The 2020’s – 3 Years Of Terror, Turmoil and Trepidation (Pt. 1: 2020)

Prologue

Imagine your friend is waking up from a multiple-year long coma and the year is 2022. Where would you start? What would you tell them first?

This is the exact problem I’ve found myself in writing this year’s Year In Review –

it’s been another absolutely massive year, with so much happening on every day of the year and honestly? I didn’t know where to begin.

2022 is already Chapter 3 in one of the most nail-biting (and terrifying) series of events we’ve ever been a part of.

The 2020’s have been like a thriller – be that a book or a film - Starting from Chapter 3 (2022) wouldn’t make sense and quite honestly - wouldn’t do Chapter 3 justice. So, from the very first page, here’s the entire “book” that the 2020’s have been.

I was considering uploading 2020 & 2021 as one blog - but I just felt it would get too dark and heavy, so decided to keep them separate.

And finally, just like that, I’ve found an incredibly satisfying way to start my 2022 Year In Review.

It only took 400 attempts. Sorry, 401.

~

I like to look at the 2020’s – No, I don’t like to look at the 2020’s. Never. They were – and are horrendous.

I like to look at the past 2 years as an avalanche.

Powerful. Devastating. Bewildering.

No matter what you do, you can’t stop an avalanche.

Every second leads onto the next, and as the snow rolls down the mountain, it picks up momentum, only worsening as time goes on – life seemed so easy and peaceful back in 2019, and looking back in 2022 – I would tell myself…

“Look out son, you’ve got a big storm coming”

Disclaimer

I’ll admit, in these two blogs I am incredibly negative – and I suppose, that’s not a great way to look on the world or indeed on life – it’s certainly not a good outlook to have – and I’m truly grateful for what I do have – loving parents, a roof over my head, my own car – even the guarantee of three meals a day – but life has been tough, and I want to share my experiences.

2020

Starting 2020, I was in a bad place, I was struggling badly with my coding unit in ICT (which caused a knock-on effect with my other modules) and on announcement of the first lockdown, I thought it was rather exciting – something new – something that never happened before – a chance to catch up with the backlog of work I had.

This would only turn out to be the first snowball in a world-wide avalanche.

Even by this point, COVID had got to the international point where everyone was having lockdowns and “shutting up shop”.

Following March, I never returned to college. When I did, it was to pick up work. Spring - Summer 2020 was certainly the worst months I’ve ever had. (Okay, maybe after I broke my arm)

My iRating (iRacing) had plummeted to 620, my dad had been diagnosed with Myeloma and he was bed-bound

. Since Felix had already moved out, it was just me, my mum and dad. I locked myself away in my room to mentally “distance” myself from my father’s condition – but this made for a very difficult situation for my mum – a critically sick and bedbound husband, and a son who may as well not even be present.

It was a dark time for all, but I found light in an iRacing league, ran by some commentator friends of my dad’s (that I had a good relationship with) – this lasted a good 6 months, leading up to the start of whatever came next.

Part of my struggle during 2020 was having no idea what lay on the horizon – having no idea what came next after college and where I’d be come September.

The answer – eventually - came in the shape of The University Of Wolverhampton.

After doing media at college, I had a feel for something in that direction – but I had no idea what – so it fell between Media, Communications and Journalism at Winchester or Multimedia Journalism at Wolverhampton.

Wolverhampton allowed me to study despite only passing my Maths GCSE – although that was a predicted grade is a source of on-going my undiagnosed “imposter syndrome”

In the beginning things went…well. Yes, okay, only one module was in-person, and I had lockdowns November ’20 through April ’21 – but, after my first year (2020 – 2021), I passed, only needing to re-take Public Affairs – Politics – not a strong point of mine.

2020 ended with my favourite GT3 to date joining iRacing: The Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo.

2020 was really one to forget for all.

• In late 2019 to early 2020, Australia had the worst wildfires in decades. 34 losing their lives, and thousands more losing homes, livestock and land.
  

• In March, the pandemic escalated and many of us were locked down – some countries handled this better than others.

• I’d also finish college in March and had no clue where I’d be come September.

• Also in March, on a personal note, I hit my lowest iRating on record of 620. I promised from here, I’d sort myself out.

• Further still, my dad was diagnosed with Myeloma.

• Was a bit of a menace on hosted (Skip Barber) iRacing League between April and June and July – they finished proceedings with a Radical SR8 Championship – which was even harder than the Skippies.

• In August, an explosion ripped through the port of Beirut, Lebanon, killing hundreds, and displacing thousands more, no matter the cause, Politics doesn’t change anything – and it certainly doesn’t make the grieving of the lost any easier, nor does it make finding a house any simpler.

• Come September, Universities were very much in a “Catch-22” situation – “a rock and a hard place” if you will – when on Earth do you set assignments? With restrictions, students wouldn’t have covered the topics, but then there’s the “brick wall” of the Christmas break and Semester 2 – they decided to stack all of the assignments up.

• In November, a second lockdown was imposed, and a “Student Corridor” for students to come home.

• Upon coming home, I hadn't the foggiest clue what the next year held....