I grew up hearing the common proverb, \u201cHindsight is 20\/20.\u201d\u00a0 I never imagined anxiously looking forward to flipping that proverb to fit our current circumstances: \u201c2020 is Finally Hindsight!\u201d Thank Goodness!\u00a0 We are all more than ready to put 2020 in the rear view mirror. But, not so fast.\u00a0 Maybe, just maybe, these two proverbs have something important in common.\u00a0 In hindsight, was 2020 more than just a brutal obstacle course to survive?\u00a0 What important lessons have we collectively learned thanks to the year that was?<\/p>\n
Unlike most years\u2019 celebrations, this New Year\u2019s reflections are not filled so much with the traditional fond thoughts of the past year but rather a unanimous sigh of relief that 2020 is finally in the history books.\u00a0 Perfectly understandable, 2020 has been by far the most challenging year of our generation.\u00a0 Since the March 5 EF-4 tornado that struck Putnam County, killing 18 of our family and friends, we have suffered a global COVID-19 pandemic killing over 300,000 in this country alone, significant financial losses due to the pandemic, a summer of civil unrest and rioting in major cities across the country, educational disruptions with online fatigue, wildfires out west, hurricanes in the south, a turbulent national election, and a bombing in a place too close to home.\u00a0 The list seems endless for 2020.<\/p>\n
So what have we learned from 2020 to help make 2021 better?\u00a0 First and foremost, we have hopefully all learned once again to take nothing for granted.\u00a0 Every life is a precious and all too often fragile gift, and we have lost far too many this year.\u00a0 Cherish every God-given moment.<\/p>\n
This past year also gave us the opportunity to witness the infinite depth and power of the human spirit.\u00a0 We saw neighbor helping neighbor overcome unthinkable loss.\u00a0 We saw overwhelming outpouring of selfless support for strangers, again and again and again.\u00a0 Despite the headlines we typically digest from the relentless 24\/7 news cycles, we have witnessed how inherently good people really are.<\/p>\n
Lastly, we have been reminded that we can accomplish amazing things and overcome seemingly impossible obstacles when necessary.\u00a0 Prior to 2020, no one except the most optimistic visionary would have believed we could produce a safe and effective vaccine for any virus within nine months. Yet here we are with multiple proven vaccines now available!\u00a0 And here on our beloved campus, we conquered so many challenges. The faculty and support staff fully converted every traditional in person class to online in just two weeks last March.\u00a0 That seemed equally impossible, but we did it nonetheless.\u00a0 Over and over again, we rise to the occasion and do the impossible because that\u2019s what we do and that\u2019s what we are capable of.<\/p>\n
I am certain that over time there will be many more lessons to learn from 2020.\u00a0 For all of us who have lost loved ones this year, please accept our heartfelt sympathies.\u00a0 I pray that 2021 brings us all a stronger sense of purpose and hope for the future, and that the hard earned lessons of 2020 will not be forgotten but make us a better, kinder, and more productive people.<\/p>\n
Wings Up!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I grew up hearing the common proverb, \u201cHindsight is 20\/20.\u201d\u00a0 I never imagined anxiously looking forward to flipping that proverb to fit our current circumstances: \u201c2020 is Finally Hindsight!\u201d Thank Goodness!\u00a0 We are all more than ready to put 2020 in the rear view mirror. But, not so fast.\u00a0 Maybe, just maybe, these two proverbs […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1150","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-messages"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/president\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/president\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/president\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/president\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/president\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1150"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/president\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1150\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1151,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/president\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1150\/revisions\/1151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/president\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/president\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/president\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}