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Thursday, December 31, 2020

Goodbye 2020


Bailey made up an Instagram post today, but it was too long for IG, so she had to cut it down. However, I loved what she wrote and wanted to share this in its entirety

2020 was a crazy year. It felt somehow both like the worst Nicholas Cage movie and the longest nap. My number one business goal was to source more and pick up higher dollar items, but 2020 had other plans. I haven't been to a thrift store, grocery store, library, anywhere since March. Quarantine began for us on March 14th, the day after schools decided to close for the rest of the academic year. We thought it would be a few months tops. We thought the nation would band together to end this thing and save lives. Oh how naïve.

2020 was the year of new hobbies and picking up old ones. I learned to tie dye and loved it. I have plants now and they are all alive and thriving. Okay fine, I may have killed a couple of them. Who knew ivy was so temperamental? I reread books that I loved in high school and found comfort in them. I listened to Harry Potter on repeat and finally got my mom to watch all of the movies with me. I journaled for a week, baked a few times, decluttered and recluttered. It was the year of online shopping, contactless pickups, drive-thru prescriptions, and any reason to go for a drive. 

It was the year of repairmen and new appliances. Because we were hiding from the world, I guess 2020 decided to bring the world to us. We had to have more repairmen in the house this year than the last five combined. We couldn't pull another Tennessee summer out of our air conditioner, and despite endless attempts of Drano the kitchen sink determined to be professionally fixed. July brought an unexpected dryer repair, and October decided to doom it and the washer completely and simultaneously. April brought tornados that knocked the power out for days. Those were the worst of the quarantine days. The spring also brought the loss of my cousin Joseph. 

It was the year that ThredUp went from an exciting business endeavor to the greatest disappointment in the span of a week. The cats don't expect breakfast at 6:30 in the morning anymore, but they get more attention now than ever. Instagram and TikTok became my anchors to the real world. We learned how to clean strawberries. Who knew there were bugs in there? The name Karen became synonymous with raging psycho, and toilet paper was a hot commodity for a minute. My vision for my first PoshFest was of a flight to a beautiful city, crashing in a hotel room with some fellow Poshers, and meeting many of you in a pretty dress and annoying shoes. Instead I was in my bedroom wearing the comfiest (and ugliest) shorts I own and fretting over Zoom links and YouTube buffering. Somehow it was just as exhausting. 

It was the year of self hair cuts. It was the year of staying home because of a pandemic and because of self hair cuts. I learned to source online and embrace the $5 and $10 flips again. I learned to tell myself "it's temporary" every day and believe it. I learned how it feels to be abandoned by our leaders with a pandemic and a forthcoming recession. I learned what it feels like to be angry and become exhausted from being angry at the people in charge. I learned what it's like to be exhausted from being exasperated by the president's actions every single day. While I held this belief before, I learned monumentally the importance of voting and paying attention to what our leaders are doing and not doing for us. I learned to pay attention to what they stand for. I learned that too many of them stand for money. I learned that they will dump their stocks before warning the American people who voted for them that danger is coming.

I learned the words 'immunocompromised' and 'comorbidities', and wish I never had to. I learned what hospitals have to do when they run out of beds. I learned about my white privilege and my white-washed education and vowed to do better, to learn, to read, and to grow. I learned it's not enough to post a black square and call yourself an ally. I learned that too many people won't wear a mask even if it means saving another's life. I learned that a year can be seen as a villain. 2020 was rough and cruel. It was boring and terrifying, and if all you could do this year was survive then that's okay. If you lost someone you loved this year, I'm so sorry. Here's hoping 2021 will be better and if you made it this far thank you. I hope you have a lovely New Year. 

Bailey
BaileyAlexInc


43 comments:

  1. What a magnificently inciteful piece of writing! Spoken from the heart. It was a wonderful way to capsulize the year. I like to think that if we survived all this, we'll all be the stronger for it. Hang in there. It will get better.

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    1. Thank you. Yes, we will definitely be stronger for having survived this year.

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  2. Beautifully written, Bailey!! This warmed my English teacher's heart :) Here's hoping all the Richardson's and all of us have a much better 2021!

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    1. Thank you, Frances. I hope we all have a much better 2021 too!

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  3. What a great summary of this year. It's been extra rough for us, because we lost some very close friends (2 over the holidays. One of them, just yesterday). I hope & pray that 2021 will be a better year for us all. Best wishes for the year ahead. Stay safe & healthy.

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    1. I'm so sorry you lost some very close friends, Ms. Goose. It was certainly a rough year for that. My heart goes out to you.

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  4. Bailey is an excellent writer. Love her post.

    Happy New Year to both of you, Belinda!

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  5. This is absolutely amazing! I'm sitting here with tears streaming down my face. A big thank you to Bailey for this beautifully written summary of this horrible year. Wishing you and your family all the best for the new year! ((Hugs))

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    1. Thank you, Martha. Happy New Year to you too!

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  6. Ok, the tears are truly in my eyes. This is probably the most real run down of 2020 I've seen. I hope all turns around for Bailey and all the young people who got the biggest shaft this year. Take heart both of you-There is light coming.

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    1. Thank you, Sam. We will be so happy when this is all behind al of us.

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  7. It is amazing writing!! Jill

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  8. Bailey's post is the story of all our lives. She is one smart girl. I hope she writes another post next year about the end of this pandemic too and the changes for the better. I'm glad she voted!

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  9. It's a brilliant piece of writing and I'm so glad you posted it in full, thank you very much.
    xx

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  10. Beautiful post Bailey!! Thank you for sharing your heart with us!
    What a year! But you and all the young people like you, give me hope for the future. Bless you!

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  11. Happy New Year Belinda! Thanks for sharing that IG post...it's interesting to read how people weathered 2020, we all had so many different experiences! I do miss thrift store shopping though!

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    1. Thank you, Rain. I miss thrift store shopping too. I can't wait until we can go again. LOL

      Happy New Year to you too.

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  12. Bravo! My sentiments exactly. Thanks for your blog.

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  13. So true and well written. This needs to go viral. Bailey speaks for all of us!

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  14. I have actually been doing something similar on Facebook. I just could not take the negativity any longer. Nice to read someone who feels much the same as I do.

    Here is hoping that what we have all learned carries over into this year.

    God bless.

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  15. Amen! I couldn’t have said it any better! You gave me hope that there are more wise young people like you out there!!! Bravo!

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  16. Belinda that was so beautiful. Bailey is an incredible writer. That was the most beautiful Covid 2020 post I have ever read. All from a beautiful young girl who explained feelings better than any of us in our middle years. Thank you for sharing it, truly. I have heard and read so many Covid ops & posts but none touched me as much as Bailey's did.

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    1. Thank you so much, Safyne. I thought she did aa good job conveying what many of us were feeling.

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  17. Wow, on many points that sums up the year for me as well. Bailey, thank you for writing this, and Belinda, thank you for posting. May 2021 bring us all health and blessings.

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    1. Thank you for letting us know. Many healthy and happing blessings to you too.

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  18. Couldn't agree more, Bailey! This was a great summary of a wild & crazy year. Bailey's writing is such an enjoyable read. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. You're welcome. Thank you for your sweet words.

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  19. What a great post, Bailey summed it all up.Happy New year! Xo

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  20. Replies
    1. Thank you, Theresa. I'm working behind the scenes this week. Thank you for checking up on me. I hope all is well with you too.

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  21. Beautiful post Bailey!! Thank you for sharing your heart with us!

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