Dylan Yoder
Columnist
With the beginning of the new year comes new hope. Unless you’re like most pessimistic people, in which case 2022 will just be a repeat of the last two years. I, however, like to view things in a brighter light. 2022 will be what we make of it. Yes, COVID still exists, and policies are becoming more and more restrictive, but we only get upset at things if we let those things upset us. On that note, let’s take a look at some reasons why 2022 might not be so bad after all. Because, if we look for the good in the world, very often, you can find it.
First of all, let’s start with some analysis. Yeah, 2021 was bad. Like, really bad. Nearly every mandate from 2020 carried into the last year with more to boot. Not only that but multiple markets, namely housing, and auto, have been skyrocketing throughout the previous months.
Now, while those things are bad, very bad, we can’t let them bog us down. It’s bad enough that it’s happened, being sad about it isn’t going to change much, besides the fact that now your mental state is worse than it was before. I don’t know if the markets will ever come back down, or what the future may hold. But I do know that I can only control what I worry about, and worrying about the uncontrollable is possibly the worst type of worry you can have. It’s called anxiety, and there it is completely unhelpful to every person it happens to. Take a deep breath, clear your mind, and take this new year 1 day at a time.
Secondly, a big thing about the pandemic is the idea that we are isolated from others. The idea is that somehow, we social beings must distance from each other to keep each other safe. Believe it or not, this hasn’t been entirely bad for the mentality of the human population. A great number of people report that they focused on self-help a lot more than they had in previous years. We spent more time outside, exercising, and not taking anything for granted as a whole. Go us. If there’s one thing we humans are good at, it’s continuing on in the most difficult situations. We’ve lived through worse, we can handle a measly virus. Just to be clear, I’m not undermining the horrible damage COVID has done to nearly 800,000 families across the US.
Taking loved ones from us, and whatnot. But we must go on, to survive. To do that, it’s important to remember the good things in this world as well. Start this new year off by remembering all of the good small things as well, Anything from finishing that one tv show to reading the entire Harry Potter collection for the eight hundredth time. Remember your small victories and don’t be afraid to pat yourself on the back, you earned it.
Overall, yeah, the last two years were pretty bad. We’ve had a rough go of it. Honestly speaking, the next year doesn’t look too much better, but 2022 will be what we make of it. There will be rough times, like always, but remembering the small things is what may make it better. Don’t spend too much time worrying, because more often than not, that worry is ill-founded.
Additionally, stop being mad at people simply because of what they believe. Anger just creates more anger. The world doesn’t need negativity right now, it needs healing. Be a good person, and good things will come to you. Have a great day.
