A letter to 2021

Dear 2021, 

As you get ready to depart, I have a few last words I’d like to say to you. You came in like a teeny-tiny ray of sunshine peeping through our curtains on a rainy morning after a week of thunderstorms. The world had plans to fulfill and we were still trying to make sense of everything 2020 left us with. Humanity looked forward to your arrival.

Even before we could welcome you, we already began to feel the world shift. Amid all the chaos and havoc, you reminded us to keep an open mind, as a last resort to retain our sanity. You reminded us that we needed to be open to change, because that, of course, is our only constant companion through all tops and turns of life. You taught us to befriend change and not to be afraid of it. 

As we moved on through the year, life felt stagnant, many a time. No one could predict what was coming nor had any idea of what just went by. During this time, we learned to look around and appreciate life, as it is. You taught us that between yesterday and tomorrow, only today is in our hands, and to make the best of it, is our responsibility. To create memories and collect moments, to be there for people who matter and to do things that matter, to just be there for yourself, and to take time to be youthful is what life is all about. 

The world showed us a lot of different ways to get by, but you put things into perspective and made us take a hard look at life and choose our ‘why’ to every ‘how’, ‘when’, ‘where’, and ‘who’. It is a life of our own to make, and to compare it to any other is an elaborate act of utter stupidity and insolence. 

In the end, I just want to thank you for stopping by… maybe I did not like you as much as I thought I would, but you taught me what was essential to learn, and I think you taught well. The world was there before we came, and will be here long after we’re gone. Our only job is to leave it better than we found it. We’re not there yet but we shall try. 

Adiós amigo

Only Love

Samridhi