EDITORIAL

2020 is an exceptional year. For starters, a year where the first two digits match the second only happens once in a century—a once in a lifetime year that will fill up history books in the making. As the year is coming to an end, saying that a lot has happened during the twelve months is an understatement; "a lot” can’t measure up to the weight of events that caused the Earth to stand still. Looking back and facing 2020 without resilience-colored glasses, we expose ourselves to the bare reality of it all. The world was taken by surprise as the year 2020 crept into our lives, as if it was bombarding us with nothing but bad news. January greeted Filipinos with a bang—literally—as thick gray ash enveloped the skies of Batangas when the Taal volcano erupted. Fast forward to March, the month when the country entered into a lockdown was no doubt the longest month of the year. The community quarantine kept getting extended since there were no signs of the COVID cases to flat line—crippling the society, the economy, and our well-being. Logging into the 3rd quarter of the year, students joined in their online classes with the unstable internet connection and power outages hand in hand to make learning much more challenging than it already is. Same goes for the teachers. The last quarter of 2020 didn’t hold back when the country was swept away by the series of typhoons. Affected areas haven’t even recovered from one typhoon and the next one, ironically, added fuel to the fire. These events highlighted the flaws of our system such as the lack of disaster planning, government incompetence and corruption, and the citizens’ lack of discipline in following important protocols. All of these aren’t even everything that had happened but all of us are witnesses—survivors—nonetheless. Good things were also sprinkled here and there throughout the year, the little things that somehow rewarded us and kept us going. What kept us going? Resilience—a trait Filipinos have in common; it is a trait that’s turned up to a full, especially for 2020 when government assistance lacks in the assisting aspect. There is nothing wrong with resiliency or how citizens withstand difficult times, it does get alarming when that’s all there is for us to make do and recover—a trait. It gets us to places but how long until we’ve exhausted ourselves of the thing that keeps us going? On an optimistic note, it might not be extinguished but it certainly won’t be enough all the time. The people need its government to solidify the so-called resilience. It’s no secret that the current administration is lacking whenever it comes to actually helping out its citizens, they seem to have their priorities mixed up—too focused on proving a point, proving authority and power, consequently, ignoring what needed the most attention is its people. We don’t give in into this ridiculous system that’s why we speak up, we properly lay our arguments, we protest on these borderline tyrannical decisions. We come up with these actions for we are resilient, we won’t let a self-sabotaging administration force us to ruins. But unfortunately, we can’t wait for things to change immediately and let the problems be solved by themselves, and that’s why we innovate, and craft ideas and plans to keep progressing. These types of acts have been evident, as people start new businesses, activities and campaigns that are aligned with the new normal. Now we can clearly see the resilience being manifested in all shapes and sizes—the bittersweet reminder of a tragedy. Slowly closing 2020’s curtains, a fusion of hope and uncertainty dwell in us; a mixture of hoping that this year would be the upward slope of our lifestyle, and an uncertainty of what’s to come. With one foot in, we unconsciously brace for impact, becoming wary has been a default state of mind, and like it or not, 2020 has changed us—drastically. And the shift in our perspective of the world and everything in it has allowed us to mature, hopefully. There is a fair share of good news for the coming year, rewarding us a quick sigh of relief seeing how COVID vaccines are being up for distribution soon, bringing us one step closer in ending this pandemic; the pandemic that dictated every movement and every decision that led us to where we are now. Sure, putting uncertainty and fear at the back of our minds would be close to impossible as we welcome 2021 but it’s human nature—it keeps us alive. Now, stepping out of the door with masks and face shields on, we breathe in the filtered air of 2021. We turn back to 2020 and apply the things we’ve managed to learn. All of those unavoidable yet controllable experiences have brought out the ugly of the government and society. But it also shined the beauty of resiliency, no matter how controversial it may be. Nothing is set in stone, the world will heal, people will change, we just have to act on it and not against it. The year’s end will be a beacon of hope, and so, a standing ovation for whatever 2020’s last hurrah may be.