I was going to initially make this column solely about the 2020 presidential election, but honestly, I didn’t know where to start or what angle to take.
I could’ve made this column about COVID-19, social and political strife, economic fallout or a host of other things that have made 2020 a year to forget but also a year that will be unforgettable.
I could sit here, write this and rehash all the negative that’s occurred since Jan. 1, 2020.
But in all honesty, what good would that do me?
By nature, I’m an optimist, and I believe that in order to live your life to the fullest and have serenity, you need to look toward the future and beam with excitement over what it has to offer.
The year 2021 has so much potential that I can’t even explain it.
On the surface, someone might read that and think I’m insane, and to a degree, they’re right. I don’t have any evidence that 2021 will be much different than 2020; COVID-19 will still be affecting our lives, the economy will still be sluggish, a potentially divided government will face friction and struggle to operate and the old feeling of “normalcy” will simply not exist.
But on the flip side, 2021 is an opportunity.
It’s an opportunity to readjust and refocus. It’s an opportunity to take the life lessons we’ve all learned this year and apply them to the new and existing challenges we will surely face in the new year. It’s a beaming opportunity to lay out goals and strive to achieve them in the face of adversity.
Beyond that, 2021 offers us hope. By next year, we expect and surely hold out hope that a vaccine will be available for mass distribution, we hope that our government will unite and try to move past the bitterness and inaction, and we hope that people will return to their jobs and regain their livelihoods.
It’s important to not underestimate the power of hope and how far it can carry a dejected nation. Sometimes all that is left is hope, and it can work wonders in reviving an attitude of optimism.
Now, is it a guarantee that 2021 will be better than 2020? Not at all. In fact, maybe it’ll be worse than 2020; full disclosure, I hope that’s not the case.
But the fact is we don’t know for sure, yet each of us in some way has the power to shape that outcome. In each of our individual lives, we have an opportunity to move past the flaws and failures of 2020 and create a bright new beginning with all the possibilities for success in 2021.
This will be the last time a full-fledged issue of The Gannon Knight will be out in 2020 and this will most likely be my last Perspective column until the new year. I know that once the semester ends and the long break begins, I will be using some time to reflect on this year and plan for the new. I would encourage everyone to do the same.
If we all heed the belief that there can be a better tomorrow, and the sky is the limit, the past means nothing.

MICHAEL GUIDO

[email protected]