Good Tidings for 2020

Hello, readers of the Fashion for Conservation blog! My name is Abby and I currently have the pleasure of being one of the digital media interns here. With the year coming to an end, it’s both a relief and hard to believe that we’ve made it this far. And as a means of ending the year on a sweeter note, I was asked to write a blog post about my reflection on 2020.

Albeit incredibly long and dreadful, 2020 was the space I needed for me to get to know myself. The feared quarantine lockdown turned out to be my blessing in disguise. As someone growing up in the capitalist, only-hustle, greed-focused US, I didn’t know how to think for myself. At school and at home, I was taught that money and success were the keys to “what I wanted”. That I had to be wide-eyed and oblivious to be liked as a girl. Everything I was fed as a child and teen shaped “who I was” because I never questioned it. I didn’t know how to, and my life was easier because of it.

Quarantine gave me many things, but the biggest gift was time. I had way too much free time! Movies and anime couldn’t even fill it all.

So I thought a lot. About everything. Every time I assumed something, I caught myself and questioned it. Just because I had the extra time, nothing special. But eventually, this became a habit and it changed my perspective on life entirely.

To summarize, I realized that every single person on the planet is living just as vivid a life as I am. At this very moment! No matter what I do, it will affect others. Badly, in some situations. With this awareness, I understood the truth of the system I lived in. I felt embarrassed for supporting this lifestyle and not realizing it sooner.

So now, I work my hardest to live consciously and to be public about it. The only way we (including me) can conserve the planet and live equally is to teach, learn, and speak up, and there’s no better time than now! With everything I learned in the past 12 months, I am looking forward to facing and tackling new challenges in 2021. Bring it on!