My special journey of 2020.

The year 2020 is an unforgettable one. Lots of surprises and unpredicted twists and turns met throughout the year.

When I look back at the year 2020, it’s a mixed bag of experiences. There were few good ones and few disturbing ones. But all left long-lasting memories.

When the year started, a fresh New Year. Things were just normal and as usual. Wish a Happy New Year to one and all. Making a few resolutions. Spending some time away from my normal routine. I am in the education industry and hence January is the last quarter and its kind of syllabus completion, assessment, and result declaration season which usually concludes by the end of March.

Like everyone, I too had my plans of completing one more successful year. Having a graduation ceremony for students and starting a new academic year.

Everything was going on well amidst the update that the world has encountered with a new virus. This happened in December 2019 but India is safe. Until the Holi festival, everything was fine. All enjoyed and celebrated this festival of spring with full enthusiasm. But towards mid-March, everything changed and the whole world came to a halt. This left me with many bitter memories.

Initially, it was like a few days staying at home and everything will be fine. But to date, not many things have improved.

The first week of holidays declared for educational institutions to safeguard our children’s health was just taken very positively. I too just completed all year-end work. Prepared the results after corrections. Started planning for the next academic year. Since we were sitting at home doing all the official work, I took time to organize the house and clean it up too.

As days passed by the lockdown (the concept) started. Never in our lifetime, even 2 to 3 generations before too had heard about the lockdown and its restrictions. Few days were ok but later on, it started to become disgusting.

Then slowly, started adapting to new norms and started adjusting to the pandemic situation. Started learning about safety norms and followed them to save our and our family’s lives. Then it slowly became a social responsibility to follow safety norms. I learned to live with this.

I also had some good experiences as a disguise. During the beginning of April, even while working from home, I could move to the next step in my work life. Learned a lot of technical platforms and changed me from blackboard classroom teaching to the digital online teaching method. This was the new norm and need of the day.

I did not let go of this precious work-from-home opportunity too. I upgraded my skill set by completing a few certifications. Learned digital marketing skills.

I started attending a lot of free webinars on various topics which opened up a knowledge bank. Received guidance. I also joined various groups which enlightened me with Women Entrepreneur power. Updated me with business opportunities.

I also got mentored and coached by some great mentors and coaches. This helped me to discover myself. I could identify who I am and what my strengths are. I Learned how to move forward with all obstacles and the negative environment around me.

The workplace side also slowly improved and got adjusted and started enjoying teaching online without a blackboard.

By the end of the year, a lot of things changed on the personal and professional front. Things around the entire world too changed.

Then one fine day, another New Year rang in. Celebrations were a low-key affair due to pandemic safety. Just days and months passed with many more new changes and in the end, my strong self evolved.