As I sit and write this with a heavy heart, all I can think about is what a ride 2020 has been. Every single day of the last year seemed to bring some kind of news with it, and frankly, it has been exhausting. As a community, we’ve suffered more loss in the last year than we might have ever done in our collective lifetimes and I’m gonna be honest with you all, it’s left us a little scarred, hasn’t it? A little stripped of our defences and a shell of our most vulnerable selves. And you know what? That’s okay. We are all in the same boat. Some of us may be carrying more baggage than others, but we’re here, we’re alive, and we’re together, and if there is nothing else to take away from 2020, let it be the simple fact that we still exist together.

I get what you’re probably thinking – together, how are we together? But we are. We employed defences which safeguarded each other this year. We stood up for the rights of each other. When homes came crashing down, we stepped in for each other and offered up our own spaces. When food was a contentious issue, we came together and proved our unity. This year, despite the odds, we came together time and time again. And sure, isolation often made us feel like we were losing it on our own, but our physical communities moved online almost overnight at the speed of light and tried to keep spirits up in every possible way.

The people we were. The things we did. The emotions we felt. The religion we followed. The colour of our skin. The gender we ascribe to. The truths we believed in. None of it mattered this year. The only thing that mattered was staying alive, and keeping each other alive.

I hope that as we welcome in 2021, we won’t let our hearts be too heavy with the weight of the losses we experienced this year and instead, think back warmly on all the times we actively chose to exist for each other. I hope that all that 2020 has taught us, we will be able to carry forward with grace into 2021.

You have survived through possibly one of the hardest years of your life and that, my love, is testament to your strength. May this coming year be easy upon your soul, but most importantly may you be gentle with yourself.