2020 the year that wasn't
2020 for most of us was the year that wasn’t. 2020 was the year for throwing plans in the bin, and adapting to lots of change.
This was meant to be the year:
- We went to Melbourne to celebrate my childhood bestie’s Dad’s 90th birthday, and the folks who looked out for me in my formative years could meet Boyfriend Pham.
- I applied for an MBA for my professional development.
- We went to Cairns to celebrate our friend’s wedding, which was going to be the first Indian wedding we attended and set to be an epic night at the convention centre.
- Our Perth friends came to visit us for a fun week away on the Sunshine Coast.
- I studied for a project management certification.
- Our Melbourne friends came to Brisbane for work events, and took time out to visit us.
- We bought a house. Oh, wait - that’s the one thing we did get back on track since it didn’t involve interstate travel.
- We went to Perth to visit friends, family, and move Boyfriend Pham’s mum over to the East Coast. I should probably start calling her Not-In-Law Mum Pham.
I blame global leaders for ruining my 2020 plans through their lack of planning. Because people in power don’t like to listen to scientists much, the inevitable global pandemic hit us and nearly everyone was ill-prepared.
This year feels chaotic, but remember COVID-19 didn’t happen out of the blue. Researchers knew something of this nature was eventually going to rear its ugly head. Boyfriend Pham and I even went to a talk at the World Science Fair in March 2019 when mass gatherings and events were still a thing, called ‘Pandemics & Epidemics: Preparing for the Ultimate Travel Bug.’ Then 9 months later, COVID-19 began to spread. Nobody was prepared.
Instead of investing in pandemic prevention and risk management, short-sighted leaders instead led us to huge economic and quality of life losses. Here’s hoping 2021 is less reactive than 2020.
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