20 things I’ve learned in 2020

The year of Covid-19, lockdown and new normal

A month before the COVID-19 lockdown (Mont-Tremblant, Québec — 2020)

This year was challenging at so many levels. But if there is one common thing we all have learned during this time is how uncertain everything is.

I always wanted to do a post like ‘things I learned…” and here I am — under unexpected circumstances with a pile of unfinished business and life matters right beside me — but let’s dive into this…

1. When the storm hits, go to your safe space, but keep watching the weather updates on your phone to know when is the right time to go outside again.
2. As a student, there are more opportunities when you take risks. It lets you learn about new things and explore new ideas without worrying about long-term plans and implications. It also provides a chance to change plans altogether and start something completely new.
3. Setting a schedule for everything is a primer to a better life. Setting a schedule for work, school work, meetings, and professional commitments is important, and so is routine time to relax, be emotional, cry, worry, and all things that make us all human. And most importantly, schedule good naps. Today I know what Arianna Huffington meant when she said, “By helping us keep the world in perspective, sleep gives us a chance to refocus on the essence of who we are.”
4. Talents and hobbies are an essential part of the healing process. After being through major upheavals of life and career, I realized that my poetry, photography, love for music and art helped me get through the tough times. They also helped me make some amazing friends and connections.
5. Asking for help and opportunities is a brave move. It applies to all material, emotional, and moral support you are seeking.
6. Original ideas matter. Returning to school was a scary decision after a couple of years in professional life and some challenging circumstances. I was scared to use my own voice while researching because I was told several times that I wasn’t good enough. I kept second-guessing my ideas and was instead trying to fit in. One of the professors encouraged me to think out of the box and be creative in my arguments instead of coming up with repetitive ideas. It helped me develop my confidence again in writing, research, and the overall learning process.
7. Pause, reflect, and restart. No decision is wrong on the onset. You get to know the impact when you start living its consequences. The same goes for the right decisions. Accepting your mistakes and wrong decisions bring strength and liberation. When you are finally able to realize it, learn from it, and change yourself if required. It’s never too late.
8. Timelines are eh… According to the initial timeline that I’d set almost three years ago, I would have been on a road trip with a partner, enjoying natural landscapes and maybe planning to start a family. And right now, I don’t even have a partner, I cannot travel due to COVID restrictions and precautions, and I realized I pretty much have all the family I’d ever want. I have learned to let go of timelines, motivated by one of my favorite bloggers Danielle Moss who explained in the best possible way that “Timelines are stupid…”
9. Everything is ‘essential work.’ The pandemic had to classify essential work. But over time we all realized how everything, every kind of work and every person is essential.
10. You don’t end your journey when there is a road bump. You either reverse, take another route, take a u-turn, manage your speed, or find another way to reach your destination.
11. You learn from teachers and also from students. All the professors were once students themselves. They know exactly what you are going through. Learn from their journey. As a TA, I usually start my tutorials by asking a question, “Hey, how is everyone and how is everything going’. But my highlight has always been when they ask me and show concern about my day and well being. My students light up my day and teach me compassion.
12. Make a strategy to manage your money. Create a plan on what you need to spend on first and then go for what you want. An iPhone can always wait if you have other priorities due.
13. Health is the most important component of your net worth. It includes all types of health; physical, emotional, and mental.
14. Learn to laugh at your mistakes but try not to repeat them. Life is always unpredictable but this year broke all the records. Over time I have managed to learn from and laugh at my problems, and by that, I am able not to repeat the same mistakes that led to those problems in the first place.
15. Zoom fatigue is a real thing. Take your time and relax. Just shut that zoom off for some time. The same goes for Microsoft teams, google meets, all other online meetups, etc., in our new normal.
16. Studying international relations paid off just fine. When I decided to study international relations and politics as my major, many people laughed at me, and some even called me a loser. Well, It did not land me into a six-figure policy analyst job (yet). Still, it taught me so much about navigating life in a new country, with new rules, systems, culture, and people. It helped in understanding various policy decisions and how it affects me, especially during the pandemic.
17. Coffee and cheesecake pretty much solve everything. Or at least they help. This one explains itself.
18. Sometimes our ‘everything’ is not everything in life. I lost what I thought was ‘everything’ in my life. Later on, I realized it wasn’t everything. Was it painful? Yes, to an extent, I could feel someone stabbing me with an axe breaking my body into pieces. And now I am trying to assemble those pieces and becoming better each day. The motivation comes from the fact that I did not actually lose everything.
19. There is only one constant in my life — Me. If I try to make myself and my life better, there is a better chance someone else will get inspired and work on themselves to get better. You can’t inspire anyone unless you are an example yourself.
20. Home is what you make of it; (inspired by Mr. Wendt; IR people will understand). Home is where I want it to be, where I want to be and how I want it to be. It could be in solitude, companionship, family, or just a starry night under the sky, where the whole universe looks after me, and I pay gratitude to it in return.

With this and without romanticizing the pandemic, I believe this year has taught everyone something, and if not, we still got one month. I hope everyone makes good use of the lessons learned and try to be nice, or even better, just keep swimming…