Forget resolutions. Here are my hopes for 2021
It has become fashionable to dump on the year 2020, and with good reason. The third decade of the new millennium has so far brought us plague, political instability, the threat of global economic collapse and converted entire cities into ghost towns.
But it is also trendy to dump on whatever year to which we are currently bidding adieu — I remember the glee with which 2019 was kicked to the curb, the same with 2018, 2017, 2016, etc. People love to complain about things and I’ve certainly done my share of moaning over 2020. Plus the memes about “2020 Bingo cards” have been vastly amusing — especially when you account for everything that has come true this year — killer hornets, asteroids, massive social movements, unseating dictators, averting civil war, proof of alien life and the four horsemen (only one of those things did not happen, sadly).
On the last day of 2020, as I wave goodbye to what has personally and globally been one of the most difficult years of my life, I think about the wise words of friend and fellow writer Ausma Zehanat Khan: “Things can always get worse and they will.”
This deeply relatable cynicism somehow makes me feel better and has inspired my first ever non-resolution New Year’s Eve list.
I stopped making resolutions sometime around the turn of the century because I don’t believe in lying to myself. Instead, I’ve decided to compile a list of my hopes for the coming year and beyond. Because we can all use a little hope right about now.
My hopes for 2021:
1) I hope to continue my interest in staying more active. I wrote before that my sons had shamed me into exercising regularly. I went from blissful couch potato to grudging, huffing, fitness-y person, and I’m happy to report that for the past three months I’ve joined the ranks of regular exercisers. I still don’t like it; I haven’t lost a pound; but it has been good for my mental health and I feel better after every painful session.
2) I hope to recommit to lifelong learning. As stressful as it has been to essentially relearn how to teach this year, amid the challenges and expectations of online learning, some part of it has also been exhilarating. I enjoy learning new things, but for the past few years my learning has become laser focused on traditional teaching and writing. In 2021, I want to expose myself to different ways and topics of learning. I want to do the word jumble, start a crossword habit, read more non-fiction and maybe even learn how to shoot a basketball.
3) I hope to cultivate a new relationship with my kids, outside of the parent-child one we currently enjoy. My sons are growing up; they are both teenagers now. As their parents, my husband and I are responsible for their wellbeing and for getting them ready for adulthood. But I also want to be part of their future life … which means I’ll have to pretend to be interested in their interests, or find something we can enjoy together. My husband already chats with my boys about tech toys, models and video games; I’ll have to find something, too.
4) I hope to cultivate a more generous heart, by giving more of my time and energy toward things that benefit not just me and my immediate family, but the wider community surrounding us. If this year has taught me anything, it is that society is a precious, delicate thing, and needs constant reinforcement and tending. I used to volunteer all the time and I miss it.
5) Finally, I hope to push back against my natural cynicism and dare to be optimistic about the world. Part of this means to embrace my ambition, and not to immediately deflect or make self-deprecating jokes about myself all the time. This year has taught me to be kinder to myself and not just others.
Happy New Year, dear readers. I hope 2021 will bring you an abundance of health, knowledge, exciting new hobbies, generous dispositions, self-kindness and an overflowing fountain of hope.