Stephanie Worsop: 2021 wishlist a reflection of the year that's been

As we enter another year, it's worthwhile looking past all the bad and reflecting on the good 2020 offered us as well. Photo / George Novak

OPINION

When looking back at 2020, many would be quick to say we didn't get what we hoped for when the year began.

Natural disasters, a pandemic, forced lockdowns, huge job losses.

From many people's perspectives, 2020 chewed us up and spat us right back out.

Our mental health was tested, our school system had to suddenly adapt to an unprecedented situation and there are businesses still teetering on the edge of collapse.

But as we enter another year, it's worthwhile looking past all the bad and reflecting on the good 2020 offered us as well.

Looking back at the 2020 wishlist of our city leaders, investing in our children, getting people off the streets and becoming a more caring community were all top priorities.

And in some respects, 2020 allowed us to nail all three.

Family time became a priority.

For the average two-income family, I'd wager parents spent more quality time with their children last year than ever before.

And while we may have been in the midst of a global health crisis, you could argue many Kiwi families have never been healthier, walking around their neighbourhoods together and cooking real, nutritious food at home.

Locals looked out for each other.

Stories filled newsfeeds about the different ways communities banded together to help our most vulnerable.

The teddy bears in the window for kids, the care packages for people in quarantine, grocery runs for elderly neighbours and record-breaking charity drives. In a time when everyone felt scared and anxious, locals proved anything could be faced when facing it in solidarity.

And although not without its ongoing difficulties and consequences, 2020 was also the year we got people off the streets and into warm, dry accommodation.

Had the nationwide lockdown not forced an immediate, albeit short-term, solution to the growing number of homeless, we would still have families living in cars and sleeping in the rain.

I don't want to diminish the pain people have felt in 2020. There's no arguing it was a devastating year.

But it was also a cultural reset. A chance to evaluate what our priorities are and what they should be.

For that, we should be thankful.

Yesterday, we published the 2021 wishlist and the top priorities in Rotorua include a swift Covid-19 recovery, better homeless solutions and housing.

In Tauranga, transport and housing solutions, more iwi connection and no more lockdowns are the priorities.

Here's hoping 2021 can deliver on these and more.

But if it doesn't, let's not forget that even in 2020, which was largely horrendous, there were beacons of light, things to be thankful for, and, as Dawn Picken says in her column today, triumphs no matter how small.

There will always be positives to a situation, we just need to remember to look for them.