15 Reasons to Stay Alive in 2020
I think we can all agree that 2020 has been a pretty awful year so far. From the threats of a third World War back in January to the protests and violence regarding the Black Lives Matter movement, and the ongoing mess right now that is the Coronavirus pandemic.
Emotions and tension are at an all-time high. People don’t know whether they’re coming or going and a lot of people have been feeling pretty low. Some people may be at their breaking point and unable to cope anymore, wanting to end the pain.
I know what you’re thinking. Please, not that. Anything is better than ending your pain through drugs or death.
For those that are wondering if it is worth it to carry on I promise you it is, 100%. It may not feel like it now, but in 5 years or even 5 months, things could be so much different. They could be so much better. Because sometimes all we need is that one small reason to keep going, no matter how hard life seems.
Read on to discover 15 small ways to bring a little bit of joy to your life. Reasons for you to stay alive throughout the absolute s***-show that is 2020 and possibly the future beyond.
1. You will recover from your trauma — You will get through this
No matter how bad things may feel right now, you can seek comfort in the fact that things always get better. Everything will be okay in the end; if it’s not okay, it’s not the end.
2. The first rain of autumn
That fresh autumn smell that you can’t quite describe but you recognise it immediately. It signifies the end of the heatwave (for those that experience said heatwave) and welcomes the transition into colder days and early darkness. Winter is coming!
3. The crunching of leaves beneath your feet
That little boost of happiness some people experience when walking along a path covered in leaves, hearing the crunch under their feet with each step they take. It brings a certain warmth to the heart; wait for that warmth.
4. Meeting new friends, or catching up with old ones
Meeting new friends is always a wonderful experience. Finding total strangers that you end up getting to know and forming a bond with that is stronger than glue, within a matter of months.
Or on the flip side, catching up with your friends who you perhaps haven’t seen in a few months — damn you, Covid — or those you’ve not seen in years.
5. Waking up before your alarm
Rather than rushing about because you’ve given yourself just enough time to make it out the door without being late. Nobody’s day ever starts well when they’re immediately in a rush.
Instead, you wake up half an hour to an hour earlier, giving yourself time to slowly wake up naturally or to maybe enjoy those few extra minutes in bed before getting up to face another day.
6. Sunsets
Signifying the end of another day, bringing with it a beauty that many love to capture with their mobiles to share to Instagram*. Or to capture with their eyes and take in the sight of day turning into night.
*A photo that I took recently. It’s amazing the outcome you can get simply from changing the settings in your phone camera.
7. Seeing a shooting star
And making a wish that you hope will come true with this rare sight. Some people only ever see one shooting star in their lifetime. Best make sure that wish is a good one, eh?
8. Holding hands for the first time, and your first kiss
Along with the many firsts that come with a new relationship. Both the good and the bad. Embrace them. Love is a feeling that you may experience every day in everyday activities. Yet there’s a certain love that only hits you every so often, and jeez does it hit you like a truck.
9. Listening to the rain hitting your window
I never quite enjoy the rain as much as I do when I’m holding a cup of tea, with fairy lights in the background and I’m looking out of the window seeing the raindrops hitting against the glass. The rain brings a calming effect to some people, many of whom find they fall asleep much easier when the clouds bring their own background music to life.
10. Singing along to your favourite songs
Whether that be in the car with your friends as you cruise down the motorway, or dancing in the kitchen whilst baking cookies. Singing can bring with it a profound pleasure and uplift your mood instantly. Whether you can’t sing or you’re the next Adele, you should always sing and enjoy singing whenever you get the chance.
11. Passing tests
Exams, driving tests, pop quizzes. Whether it be just scraping a pass mark or passing with flying colours, passing a test shows you that in the end, putting in the effort and trying is worth it. Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try.
12. Getting paid
Seeing those £££ in your bank and knowing there’s a shopping spree coming (after paying the bills of course) or saving money towards your first payment on a house. All of those gruelling hours you put in at work — respect to every key worker fighting on the frontlines during this pandemic — were worth it.
13. Meeting someone famous
I’ll never forget meeting my favourite band when I was 18 and asking the lead singer to write something out for a tattoo I’d been after since the album dropped. Moments like that never leave you. When someone asks you “what’s your favourite memory?” and your mind immediately goes to that moment in time.
14. Finding money in your pockets
The moment of satisfaction that’s felt while doing laundry and you find a £5, or even a £20 note in the pocket of the jeans that you wore last week. It’s like you of the past leaving a little gift to you in the future.
15. Bonfires and roasting marshmallows
I may be scared of large fires — thank you childhood trauma — but throwing pieces of wood into a fire or roasting marshmallows over a flame is one surefire way to take myself back to my childhood of the village gathered around a large fire on one of the fields. Just watch out for the hoodlums that try and throw flammable liquids or gas bottles into the flames.
And there we have it. Some of the reasons mentioned may not resonate with you, but they may to others that are feeling the exact same way as you are. I think everyone agrees that we all can’t wait for this year to be over. But for the love of God, please nobody say anything along the lines of “2021 is going to be so much better”. Because you may just jinx us all into a feeling of deja vu.
