10 Good Things To Come Out Of 2020
Thinking about my feelings this time last year, I remember being anxious about 2020, wondering if I was doing enough planning. Had I considered my dreams and goals seriously and was I prepared to take the proper steps to manifest all of them? Now, I realize there was no way any of us could have prepared for this year. It was clearly one for the books. And in several ways, this year was catastrophic. Many of us were thrown for emotional, psychological, social, and even financial loops. We could wax poetic about the ways in which this year sucked. And many of us have spent plenty of time doing so. There’s nothing wrong with letting it out.
But today, as this year comes to a close, we want to reflect on the good things that 2020 brought us. Gratitude is an important practice. Here’s hoping that being more grateful will make 2021 a whole lot different.
Source: Verzuz Live / Verzuz Tv
Verzuz
Major props and many thanks to Swizz Beatz and Timbaland for jumping into such swift action at the very beginning of the pandemic to entertain Black folks with some of our most beloved artists. Verzuz not only kept us entertained by top tier artists we wouldn’t be able to see in concert this year, it also exposed us to quite a few lessons in music history. We learned how certain songs were composed, how artists felt about them and more. And in the case of Brandy and Monica, the two were able to bury the hatchet on a years-long feud.
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DJ Nice’s Sets
I believe it was Crissle West who asked what are white entertainers doing to entertain white folks right now? Because Black people have stepped up in a major way. Whether it was being more open and honest during interviews, hosting very real conversations on social media platforms (shout out to Red Table Talk and Peace of Mind with Taraji), or playing music that uplifted our spirits, they didn’t have to do it but they did.
DJ Nice’s marathon-breaking sets from the comfort of his home, complete with hat and outfit changes kept millions of people in a great mood. And his impromptu parties attracted not only lay-people but the likes of Oprah, Michelle Obama and more. Nice’s sets also put us on to artists whose work hadn’t previously been recognized as it should have been–like the Sister Sledge song, “Thinking of You.”
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Trump losing the election
Lord knows I don’t know how we would have dealt with another four years of a Trump administration. There’s no doubt that Biden isn’t some type of messiah. But it was time to get that riff raff, with his openly hateful and racist rhetoric, out of the White House. And seeing the way the country came together to that, was something admirable and worthy of celebration.
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People focusing on their hobbies and passions
With all the increased time people were spending at home and not so distracted by outside noise, many found that they were able to tap back into the hobbies and passions they’d put on the back-burner. Joy was a bit to hard to come by these past few months, so when we found activities that brought a smile to our face, it was important to lean into that.
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Push to support Black businesses
If you’ve been following MadameNoire for a while, you know that we’re big about supporting Black owned businesses, specifically those owned Black women. And while we’re wondering why it took this year for people to get on the right foot, we’re happy to learn that during a time of economic uncertainty, a lot of the Black dollar went to Black people. Now that so many businesses have been discovered, we hope it’s a trend that continues even we’re able to move about the world a bit more freely.
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Being able to read more
I love to read. But it’s an activity that requires a relatively quiet place and stillness. And the pandemic and subsequent quarantine period provided quite a bit of that quiet time. With fewer brunch dates, less weekend plans and traveled restricted to my bedroom and living room, reading moved right on up the priority list. I was able to read more than I usually do and as always, a good book can really provide a much needed escape.
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People thinking about their mental health
Forced to be by ourselves, away from the usual distractions of the world, several of us realized, many for the first time, that we needed to pay more attention to the state of our mental health. And during this time, folks all over the place were encouraging people to reach out and seek professional help. Thankfully, many of us did so and were better for it.
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White people started “seeing” racial injustice
Whether it was the lack of entertainment or being forced to pay attention to the news, for the first time in a long time, it seemed that a large number of white people finally began to understand that Black folks weren’t making things up when we spoke about systematic oppression and racial injustice Black folks have been and continue to experience in this country. For the first time, white folks, here and abroad, were on the front lines of the protests. It was good to see. And hopefully, this is something that will continue as our fight for equality continues.
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The truth of relationships exposed
Whether you found that quarantine made your relationship stronger as you and your partner got to the essence of why you were together in the first place–or you realized that you were better suited apart, this year did quite a bit in exposing the strengths and weaknesses in many relationships–romantic and otherwise.
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Surviving 2020
With everything that happened this year, from a potentially deadly virus to the continued racial injustice, record unemployment, increased anxiety and depression and more, it is a blessing to made it to the end of this very strange year. While it’s not entirely over just yet, if you’re reading this, there’s a great chance that you will see January 1, 2021 and with so much loss of human life this year, it’s not something any of us should take for granted.
