To 2020: I heard you loud and clear.

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Remember that old York Peppermint Patty commercial where the woman split open a peppermint patty, bit it, and the camera zoomed in on her goosebumps, as the chill of the peppermint took over her senses?

A few mornings ago, I woke up with one of those excruciating morning headaches where I either had a nightmare, or had a hard sleep, and woke up sweating with my head pounding like it was connected directly to my heart. I was so hot, even though I don’t sleep in anything more than a t-shirt. I probably had experienced a nightmare or went to sleep with something heavy on my mind. So, I sat up, looked at the clock on my wall, and saw it was only 6:30, meaning I had a few hours before I had to start work. I didn’t even pick up my phone, I just got up and walked out to my porch, no jacket on whatsoever, 30 degree weather and all. Just me and the sunrise

Peppermint patty, what?! My headache went anyway (I obviously didn’t feel hot anymore, either); my skin, raised and prickly with goosebumps, felt alive. The air didn’t feel nearly as thick and stagnant. Mother nature herself had cured me. No Tylenol required.

I’m not sure if anyone else noticed this, but unless I’m trippin’, this year is the first normal year weather-wise— or as close as you can get to ‘normal’ in a 21st century climate—I’ve experienced in a very long time (speaking as a person in the southeastern region of the U.S) Why do I think that? Because 2020 has been the first abnormal year in recent world history for humans and also, because of this abnormality, we had to keep our entitled behinds home, which meant less cars on the road, subsequently emitting less carbon dioxide into the air (any scientists reading this, feel free to correct me on my terminology). Again, this is my opinion.

2020, I heard you loud and clear — every day is precious and God is in complete control.

Now, I’m not trying to preach to anyone. I believe everyone is entitled to their own beliefs but something — whether you believe it to be science or a theological entity being, spirit, or idea — is up there reminding every single one of us as human beings, that we are not in control. I mean, we all know the world is crazy enough as it is, but for the completely random series of events to occur back to back to back, as if they were on some demonic loop, like they did this year, it has to mean something. If nothing but, it’s been a complete peppermint patty.

We don’t own this world. We can’t control our tomorrow. We can’t erase the past. What happened has happened, and contrary to popular belief, sometimes you can’t just move on and forget; sometimes you have to face what’s right in front of you, stop trying to deny it, and then move forward.

Here’s what brought me back to my senses, and gave me goosebumps this year:

and racism is very real.

Homophobia and transphobia are real.

Mental health is just as important as physical health.

Our planet is dying and is crying out for help.

Women are equal to men, end of story.

White privilege is a thing, not just a theory.

America is not perfect, just like any other continent isn’t perfect.

You are not perfect.

I am not perfect.

We are imperfect.

It is okay to be imperfect.

But it is no longer okay to just sit back and actively act on that imperfection. Every day is a blessing and is an opportunity to do better; to be better. I hate cliches, but dang it, sometimes they’re true:

Tell the people you value and cherish that you love them every single day. Admit when you’re wrong, even when it hurts your pride. It’s okay to be ignorant of a certain kind of person, place, idea, or thing, but take every day as an opportunity to learn something new to combat that ignorance. Pay it forward and do one kind act a day, even something as small as telling someone you like their shirt; because you never know how impactful those three simple words will be to them.

Also, it’s okay to have a bad day. It’s okay to cry. It’s okay to get overwhelmed and be upset and not agree with someone, but don’t take your own personal frustrations out on other people just because you refuse to be wrong or accept defeat. There’s a huge difference between general discord and complete disregard for other people’s feelings or beliefs because you’re too self-absorbed to see past yourself.

We are all born and one day we will all die, these two things are certain. But while we’ve got breath in our lungs we can try and do everything we can to be the best we can be while we’re alive.

It is okay to be imperfect, but always strive to be better.

2020, I heard you loud and clear. This my little personal letter to myself and I won’t ever forget you. How could I? You woke me up like a peppermint patty and I see in complete 20/20 now. Thanks for the headache and the wake up call.

To 2020: I heard you loud and clear. was originally published in CRY Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.