A New year is here, Are we?
Everyone has been very quick to wish 2020 away and the sentiment of bringing on 2021 is a popular one. But as I reflect on the year that was, I realize how many lessons I have learned and how much I have to be grateful for. Thinking back to the first part of 2020, many of us entered the world of lockdown and were forced into entirely new psychological and social situations. When we entered 2020 with all the hope a new year brings, no one could have predicted the reality that was to come. Within a few months of New Year’s celebrations, we saw empty grocery store shelves and shortages of hand sanitizer. We learned to meet with friends and share milestones through computer screens, and we put many of our plans on hold. And yet we found hope as we came together with our communities to care for one another.
Learnings from 2020
It really is an understatement to call this past year anything short of a wreck. The coronavirus has stolen months out of our lives, and we’re all getting good at blaming it for ruining things.
But it’s time to flip the coin: what has gone right this year? Here are a few things that went right with me -
1) Got a lot of time for Self-Improvement
2) Got to Strengthen Bonds with closed ones
3) Realised true happiness lies inwards not outwards
2021, Here I come!
So far 2021 has been good, I landed an Internship with UAL, where I can finally work on sharpening my skills even more and get to work in a professional setting. I have a few other projects also going on, incl. A Start-Up, A Research Project etc. But I am not expecting too much from 2021, as the saying goes, “The secret to happiness is low expectations”. During this lockdown, I got a chance to read, an extremely insightful philosophical treatise of Ancient India, Bhagwat Gita, and one of the things that I liked the most and which I am planning to follow this year is, trying to focus on bettering my actions and doing my duties/responsibilities to the best of my ability, rather than worrying too much about the results (or things I can’t control).
-- Parth Mishra