Dear 2019 Self,

I remember how happy you are, looking forward to a new year with so much promise. You plan on taking a trip across the country with your friends, seeing the sights you’ve always wanted to see. I am sorry to have to break your bubble. Soon all of your plans will be cancelled. Not just that, your whole world will be turned upside down. Can you believe that soon you will not be able to go out to dinner with your friends? That you will spend your birthday indoors with only immediate family? I know you don’t believe me, your future self, but let me explain.

You are so excited to ring in the New Year, as you should. New Year has always been a favourite time. There is something cheery about Christmas and New Year celebrations. Little do you know, things are about to change very fast. There are whispers of a virus far away in China, but this means little to you and the world. At the beginning of 2020, massive wildfires hit Australia, and you think this is going to be the worst. You pray for all the people who lost their homes and the animals that died in the wildfires. The virus from Wuhan China keeps spreading around the world, and there are whispers that it might get to the country. You are happy to go back to school, but this is cut short in March when the virus spreads quickly. You don’t know what to believe, the president saying it will soon be contained, and the public fear that the virus is about to overwhelm us.

I don’t mean to scare you, but it is about to get much, much crazier. Schools will close, restaurants will close, airports will close, and there will be a massive shortage of tissue paper. I am not sure how tissue paper relates to a pandemic, but you will soon see. Words like pandemic, covid-19, testing, masks, social distancing and vaccines will quickly become part of your vocabulary. Do you remember seeing people in heavily polluted countries wearing masks? Well, you are about to join the bandwagon. As the year progresses, masks will become a norm. It is going to be very scary. I know you cannot imagine the world coming to a standstill, but brace yourself. People will panic, all international travel will cease, and the world will turn silent.

As if this were not enough, racial tensions will boil over, and massive protests will spread across the country. The 2020 presidential election will be a stressful season for everyone as the country awaits the results. Will President Trump win again? He ends up losing, but his supporter’s storm the Capitol during the certification of results in Congress early in January of 2021. I know your head must be spinning. I never imagined that the US would one day turn into a laughing stock, but here we are.

Do not forget that the pandemic is still raging. Some cities have been put under lockdown, and people are getting restless. Some are arrested for flouting covid related measures, but I can hardly blame them. However, the best thing to do is follow the guidelines so that things might get back to normal soon. Finally, a light shines at the end of the tunnel! Vaccines are finally discovered, and we can look forward to some semblance of normalcy. Some states open up public spaces while others remain cautious. A few months into 2021, all you want is to wake up to the news that the world is back to its old self, but you have to be patient. I know you can handle all the hurdles thrown at you, keep your head up.

Your Future Self.