Face Your Fears; or How I Learned to Love 2020

    Howdy, folks.

    Welcome back to my relative corner of the universe, where I don't update this as much as I probably should. Actually, I've been that way for social media for most of the past couple of years; while I'm more active on Reddit, TikTok, Twitter, and Snapchat, my Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, and LinkedIn stay relatively quiet, aside from the random "pissing-off-my-conservative/Trumper-friends-and-family" posts. But that's also what's helped me survive a lot of my 2020. 

    Let's be honest: 2020 sucked. It sucked at the beginning of the year, when we (meaning the collective world) didn't prepare enough for a small little virus coming out of the Wuhan province to when one of the world's greatest athletes passed away in an accident that was preventable. It sucked in the middle of the year, as we all had to adapt to new social changes in the wake of the virus that grew to kill more than 300,000 Americans at a time, to the righteous rage of those following the tragic and senseless death of George Floyd by Derek Chauvin and the three other officers, along with the death of Breonna Taylor, whose senseless murder still lacks proper justice, as does Mr. Floyd's. It sucked during autumn, when people began fights over supposed "voter fraud" and we lost beloved celebrities, especially the one and only Chadwick Boseman (wakanda forever <3). And it sucked at the conclusion, where the President refuses to concede to his loss, we still lose people no matter what, and the world readies to embrace a new year. 

    You know what? I can't complain too much. Certainly the year has sucked. But there have been five major things in my life that has made my life so much better: 

    1) I got engaged to the love of my life, my forever, Maggie, and it couldn't have been better. 

    2) Maggie and I moved in together, our first time, and while things haven't gone smoothly, it's a learning experience that we can take with us. 

    3) I graduated from the University of Montevallo, with a Bachelor's in History w/ a Minor in Business. While I may not have graduated with any real top honors, I proved myself worthy of a degree. 

    4) I changed jobs into a new career that I really enjoy, and I'm learning new skills everyday.

    5) I got a new car, a 2020 Ford EcoSport SE! It holds all my work equipment and I get good mileage. 

    There are many things to be grateful for; but for real, I'm just wanting 2021 to be a better year for everyone; hopefully it will be. The vaccines for COVID-19 are being distributed. We have a new President and hopefully if we gain control of the Senate, then we can actually enact real change. And for my personal life, I'm looking into new things and new experiences. You only turn 24 once, so let's see what's gonna happen. 

    Fair winds and following seas,

    Nathaniel