Goodbye and good riddance to 2020! Americans hope bittersweet lessons pay future dividends

2020 has been an eventful and memorable year. From the Coronavirus shutting down schools, Black Lives Matter protests, and an apocalyptic presidential election, there is so much to unpack and reflect upon. Going into this year, many felt optimistic and ready for a new year and a new decade to begin. Sophomore Cameron O’Brien had high expectations for 2020.

“I was so excited about the new year,” she said. “There was so much hype about how it was going to be ‘the best year,’ so I was excited for it to happen.”

There was much anticipation for the new decade, and junior Patrick Gannon was especially excited for the sports going on.

“I was looking forward to 2020,” he said. “Many cool things were supposed to happen; the Bucks were playing well, the Olympics were that summer, and the tennis season was on the horizon. Plus, 2020 was the start of a new decade, and who doesn't like that?” 

However, when the Coronavirus reached the United States in March, with schools, businesses, and restaurants shutting down, the dream of a fantastic year slowly disappeared. Winnebago County Sheriff's Department’s lieutenant Jeff Meyer had to adapt to some new guidelines at work because of the pandemic, while some were partly already in place.

“Since March of this year, we have had to adjust in several ways due to the pandemic,” he said. “Social distancing has been a new concept this year, but in general, law enforcement has always been cognizant of distancing due to safety.”

Many businesses also had to change with the pandemic. Director of Protection and Regulatory Affairs Hsing-Yi Hsieh saw how essential companies had been impacted.

“As an essential business, Festival Foods’ primary goal was to do whatever is necessary to keep our associates and guests safe, and continue to serve our communities,” she said. “To achieve this, we had to make changes to our operations; some examples include the installation of plexiglass at every cash register, signage throughout the store and on the floor promoting social distancing, mandatory mask policy, increased cleaning frequency of all high touch surfaces in the store, and much more.”

Not only did the community have to adapt to the new way of life, but O’Brien and many other students are also finding it difficult to stay at home during this time.

“The transition to online school was very hard,” she said. “It’s a completely different way of learning, and there’s such a lack of motivation because we are just sitting at home.”  

Teachers and the school staff have also noticed a decrease in motivation. Spanish teacher Justin Hable believes to have found the source of the lack of motivation for students. 

“I have had students reach out to me to share that they are having a hard time staying motivated by not being in school,” he said. “School is not all about academics. There are also important social aspects. Students are missing interaction with other students, as well as with their teachers in the classroom.” 

Professional counselor Renae Swanson recognizes that the excitement and anticipation West creates for school activities makes not experiencing them that much harder. 

“At schools, we always make a big deal out of homecoming,” she said. “Those are things that students don’t get to have this year. It seems like such a small thing, but it’s huge. That’s the thing they’ve looked forward to.”

History teacher Jeff Schinker has also struggled to an extent in regards to not seeing students face to face.

“I like how virtual learning is going as far as checking in with my students, but I truly miss the classroom time and interaction with my students,” he said.

Adjusting to virtual learning has been a challenge for students and teachers alike. For Principle Erin Kohl, it is hard for her to see her fellow staff struggle.

“For teachers, virtual learning is extremely challenging,” she said. “Teachers have had to completely shift how they teach with no formal training and minimal preparation time. It is challenging for them to balance maintaining the integrity of their courses and making virtual learning ‘doable’ for students. I can say for certain that our teachers miss their students very much.”

Online school is new for many teachers, and it has certainly been a learning experience. Science teacher Rebecca Kocha is still learning how to improve her lessons every day. 

“I feel like I am still transitioning and figuring out the best ways to go about things,” she said. “Overall, I think I have found what works. There is so much that goes on behind the scenes in order to make things run smoothly for students! The hardest part about the transition was keeping myself on a set schedule.” 

Although online learning has been challenging, Kohl looks on the bright side. 

“I have also seen students work really hard to overcome the challenges of virtual learning,” she said. “Perseverance, time management, and self-advocacy are skills critical to life after high school, and students are developing these skills in big ways right now. It has been incredible to witness students using their resources and learning how to manage virtual learning.” 

It is essential to stay on top of school work even though people are not physically in school. Hable has helpful tips for students struggling with online learning.

“I always tell my students to think about what things they enjoy doing and continue to do those in a safe way,” he said. “I also encourage them to create a checklist with tasks and then cross them off or delete them as they accomplish them. The sense of accomplishment helps some to stay motivated and not feel like they are falling more behind.”

2020 has been a time of change, learning, and adjustment in ways extending beyond just the pandemic. Social justice movements such as Black Lives Matter became prevalent during the summer and opened many eyes to our society’s issues. Senior Mercedes Stromberg is working to help people understand the importance of these movements.

“We often don’t learn the full story in school, whether it’s black history, indigenous history, LGBT+ history, or anything else,” she said. “For high schoolers and myself personally, in the last year or so, I’ve really tried to understand what’s going on at a more complicated and in-depth level.”

These movements have helped raise awareness and change mindsets. Sophomore Indigo Schneider believes that these moments in history are assisting others in understanding other people better. 

“Those movements are all about helping people learn and be better people,” they said. 

The police station has also been greatly affected by movements like Black Lives Matter. Lieutenant Meyer and the Winnebago County Sheriff's department have handled this situation with open suggestions. 

“We have seen consistent support for our agency from people in the community,” he said. “For those that call for police reform measures, we are always open to having a discussion about how we can improve our services more efficiently. After all, we are focused on making our community safer and improving our relationship with the community.” 

With this year’s events, people were drastically split between ideas, opinions, and beliefs. These differences divided the country and caused significant stress. With this year also bringing political division, Swanson knows that it had the potential to cause trouble within families.

“This election was so dividing,” she said. “People were nervous to be around their family members who are politically different than them.”

Strong opinions led to conflict, but it also increased the voter turnout. Sue Ertmer, the Winnebago County Clerk, recognized that with so many pressing matters in 2020, many wanted now more than ever to use their voice. 

“The political atmosphere in the country has been pretty hot, so there was a lot of interest and a lot of very passionate people out there on both sides,” she said. “We saw a definite increase in the number of voters.”

Ertmer also believed the Coronavirus had a significant impact on this year’s election stress levels.

“I think it has been hard on everybody,” she said. “Everything was stressful, the politics were stressful, and COVID, I think, made it worse.”

This year has been stressful, but it is almost over. With 2021 right around the corner, it is essential to reflect on some of the positive things that did occur in the last year. O’Brien saw that while quarantine might have separated people, it also brought some closer together.

“2020 has definitely led me to strengthen the friendships I have due to the fact that I couldn’t see everyone all the time,” she said.

Family relationships have also grown throughout the pandemic as they have been quarantined together for months at a time.

“Spending time with my family and with my dog Finn has been fun,” Schinker said.

Kocha even added a new, furry member to their family over quarantine.

“I got a puppy when I knew I would be home for the foreseeable future,” she said. “It turned out to be the best decision ever!” 

With so much time spent at home, people have had plenty of time to learn new skills and pick up new hobbies. 

“I’ve learned a lot of new skills, including increasing my skills in various instruments and gardening,” Schneider said.

The time at home has also given people a new sense of appreciation for things they never thought about before. Kocha’s appreciation for simple things grew.

“I am definitely more appreciative of my freedom and ability to go out and experience things and travel,” she said. “As several of our trips were canceled this year, I developed a new appreciation for the ability to get out and explore.” 

Kohl also found that this year gave her an appreciation for what she already had and reminded her not to take advantage of the good things in life.

“I think this time has forced all of us to re-evaluate what is most important in life; spending time with the people we love, being grateful for what we have, and discovering new ways to entertain ourselves,” she said. “I also think we will all have a newfound appreciation for the things we are not able to do right now, such as the opportunity to attend school in person, and truly just being together.”

The things people take for granted or never even thought about before have been taken away, which has led to an understanding of how important they really are. Gratitude and appreciation have increased throughout the year, and it has also brought people together.

“This was a year that stretched us, and we learned a lot from it,” Hsieh said. “We learned that we are a resilient and strong team. Our company culture was the glue that kept us together; from the very beginning, there was no doubt that our focus was on the people: our associates, our guests, and our communities, and their health and well-being were our top priorities.”

2020 is a year for the history books. So much happened, and although most of it was not the best, everyone has adapted and learned how to deal with the challenges this year has presented. Rather than remembering 2020 as “the worst year ever,” many agree that this year can be represented by the growth and skills gained to overcome obstacles. Kocha is also proud to have seen some people come together to conquer this year together. 

“I am so proud of my colleagues and students for the immense resilience we have all shown this year,” she said. “We can seriously conquer anything! We should all be so proud of ourselves.” 

By Tessa Whitcomb

Oshkosh West Index Volume 117 Issue III

December 11th, 2020