I have done different kind of Recap posts on this blog over the years: Some that listed the most popular posts of a year, others that summarized what I had written in the past month. But never have I felt the need to reflect on a whole year, from a personal and professional perspective. Well, last year was different than the others, which is why I am here looking back at 2020, not in terms of most popular blog posts (there weren´t as many anyway), but in terms of how it has changed me as a person and what it meant both for my health, my job and my personal life.

Unlike I do with my reviews and skincare science videos I am not going to write out here what I said in the video. It won´t come as a surprise to anyone anyway that this was not my best year in the slightest, and while there have been many amazing moments, the pandemic overshadows them all. Which is why even I, being a very positive person, struggle to find the good to focus on.

The hardest thing among all I have seen last year though was the lack of solidarity and empathy in many, which gladly through caution in the wind for a chance to gather and party, claiming that their risk for a severe outcome was low anyway. We are all paying the price right now, with hospitals overflowing and the key workers everyone clapped for so adoringly getting sick in increasing numbers with a high risk for a bad outcome simply because they are burned out and physically exhausted. My heart aches for everyone that has lost a family member, no matter their age, and it aches for everyone that will loose someone in the time to come as I sit here counting the days until the next spike in cases triggered by carelessly mingling over the Christmas period.

I am severely disappointed of us as a community, and the priorities many have, and that will stick with me long after this pandemic is over thanks to the finally available vaccination. It is a nightmare I have yet to wake up from, but one that I know will affect the rest of my life.

Until everyone is vaccinated, please continue to wear a mask, continue to distance and try to find a little empathy for those at risk when you consider meeting up with others that are not your support bubble.

Now that 2020 is coming to an end, which many celebrate for exactly the reasons I mentioned above, remember that New Years Eve is just another day after all, and that this pandemic winter is far from being over.

That being said I am still grateful for the people I met through this blog and my channel, all of which, I know, feel the same way I do about their responsibility in society and are proud mask-wearers from the start.

Thank you for being my online support bubble!