Life to 2020: 10 Positive Things That Happened This Year

Here are 10 positive things that happened in 2020 behind the scenes of a confusing film probably produced, written, photographed, directed and acted by Tyler Perry.

If you’re reading this, you’re either still in 2020 or have crossed into the much-awaited 2021.

Whatever date your calendar reads, you’d want to read this, because on the one hand, it’ll make you a little bit thankful about 2020, regardless of the shit-show and on the other, get prepared for a potentially amazing 2021.

The date was 31st December 2019. There was gayful cheer in the air and in the midst of that, social media was buzzing with arguments about whether 2020 was the start of a new century or not.

Lmao. I think that’s when the confusion that later became 2020 really started :)

2020 became such a momentous year for both good and bad that it had to be named twice. 

But while this year seemed especially hard, there have been several silver linings. Out of coronavirus came creativity and from quarantine came quality time with family.

So, without further ado, here are 10 positive things that happened in 2020 behind the scenes of a confusing film probably produced, written, photographed, directed and acted by Tyler Perry.

DISCLAIMER: This piece is not meant to minimise the harsh reality of an incredibly difficult year. Many have lost loved ones and valuables, but consider this a flip side to the same coin or...or… seeing the glass half-full, and not half-empty.

1. Thanos kinda “balanced” the universe

If you’re an MCU and “Avengers” fan like I am, you’d be familiar with the big bully bloke called Thanos whose mission was to reduce earth’s population to half its size by creating a balanced state where all its elements existed in equitable distribution. 

While Thanos hasn’t entirely balanced the universe per human population, throughout the global lockdown period, we did witness a semblance of ecosystemic tranquillity. 

Carbon emissions have declined, same with sewage and industrial effluence into rivers, humans haven’t made as much noise as we used to, ohh and yeah, wildlife finally got a chance to reclaim its lands (did you see the Penguins of Madagascar visit Cape Town?)

Safe to say that Coronavirus lockdown helped the environment to bounce back.

So, while Thanos still has a long way to go, he did cause some impact. The question now is: will he keep trying?

2. Everything went Zoom Zoom Zoom

“Hey, what’s up?”

“I’m doing good. You?”

“Yeah, I’m f...f...fin...e...e”

“What’d you say?”

“Hold on. I need to refresh my internet.”

Yup! You guessed right. 

2020 started with two crazes: Corona and Zoom. While lockdown forced more than half the world’s population to sit our butts at home, we somehow found a way to open another vortex loop: the big Zoom Boom.

Whether it's family reunions, birthdays, office meetings, graduations or even weddings (errr, divorces, too), we convinced ourselves that we could stay apart together without being in the same room - and there's a good chance this will continue for a while.

So, while it lasts, get a stable internet, more electricity, make new friends, and enjoy the zoom life.

3. TikTok and Houseparty blew up

Still on videobombing and connecting with friends and family during the lockdown, we saw the rise and re-rise of vlogging apps like TikTok and Houseparty.

TikTok and Houseparty, both founded in 2016 finally got their big breakthrough, 4 years later, this year.

While social media challenges like #ToosieSlide, #DontLeaveMe, #BopDaddy and #DontRush were abuzz on TikTok, some of us took the video chatting game to the Houseparty app. It was fun for teens, adults and the millions of new users the apps gained, although short-lived.

Now that reality is hitting hard again, it won’t be a bad idea if we had another app resurrection in 2021, will it?

4. Seems like the world got kinder

If kindness and compassion were human beings, I think we’d have celebrated their birthdays this year. Boy, did we get a full dose of those?

While Corona was ravaging continents, we saw how kindness became contagious, just as the virus gained more mileage.

Whether it’s family members dropping off food and essentials to others during the lockdown, individuals and communities donating items and treats to health care and essential workers, or random acts of kindness from one person to someone else more vulnerable, we saw a different world.

Of course, we’ve always had compassion, but this time it was different. This time, we all faced the same threat. 

If not for anything, this pandemic has challenged all of us to understand that life can change in ways we all never expected. It has taught us that we are all connected, hence the need to have more compassion towards one another.

It’d really be nice to see this continue in 2021.

5. Health care and essential workers became superheroes

And the award for most impactful superheroes of 2020 goes to health care and essential workers. 

I don't think this recognition will elicit any contest from anyone. It's a done deal! 

In 2020, we saw health care workers, people we'd long regarded as heroes graduate to becoming superheroes. 

Adorned in their hero capes (PPEs) and while everyone locked up and locked down at home, doctors, nurses, first responders and other essential workers like cleaners, delivery personnel, food suppliers, public transport operators, grocery store workers, etc stayed out, so that we could safely stay in. They risked their lives, and many eventually and sadly died, just so we could survive.

I think we can finally end the "farmers are better than doctors" debate we had back as kids. It's gone on for too long, disrespectfully, so. 

I mean, even Marvel has released a comic book about our COVID-19 frontline superheroes.

6. Apple still gave us iPhone 12

As if COVID-19 and the standstill it had caused wasn't enough reason, Apple thought differently: "now's the best time to hit them with the new iPhone 12. They're home and will have all the time in the world to try it out."

October 23 was "World iPhone 12 Day". Usually, on any Apple product launch day, there'd be hundreds of Apple lovers lined up from blocks to blocks around stores, trying to cop the new devices, but this year, it was quite different. 

Apple introduced the "Apple Express" storefront model, which allows attendants to sit behind a protective and plexiglass counter as we've got in banks. Plus, there was no need for queues, since you could only preorder and schedule an appointment online for your pickup.

But, perhaps, the most 2020-ish thing about the iPhone 12 virtual release was that it became Apple's first iPhone to come with 5G. 

Talk about 2020 being a record-breaking year!

7. Virtual concerts were lit!

Like Zoom meetings, like virtual concerts. Just when we thought COVID-19 was going to steal all the fun from 2020, musicians, artists and performers around the world found virtual ways to improvise a new concert culture. 

We saw musicians thrill us with amazing virtual performances, comedians crack us up while we stared at our screens, backstage became frontstage and talking about organic performances, we had less of "DJ, play track 10". 

Devoid of the usual frills and physical connections, these concerts offered a more "real" version of artistes, who engaged with their audience in a much deeper way than live concerts allowed.

And we loved to see every single one of them! 

8. The year of Civil Rights Movements

If there was another way 2020 proved to be a tumultuous year apart from COVID-19, it was through protests.

Historians ate really well in 2020. They will toil over the socio-political twists and turns that emerged on what felt like a daily basis throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Even before the Coronavirus fully gripped the world, the year was shaping up to be a year of activism. 

You'll likely tell your grandkids about the protests you attended in 2020. 

From the Black Lives Matter protests that started in the US and spread to several cities across the world after the unfortunate and inhumane killing of a black man, George Floyd by US police officers to the #EndSARS protests here in Nigeria which demanded the scrapping of the rogue Federal police anti-robbery unit, SARS.

Other notable protests like the Juneteenth protests, climate change strikes, #ShutItAllDown protests against femicide in Namibia, the Hong Kong protests, anti-government protests in Mali also gained significant prominence.

On the one hand, only a few of these protests delivered significant changes to status quo, but on the other, they reaffirmed the resilience of citizens and change-makers to resist oppression, even while COVID-19 raged on.

The establishment, perhaps, thought Coronavirus would put activists down. Well, “take that, suckers!”

9. Trump got trumped

Yassss! I finally got a chance to use the “Trump got trumped” phrase. 

I must admit, it’s been such a doubly terrible year for Trump.

As if surviving an impeachment earlier in the year and testing positive to COVID-19 weren’t enough, Donald J. Trump, the unfortunate 45th President of the United States of America lost in a keenly contested presidential election to Democratic Party candidate, Joe Biden.

If you’re a believer in the Free World, then you’re most likely one of over 81 million people who physically and virtually celebrated Trump’s sweet loss.

If it isn’t too early, this is the point where we say a big “thank you” to anti-Trump and pro-democracy American voters. You’ve done the whole world a solid favour. Hopefully, the same can be replicated in other countries ruled by tyrants like Nigeria, Cameroon, Russia, Syria, etc.

But for now, we ‘meeuuve’.

10. BREAKING: COVID-19’s got a Vaccine

The fact that we still got a miracle vaccine in 2020 is proof that the year did have its positives. 

In the early stages of the Coronavirus pandemic, we heard about how it’d take until 2021 before a vaccine could be approved, but here we are with a miracle vaccine already.

The vaccines have begun to be administered in the US, UK, etc., less than a year after the pandemic began. 

Invented by Pfizer, in partnership with BioNTech, and Moderna, these vaccines are said to use a new type of vaccine technology that’s sort of like cellular engineering.

Now that it’s been adequately proven that these vaccines are potent enough against COVID-19, the goal should now be ensuring that they are equitably distributed and made accessible to every and anyone across the world who needs them first.

Wrapping up…

Interestingly, this is not only a wrap up of this piece but also of the year. 

So, as the new year begins with heightened hopes for a new beginning, remember to continue to observe COVID-19 safety protocols and measures. We don’t want that COVID life in 2021, pleaseeeee!

While you’re at it, pour yourself a glass of wine, pray for the deceased souls, place your feet on a higher ground, recline your seat, and remind yourself of how proud you are to have survived the year 2020.

Ohh, before I forget...Happy New Year!

PS: If you think I missed any positive thing that happened in 2020, you can tweet your personal positives to me @IAmRonaldX and I’ll be on the other side to cheer you on.

PSS: Remember, if it’s rankable, you’d find it here on RankPaedia.