My 2020 was Fine

This year needs to be Blessed!

    For many people 2020 was a real slap on the empty boxed wine bag... surprising and sad. The president got impeached, the Coronavirus hit, we watched a man hang out with tigers and methheads, we sat inside our homes, people marched for their and other's rights, fires burned the mountains, Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away, the election came, Borat 2 came out, and Santa sat behind a plexiglass wall. However, I had a fine year, you could even say it was even kind of boring. After looking at Time's Top 100 Photos of 2020 I felt sad seeing some of the photos and realized that I had an incredibly easy year compared to other people. I recognize that my status of having a fine year is incredibly privileged. I had a home to come to when COVID-19 hit college campuses, my job lifeguarding continued to pay me until May, my family wasn't negatively impacted financially as my dad was deemed essential and my mom is a stay at home mom, I never had my rights violated or had to march for my rights, I had a job during the summer, I never experienced heightened anxiousness or fear, my classes were mostly online, I was able to see friends, Thanksgiving was pretty normal, and so was Christmas. I guess the worst things that happened to me were contracting Giardia per my own fault and having to cancel my 21st birthday trip to Aspen (please pray for me). So, does my boring and privileged narrative of 2020 even matter since I didn't experience the hardship that so many people unfortunately did? I think so, because if it's not included society doesn't have a full picture of what people experienced. With that being said, my year is certainly not the most important perspective to be heard as other people experienced a much more difficult year that could've been filled with sickness, loneliness, hopelessness, anger, pain, death, and much more.

January

January was a pretty fun month if you weren't the president. Heck, it was even probably good for people experiencing homelessness as Denver shortly lifted their camping ban. For me I said "Let's Ride!" to the new year by clicking in at SoulCycle with my friend Erin! The whole experience was interesting. Everyone was so friendly and I even saw a few people I knew, so that was a wonderful surprise. The workout itself was much more difficult than I thought it'd be, but the deafening music made it a lot of fun. It was kind of like prom or a frat party except it smelled like grapefruit and everyone was on stationary bikes. Also, the instructor motivated us all by saying "you are on your own timeline." In Janurary, I also got to attend the Monet exhibit at the Denver Art Museum twice in one day. The paintings were so romantic and idealistic. It was fascinating to gaze at the color and brushstrokes. When I went with my friend Abby we talked to this old guy for a while about what each of us thought. This exhibit really caught my imagination and inspired me to search Airbnbs in Etretat and Giverny. I also got mink scrunchies from Neiman Marcus! I heart Neiman's! When I went back to Fort Collins my dad and brother set up my new fish tank and I got fish with my friend, Emily. Unfortunately, most of them died. Also, I discovered I had a new roommate, all of her stuff was in the apartment, but she wasn't for a week. I eventually met her. She was a 20 year old senior from rural Maryland (I'm pretty convinced Maryland doesn't have a lot of farms) studying something international. She had worked 60 hour weeks since she was 14 and had been on her own since 16 traveling the world. She also just finished as an assistant designing a Florida hospital wing. The previous semester she volunteered in Nigeria with refugees. Also, she was in a wheelchair. Meanwhile, my biggest goal was trying to get my Debit Card customized with a photo of Casa Bonita, and I still haven't done that. 

Emily!

February

I had a pretty good February as well. It started off with a bang by watching interviews with Timothee Chalamet which inspired me to muster up the courage to go to a stand up open mic comedy show and perform. That was exciting. On my way there my Uber driver told me that what I was about to do was equivalent to walking on fire, which made me feel good. I signed up to perform, sat at the bar drinking a Coke-Cola (which was free for me), and watched everyone perform, while I ran through my set in my head. I think I did pretty well, I got a few laughs. I went alone to the bar in case I didn't do that well. That month I also went to lunch with my aunt Kiki and my cousin Blake. We went to Dae Gee, a Korean barbecue place that was wonderful and Guy Fieri had even eaten there. I had a grilled mackerel and ordered shredded mango snow. It looked like cheddar cheese, but tasted fabulous! For my dad's birthday my family and I attended Mystery Science Theatre 3000. The robots criticized a fantastic karate movie called "Never Surrender Never Retreat." Then we stood outside waiting for our train, but got cold and ended up taking an Uber with Jesus. I also started going to Daily Mass for lent. It was kind of fun as I would walk to the Church and just think.  

Outside Whiskey after performing

Emily and I pretending to be Shakira and J-Lo

March

During March the Coronavirus really started to make it's presence in America. Towards the end of the month was my spring break and I really wanted cases to increase, so that my spring break would be extended (I know, I know it's wrong. I didn't want anyone to get hurt, but I really wanted a longer spring break). At work I would refresh the Covid-19 news page to see how many cases were present in the state. Once there were about four my spring break was extended and the rest of Boulder's semester was online, so CSU soon followed suit. I finished some errands and left for break on a bus and train towards home. I was surprised when at home because all the toilet paper and paper products were gone from store shelves, meanwhile in Fort Collins everything was still in stock. In the mornings my brother and I would go to different stores and try to find toilet paper. I thought it was kind of fun, we even saw a cute husky puppy once. On St. Patrick's Day I was supposed to perform at Comedy Work's open mic night, but unfortunately everything shut down the day before. Finally, I went back to Fort Collins to clean out my apartment. I discovered one of my fish, Giverny, was still alive, so we brought him back home. Tiger King also came out in March and my family and I watched it about a week before it became uber popular. Those people are a different breed for sure, I guess big cats and polygamy just go hand in hand. 

Art I found at work.

Midnight, the cat my roommate got without telling me

April 

April was kind of boring. Many states began shutting down and moved online. Since everyone was staying home there were fewer people driving and flying, so the mountains looked gorgeous and so clear. I also noticed that many people, since everyone was bored, began exercising outside when they hadn't before because there wasn't much else to do. I spent most of time working on school stuff , but when I wasn't I drew chalk art on the sidewalk behind my house to brighten people's days. I enjoyed it and got to meet quite a few neighbors. Saturday Night Live's at home edition was pretty good as well.  Easter this past year was kind of sad though, since we all had to stay at home. 

Lance’s Face Art

Lance’s Shading  Art

Lance’s Face Art

Instagram Bingo was popular, so Lance and I created one for our middle school.

Online Easter Mass

May

May was pretty boring too. I continued working on school and chalk art. I turned in one report for my professional communication class about people experiencing homelessness. I thought it was fantastic and so did my TA because I got an A. I also took my finals which were all open note, which made them super easy. My brother was supposed to graduate in May, but his graduation got pushed back to July, so the school did a little drive by celebration at school. All of the teachers lined the school streets, while the students drove through with decorated cars. It was cute. After that my brother and I just hung out and waited for our lifeguarding jobs to begin. I guess I also got really interested in bears too.

Hiking with friends in Red Rocks.

June

Finally, life became less boring as I was back lifeguarding. I was also able to hang out with friends again. During June my family and I would wake up at the crack of dawn together due to our next-door neighbor screeching at her 3 new dogs. Thankfully, she got rid of them. My friends Abby, Emily, and I were able to get macarons together, which were so yummy. I also started growing flowers, including a hydrangea, and I think I did pretty well. 

My friend, Nai, and I.

July

July was good too. The fourth was okay, it was very rainy and no one came to the pool. But, that night my family and I watched fireworks at the top of the hill next to our house. Fireworks went off all around us and miles in front of us, so that was pretty.  Later that month Lance finally graduated high school. He was the MC for Baccalaureate, which was in person, as well as Mass that I got to attend. I was so happy I got to be there and attend Baccalaureate and Mass with my family! When the Eucharist was being given out my dad only put out one hand to receive it and Fr. Ramirez asked if he was Catholic. It was so funny, especially since everyone watching the live stream could hear it. Then, one of the following days Lance graduated in person too! The end of the month was exciting as my brother, dad, and I went to the western slope to spread my uncle's ashes with the rest of our family. We drove up on July 31 and got to stop at a fur trading post where we bought some pillows and wore buffalo coats. My dad was also kind enough to stop at my favorite little ghost town! While there, I drank river water which is resulted in me contracting giardia, you can read more about that here. Once in town we tried to find dinner and decided on a pizza place, but they ran out of dough. So, now I understand why the highest rated restaurant in town is the food bank.

I tried out a toothless smile,

Buffalo Coat!

I heart fur!

August

At the beginning of August our visit to western Colorado continued. On the second day we took a ski lift up a mountain and hiked the rest. It was absolutely beautiful, but kind of hard too. I also really liked the ski lift. Afterwards, we drove through the aspens and to the castles to have a picnic. It was all absolutely gorgeous, but unfortunately my head was throbbing, I was thirsty, hungry, and I had to go the bathroom the whole time. It was really pretty though. Later that month I had stomach pain and after some testing discovered I had Giardia from drinking raw water. I couldn't eat ice cream for a whole month! Fortunately, I was given pills to heal and now I'm parasite free. I also got to take care of a family friend's cat, Hobbes, who has since passed away (it was not my fault) and found a fabulous snow cone truck while driving to watch Hobbes. School also started back up and since my classes were online I stayed down here in Denver.

My uncle!

My uncle on the Delaware on Christmas Day!

September

In September I finished up the pool season and left the next, snowy, wet day for Kansas. We were to attend the funeral of my great aunt, Kay. We picked up my brother from KU, got to see his dorm room, had dinner at an okay Mexican restaurant, and drove to Overland Park. The next day was the funeral. We pre gamed at my mom's cousin's house. They have a wonderful pool and the biggest gold fish I have ever seen! The funeral itself was nice and my mom even spoke at it. I really liked the stories that the pastor added in. Afterwards the procession went to the cemetery.  That was sad and everyone had gorgeous flowers in hand. My dad was fascinated by the mechanics of lifting and lowering a casket, so we stayed after to watch the people lower the wonderful, pink casket into the ground. Then, we went back to my mom's cousin's house and ate white chocolate covered pineapple doves. Also, prior to the funeral we went to Chipotle and the Lilly Pulitzer store! I had never been in a Lilly store before and it was oh so colorful! I bought a skirt and they even gave me a free gift. Later that day we drove to Lawrence and I got to see my friend Nai! While I was waiting for her to open the front door I kindly cleaned up her front yard. My mom said I looked a lot like my grandma when cleaning up. We toured KU and then got dinner at Menski's pizza. The next day we drove home. 

Kay, God Bless!

October

Another pretty boring month. I did school work in my brother's room. The most exciting thing was big little reveal for Phi Mu! I was able to shop and create a basket for my little and it was so fun! I think I'd like to do a blog about it later this year. Then, I got to meet my little sister, Mary! Also, when my mom and I drove up to Fort Collins to drop the basket off we could see the fires blazing. They were really cool to see. I also got to see my friend Abby that month and we painted at her house. I also saw my friend Nai again, but this time in Colorado. I don't know what we did, but I do remember my dad giving her an iPad to facetime Lance from his bedroom. Halloween this past year was boring. We didn't have any trick or treaters.

Voted! Although I regret not voting Kanye.

November

Thankfully, things got more exciting in November. The election happened. Hopefully, all candidates had fun. I continued with school work and eventually got a job working at Kendra Scott! Lance also came home for Thanksgiving. That boy is something else. It was his first commercial flight, so he was a little confused about everything. He really wanted to bring his plant and carry it on the plane to ensure it lives over Christmas break. I didn't think he'd be able to. Surprisingly, TSA allowed Lance to bring his plant on the plane, but as he was waiting for my dad and I to pick him up he left it on a table. He was so close to home. Thanksgiving was fine though, nothing too wild. I guess we didn't go to my aunt's home after dinner.

I discovered that if you drink a bottled coke while driving people look at you funny.

December

Officially Christmas time! December was pretty good. I finished my classes and began break. It was fun getting our Christmas tree this year because we got to the lot a little too late, but the tree man saw us pull up and turned around to sell us a tree. I enjoyed wrapping presents as well, I bought such wonderful paper. One of the days my family and I went to the zoo. It was smaller than I remember and most of the animals looked sad. We saw the monkey exhibit and some humans sweeping around it, so Luke made a joke about how fast the monkeys were evolving. We also saw a tiger and a hippo who would come up for air every few minutes and then submerge itself. The sea lions were fun though (except for the one that just stood in a corner and stared at the wall until his friend came out to play). One sea lion kept eating ice droplets falling from the umbrella above. Also, we saw a great horned owl at Home Depot. On Christmas Eve my family and I watched Christmas Mass, but prior to that we were all shouting at one another to get the cables connected.  Then, we had tamales and looked at lights. Christmas lights this year were pretty fabulous. Many of my neighbors put on glittering displays, including a polar wonderland complete with polar bears skiing down a handcraft hill. On Christmas day we opened presents and we had lots of them! To celebrate my birthday we had a chocolate pudding pie. Then, for New Years Eve my dad, brother, and I went bird watching and later watched the Justin Bieber concert! I love Justin Bieber! I thought the concert was nice. Then, we went to the top of the hill next to our house us watched fireworks go off around us. You could even hear some people shouting from their houses. I don't understand why we get excited for the year to change, things don't automatically get better with a 21 than 20.

My grandma's parrot.

I love fur again!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

I love Justin Bieber!

Anyways, that was my 2020. I was fortunate to have a pretty good year. 2021 has already brought some drama, so we'll see what happens next. God Bless!