7 things I learnt in 2020

From celebrating the small things to never needing a gym membership again, here are 7 things I've learnt in 2020.

2020 does not need an introduction, it goes without saying it's been a whirlwind. But I thought I'd share some things that I learnt along the way.

People are imperfectly perfect.

I have always used the excuse of not having enough time as the reason why I couldn't do all the things I wanted to in a day. So when the first lockdown came around and I was unemployed and quite literally had all the time in the world, I couldn't wait to use it as an opportunity to achieve everything I've always said I wanted to. But turns out that even with all the time in the world I didn't manage to do half the things I thought I'd always wanted to. I'd created an idealistic view of the person I wanted to be from reading articles about 'how to live your best life' and listening to how other people spent their time. But when I tried to be the best version of myself I couldn't motivate myself to do everything, as I'd put too much pressure on myself to be perfect. Lockdown taught me that sometimes I'm lazy, sometimes I'm motivated, and I'm okay with that.

We need a lot less than we have.

Being forced to stay inside and work with what we've got made me realise that we need a lot less than we have. Don't get me wrong I love buying clothes and makeup, but I buy a lot of pointless things that I don't actually need. This year made me rethink what I actually need versus what I want, and while it is good to indulge occasionally, consumerism had taken the wheel over my spending habits. I'm determined to take this new awareness into 2021.

Appreciate the small things.

This year has been full of loss and heartbreak and has showed that you cannot take things for granted, especially the small things. I started appreciating things that I previously took for granted like my health, having food and shelter and having support from family and friends. Even small things like my morning coffee, a boozy zoom call with friends and being able to go out for a walk make me feel grateful.

Nature is a constant and we must protect it.

One of the things that kept me going through the chaos of 2020 was nature. Despite all the unprecedented things going on, nature was a constant for me. The birds kept singing, the waves kept rolling and I found comfort in the resilience and beauty of nature. I looked forward to my daily walk and my belief that we must protect our planet grew stronger.

People are adaptable.

My year didn't exactly go to plan. Talking about plans seems so ridiculous now after such an unprecedented year, but I was naive. At the beginning of the year I was finishing off my post-uni gap year working as a chalet cook in the French Alps with hopes of moving back to London and starting my career when the season ended. When the pandemic hit the resort had to close and I wound up living back at home, unemployed and with no prospects of following out my plan during a national lockdown. So I decided that I had to adapt, reinvent myself, do something new. I would be deviating from my plan and extending my gap year, but I'm so glad that I did, because I started working as a stewardess on a superyacht and it ended up being the best five months I could've asked for. Humans have an amazing way of adapting to anything the world throws at them and 2020 showed this resilience in abundance.

Human connection is essential.

I enjoy relaxing at home as much as the next guy, but after months of not being able to meet people I realised that I not only loved socialising, but actually needed it to function. Simply being able to meet a friend for coffee, go out for dinner or go for drinks with the girls was something I craved. And yes, there was zoom, but it's just not the same. Human connection is essential to my being and I can't wait to hug people again.

Get rid of that gym membership.

I always thought the only way to motivate myself to exercise was to go to the gym. Then lockdown brought us Instagram Live workouts and my world turned upside down. You mean you can enjoy a dance, hiit, yoga or barre workout from the comfort of your own home? Yes, yes you can. Thank you fit influencers of instagram I will never need a gym membership again!