2020 has been hell, but at least I learned a lesson as well
2020 in many ways, has been a shit year, but I will list a few ways it has just been the worst: COVID-19, the mass killing of unarmed Black men and women, unending protests met with police brutality, separation from family and friends, death of individuals that caused the whole community to grieve, and on a personal note having to reschedule and replan my wedding.
I couldn’t be more excited that we are on the final countdown to 2021. But 2020 did give me some suitable life lessons, lessons which I hadn’t seen the likes of since my dad passed away four and a half years ago. Since 2020 wasn’t all bad, and I am blessed to make it through it with my health, job, family, and sanity, I figured I would share a few of the things this year has taught me. Over the next few weeks I will share the lessons I learned from this roller coaster of a year.
1. Your truth is powerful.
This year many of us, especially people of color and especially Black people, have been through the constant never-ending trauma of watching our brothers and sisters be a) senselessly killed, b) battered and bruised for simply protesting, c) targeted by those who wish nothing but bad, d) killed by disease due to lack of support, and e) simply just be exhausted. Add to it the slew of support statements that companies placed on their website, told their employees at town halls, and put in advertisements that were nothing more than words to them. 2020 was also a year where many found their voices at work for the first time. They spoke up about their lived experiences in and out of the office, and that scared the living shit out of those in charge. I was one of those people who tried not to shake the boat at work but found myself as part of the iceberg this summer. Many people decided that they could no longer work for places that didn’t value their lives or their existence outside of the value they provide through the work they do, and that scared the shit out of people in leadership. We saw the mass hiring of Diversity and Inclusion Specialist, Directors, Managers, and Chief Officers as though hiring one person would fix the systematic changes that companies need to make. Many people called those companies out for it and scared the shit out of those in charge. Our lived experiences cannot be so easily ignored when spoken aloud. They scare people because they are the truths they have been pretending do not exist, and now they can’t. Your truths make them uncomfortable. Your truth makes them have to change. Your truth makes them have to take action. Your truth makes racism, sexism, ageism, and any other ism they have been scared to accept their existence in their company a reality. Your truth is powerful.
