2020: A Brief Year in Review
Two-thousand twenty has been a weird year to say the least.
On March 15th, my fiancée deleted me on social media. I would learn later that evening (through a handwritten letter) that she was no longer my fiancée and had not only called off our engagement but had also our relationship. What I didn’t realize at the time is that the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) would not only dominate the news, but also impact my life significantly. Even though work commitments would have prevented it, events that I would normally have partaken in (the Electric Railroaders’ Association annual North American convention; the Rail Passengers Association annual Spring meeting in DC, the New York State Democratic Rural Conference annual convention, a trip to scatter a friend’s ashes in the Colorado Rockies, and one or two other events/trips) never happened. As a result, this retrospective will be shorter than my usual retrospectives. 2021 will probably also be a year without major travel. I am hoping to make more trips to the Catskills and Hudson Valley in 2021.
The only upside to 2020 has been truly living independently for the first time in my life. While it has not been easy, it has also come with many rewards. I never have to worry about waking anyone up when heading out the door in the morning, for one thing. I feel in many ways more confident about my own future, even with some hiccups. A planned move to Albany has been pushed back to 2021. On the upside, I’ve reconnected with friends and others I haven’t spoken to much in years and saved two friendship from being permanently destroyed.
Another accomplishment that happened in 2020 is that I successfully passed the skills test to receive a Commercial Driver’s License. I’ve become a more confident driver and have been able to (as needed) drive in New York City without being intimidated.
Thankfully, 2020 ended on a more positive note. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were elected as President and Vice-President respectfully, and on December 19th, the Buffalo Bills secured their first AFC East title since 1995. It’s the little (or big) things that can make a really shitty year a little better. I was able to spend Christmas with my family, something I was worried would not happen. My parents and brothers are all doing well.
Organization-wise, nothing has changed. I am still involved with the Rail Passengers Association and still serve as a member of the Council of Representatives, and still serve as Northeast Division Liaison. With the madness of a presidential election year out of the way, I’ll have more energy to devote to that. My involvement with the Empire State Passengers’ Association has also taken a back seat the last two years, but I plan to attend meetings in 2021, as time permits. It will help that a move to Albany sometime in 20201
2020 has been decent considering the circumstances. On behalf of myself and my family, I wish all happy holidays and a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.
Note: This has been adapted from my annual year-in-reivew email