By, CARSON POLK, Student Reporter
When speaking to anyone in this day and age, it seems to be a unanimous decision that 2020 was a year of complete destruction and horror.
From a virus traveling to every country in the world, taking millions of lives with it to an election that rocked America to its core, 2020 was not nice to anyone. Through all of this, it would be nice to have some payoff this coming up year. There has to be, we are already at rock bottom.
From rock bottom, there is only one way and it is up. Grab your climbing gear because up is the way we will be traveling from here on out.
This improvement is going to come from the new vaccine and hopefully an end to this pandemic in the upcoming months. While that is less personal and has nothing to do with any personal effort on my part, I still have hope something within this pandemic can change for the better.
Even if no goals of mine are completed, the personal wellbeing of those around me will be improved in 2021.
Continuing the hope wagon, which hopefully has nothing to do with a pipe dream, I would like to see personal improvement from everyone I know. Looking at people’s actions last year, it can be seen how the population’s small actions affect each other.
I am not excluded from that, as I spent little effort last year reaching out to others or trying to make the people around me feel more comfortable. From strangers to acquaintances I refused to get to know better, the little things like reaching out with a small text and asking how they are doing needs to be seen more this year.
On the opposite side of that, I also wish for others to worry about themselves more. You can see it in classrooms, in the hallways, dorms, gas stations, and every other public place or even private. People seem to be more comfortable putting their ears and eyes on someone else than letting their mind worry about themselves and how they are treating others.
All of these hopes are nothing more than speech bubbles without the goals to fulfill them. Personally, my goals go with the hopes. The year 2021 is going to be the year of personal improvement, such as personally minding my own business.
I have a habit in the past years of worrying about what other people are thinking and if it is about me and this year my goal is to change that. My life is mine and as everyone as seen in 2020, life can run at you quick.
No one has a clock set to the time you will no longer be here therefore we need to use it wisely. When someone has told me that in the past years, I always rolled by eyes. I always thought that was a ridiculous thought, but 2020 brought me a new outlook on living as if you will die at any moment.
This is not just about me though. Or you, or your neighbor, your students, your friends. This year and how people are living in it is a group effort.
Although I would like to mind my business more as a 2021 goal, everyone will have to put effort in that as well. It should be noted that minding your own does not mean not caring. You can care about others without going into someone else’s bubble. That would be what I would say people could do better: care.
There are small acts of caring such as wearing your mask correctly or parking within the lines. Bigger acts such as donations to a cause you support or reaching out to someone in need are appreciated as well.
It might seem like I keep calling out other people, but I know I am included in this year as well. My plans on what I can do to make 2021 better compared to 2020 is to live my life as I want. While I have done that in the past, this year I will be focusing on looking and acting how I want.
For example, I have a shaved head that I have always wanted to dye crazy colors even if my family has reservations about it. I did just that the other day and now I can be seen walking across campus with bright green hair. In a couple of weeks, my hair will be dyed a different color.
Later on, I expect to get tattoos even if the people I know say I shouldn’t because that is what I am changing. I am changing how I act and look as a person to make 2021 the year of me.