As a sixteen-year-old, I can confirm that living through history is quite the odd feeling. It’s a strange sensation to turn on the television and watch something transpire that I know my current history teacher will have to explain to new students in years to come. Witnessing the future contents of an AP U.S. History course’s textbook makes me, and I believe many others, wish for normality again. It makes us wish for the times where you switched on your preferred news channel and saw the story of a colorful town parade or of a petty crime, instead of a burning capitol. 2020 has made people once again crave the return of the mundane.
The definition of mundane is lacking excitement meaning more or less, dull. Please do not get me wrong, I don’t want to be bored. I love to be entertained, however in my opinion the term mundane can also be twisted into meaning the simple things. Things like dining quietly with your loved ones, embracing your friends, the sensation of love and community. I wish for 2021 to bring back that mundane sense of community, of caring for one another. There was so much selfishness and frustration last year. There wasn’t enough empathy. I felt as though there were so few that wanted to help people feel loved, supported, and most of all safe. The things that transpired throughout last year make me wish for the things that once seemed mundane but now seem like simple shards of happiness. With rapid change and adventure, it’s easy to lose sight of the small things that formerly kept everyone together.
My wish for 2021 revolves around, in simpler terms, wanting everything to go back to normal. However, I will acknowledge that I believe some of the things that have happened in 2020 were long overdue in their need for discussion. Particularly the topic of the social injustice issues within this country. It is a fact that there are racial disparities littered throughout America, and the conversations and peaceful movements that happened over the summer and still transpire today needed to take place. I wish for 2021 to bring back mundanity however I equally wish for the trials that people have faced to create peaceful, positive, and healthy change to actually result in that needed growth.
To wrap this up, I feel that the desire to experience the mundane again might feel differently for everyone. Mundane for some is watering their favorite plant, meanwhile to another it could be taking a grand hike. Yet sadly, the mundane things that we used to take part in and love now either cannot be done due to safety reasons, or whilst doing them fearful thoughts regarding new catastrophes plague us.
And I truly wish that 2021 will bring back one’s ability to simply just water their plants without a desperate world around them.
