2020 Essays

Inside today's The Herald-Palladium, our staff has shared stories about what 2020's been like for them, which means you get a bonus column from me this week! It's usually verboten to copy and paste company content, but all of the essays are in front of our paywall, so I thought I'd share the whole thing with you here and save you the click. If you feel like subscribing to The HP so you never miss any of my columns, click here. It's only $10 a month for an online subscription.

With more time at home this year, I've gone through old photo albums and relived moments of my youth, like this family vacation to the U.P. from 1989.

2020 through a lens

As the end of December approaches, many people reflect on their year. They’ll take a look back at everything they’ve done, and start looking forward to everything they’ll do in the new year.

My job allows me to be more reflective than most – I’ve spent the last nine months sharing my thoughts on 2020 with you – but I’ve also spent a lot of time this year reliving my youth.

Since I’ve had more time than usual at home, I’ve been grabbing old photo albums from my mom’s house and digitizing some of my favorite pictures. I’ve been using them in a Throwback Thursday series on my personal blog so others can enjoy them, too.

They’re photos of everyday life at home, sporting events, pets, friends, fairs, holidays, vacations, summer fun and family members come and gone.

Memories fade as they’re replaced by new experiences, but photos freeze time forever. They show us exactly how life was.

As much as I’d like to forget 2020, I’ve been documenting it with my camera, too, so I can remember everything that’s happened: the projects, the home schooling, the holidays at home, the face masks, the rare social events and the scenes of everyday life.

It’ll likely be the most defining year of my life – of most of our lives – so I’ve been chronicling it. When future generations ask about 2020, I can show them exactly what life was like and how we got through it.

Past generations have lived through wars, pandemics, civil unrest, natural disasters and economic collapses, and they’ve come out stronger on the other side. We can, too.

While it’s important we remember the lessons we’ve learned this year – some the hard way – we have to remember there was good in 2020, too.

Just take a look through the photos on your phone. What do you see? Are they pictures of pain, of grief, of loneliness?

Probably not. More than likely, they’re photos of your cat. They’re shots of smiling children. They’re closeups of your favorite meals. They’re screenshots of Zoom meetings with family and friends.

We wouldn’t save space on our hard drives for photos that bring us down. So why should we save space in our internal memories for the worries and woes of 2020?

Let’s all take a moment to remember everything that’s happened in 2020 – the good and the bad. But then, let’s clear the memory card, because a new year is nearly upon us.

Andy Steinke is features editor at The Herald-Palladium.