But 2020 didn’t go as planned for him, or for that matter, the world he so wanted to see. As January unfolded, COVID-19 had begun its deadly spread. By mid-March the United States and other countries shuttered businesses, schools, sports and entertainment venues. By year’s end, some 340,000 Americans would lose their lives to the disease. Others would lose jobs and fall into financial devastation.
The novel coronavirus overshadowed nearly every aspect of a year whose iceberg of anxiety, uncertainty and unrest had many tipping points.
It’s now time to say goodbye to 2020. For many, it will be good riddance to a year of unfathomable loss and turbulence. Some managed to find silver linings in its cloudy skies. Amid darkness, candles of kindness, heroism and innovation—including new vaccines—offered light.
As Palencia eats his 12 grapes, he’ll not only make wishes for the new year, but will reflect on each of the 12 months that have passed. It’s his family’s personal ritual added to the standard tradition, a time to look back.
It seems especially fitting now for the Davidson College community to remember the last 12 months. For if ever a year deserved a proper ending, it would be 2020.
