Who you were might be who you’ll always be. It might not. That is okay.

16. Happiness shouldn’t have to be created. It should be cultivated naturally by the choices you make and the people you surround yourself with.

17. Times of isolation show more of what you have than what they take away.

18. When the world is at its darkest, people show the brightest parts of themselves.

19. If you can’t find an entire bright side in a situation, just a spot will do.

20. Care for yourself the way you would care for another.

There is a larger part of 2020 left than has already happened. I personally hope it still has a lot to teach me.