So this story is going to be way different from everything else I have worked on in the past. Everyone on the planet can agree that collectively, 2020 was a terrible and chaotic year. But after the election results came back, everything seemed on the rise. Vaccines were coming out, Biden is our president-elect, the year was almost over, for once in 2020, it felt calm. Like the storm was easing up. Although it still seems like this, to me I can’t feel the hope I once did for 2021. On December 21 of 2020, my dad was diagnosed with COVID-19, what a way to end 2020. Everything after that felt like a blurry void.

Obviously, I cannot blame him for what happened, but that doesn’t mean I have to be upbeat about it. I feel like empty is a good way to describe how I am feeling. After the diagnosis, the rest of us got tested, and we were all negative. However, shortly after the test, my mother and brother started to express symptoms. We’ve all been quarantining in our home, even more intensely than before. KN95 masks are up, washing hands at every corner, keeping distance, etc. Although my brother’s skull is so thick that he doesn’t know what social distance is, nor does he ever remember his mask. I’ve been mainly staying in my room to avoid the others, and they are all doing the same for the most part. I’m the only one who hasn’t been expressing signs of the plague, but my new test results are about to come in.

But obviously, this threw a wrench into our holiday plans. For Christmas, we just had family drive-by and drop-off gifts. I got a lot that I wanted, but it just didn’t feel the same. Christmas is about spending time with those you love and being together, with gifts added somewhere in-between. I spent the day watching Christmas specials on youtube with my puppies and listening to Christmas music. Sidenote: the Garfield Christmas special is top tier. Christmas just felt like a hollow shell of itself. News year’s wasn’t much different. I ended the year with my puppies, animal crossing, and a discord call. If you know anything about me, you would know how important Christmas is to me and how much I just love the Christmas season. I even run like a daily post for Christmas on my Instagram, but I had no motivation to even finish it. What a way to go 2020, it is perfect thematically.

The days have blurred together in my head and it’s surprising that school has already started back again. I’ve spent most of days playing Stardew Valley with my friends, and that has been a lot of fun. In fact, I owe them so much for helping me during this time. My mental state has been quickly deteriorating, but playing and just goofing around with them has been so helpful to me during this time. It has been so enjoyable and calming, and for that I can never thank them enough. As for right now, my second test is on its way and my parents are getting better.

The worst part about all this is that I wasn’t able to even enjoy my book getting released. I had this giant countdown across my socials and I was so excited to share my book with the world. I’ve had the date, 12/21/2020 in mind for legit two years, and all of that was stolen from right under me. As I said, I don’t blame my parents or anyone really. There was no controlling this, no one is at fault. I will be okay, I’ve made it through worse. I can get through this, we can get through this. It’s only a matter of time.