Where do you begin with reflection on 2020?

2020 began with celebrating a new vision.

For me, I started the year at the Barclay Center with Oprah Winfrey and former first lady Michelle Obama and 30,000 of her other besties celebrating new vision with her 2020 tour. It was a magical day, and Oprah did not disappoint. She engaged the entire day filling the arena with humor, insight, mindfulness, vulnerability, and wisdom. We left that arena inspired to live our best lives.

Soon after that, life as we knew it would drastically change and challenge us. And it did not change just for us in New York, or the United States. Life on this planet has changed. I know that we have all spent too much time on the specifics, glued to our televisions and the numbers of those in crisis that tell the story of the disease that threatened to cancel life as we knew it once. The coronavirus pandemic introduced us to phrases like “social distancing, contract tracing, virtual learning, asymptomatic, shelter in place, and herd immunity.”

Additionally, the killing of George Floyd, and the uprisings and reactions to feelings of social injustice contributed to making this a particularly difficult year. From coast to coast there were demonstrations that threatened businesses and frightened those watching at home. Difficult conversations about race were being had from the basketball courts to the board rooms. Politically we felt more divided than ever in a pivotal presidential election year. As we close the chapter we are ending on a high note with FDA approval for two vaccines which will help in the fight against Coronavirus.

As you personally reflect on this unbelievable year, I challenge you to think about the good that came out of it. Did you get a pet to ease the loneliness or become a better knitter because you had the time to concentrate on the stitch? Did your family grow closer from nights of Scrabble and Monopoly? Did you learn to be a better communicator because you had to rely heavily on email, unlike ever before? Did you learn to use new technology like how to share your screen and put everybody on mute? Did you learn a new skill? Maybe none of these things happened, but as a society we learned how to adapt and cope during uncertain times.

At The Guidance Center of Westchester, some of our sites are still working remotely, many have returned to a physical job site that looks incredibly different. Face masks are mandatory, and zoom sessions have replaced in-person meetings. We have learned that flexibility is a virtue and how to apply that flexibility to both our professional and personal lives. Employers who once thought they were unable to provide flexibility to employees quickly learned to adapt. By remaining flexible during the pandemic, we gained perspective on all the things we took for granted just a year ago.

While 2020 has been a year none of us expected, hopefully many positives will come from these experiences as we prepare for our future.

Written by Camille Banks-Lee, LCSW-R, CASAC, MS.Ed. Ms. Banks-Lee is a member of our clinical team.