2020: A Year of Change

We made it folks. It’s 2021 and Donald J. Trump is no longer President of the United States.

It feels like I’ve been waiting a long time to say those words and so much has changed since I last posted to this site. The world feels changed, and today at least, a more positive place than it was a scant two days ago.

Covid-19

Since I last wrote, the world has tried to get to grips with a global pandemic in the form of Covid-19, and which, as I write this post, is an ongoing, seemingly never-ending battle. Or at least that’s how it feels to me here in the UK. From one lockdown to the next, we have careened from one government announcement to another, being told everything non-essential was closed, then open, then closed, then open and now closed again. How long this may continue, we have yet to find out. The impact of Covid-19 made 2020 a very strange year, not least because I spent a large majority of it furloughed from my workplace in a state of limbo, neither required to work nor unemployed.

Time feels to have passed in a haze, with my strongest memory of working in the garden throughout the summer to plant and harvest as many fruits and vegetables as possible. Growing everything from spinach to strawberries, green beans to tomatoes, and even planting a mango tree, the summer felt idyllic and never-ending in a way that I haven’t experienced since the long-lost summer days of my childhood. Being able to take the time to dig into the soil, to plant seeds and watch tiny shoots begin to germinate left me with a sense of gratitude and purpose which I hope to carry forward with me into this year. I am not one to feel guilt in taking time for myself anyhow, but the enforced break from many of the daily realities of life left me feeling very content as I relaxed into my summer hobby as a gardener.

But as all good things are wont to do, this too came to an end towards the end of the year when my last full-time job was made redundant leaving me unemployed for the first time since graduating from university.

Whilst I was experiencing this for the first time, my father also experienced a first having contracted Covid-19 pretty badly for a couple of weeks in November which were very ‘touch and go’ for us as a family. Having said that, my mother absolutely refused to hospitalise him (and thankfully, he was never quite so bad so as to require admission), but she instead insisted in the way of desi mothers everywhere, in giving him daily totkas to aid recovery.

These consisted of drinking turmeric laced whole milk twice a day (to act as an anti-inflammatory and lift anything “sitting” on the chest), a teaspoon of black seed oil twice a day (fellow Muslims will know what I mean), and plenty of vapour inhaling courtesy of either Vicks vapor-rub in boiling hot water, or a couple of drops of Olbas oil or eucalyptus oil for the same purpose. Interspersed throughout was praying. A lot of praying. Thankfully, a couple of weeks later, it was all a distant memory and he had recovered.

U.S. Presidential Election

Shortly after this, the 24-hour news cycles began reporting on early voting in the 2020 U.S. Presidential election gearing up to the big day itself. As so many of us non-Americans are aware, the U.S. Presidential race has a global impact and political news junkie that I am, I found myself glued to wall-to-wall election coverage in late November. American politics is infinitely far more exciting than anything in Britain but I’ll come back to Brexit in a moment.

Having lived through the turbulent turmoil of having a former reality-TV “star” as President, I think I speak for much of the world when I say we waited with bated breath to see the results of this election. There are many words to describe the horror of the Trump presidency but I believe many more words to come - the state of New York appears to be gearing up towards potentially bringing criminal charges against members of The Trump Organization, with creditors, most noteably Deutsche Bank, refusing to do business with Trump potentially looking to recover hundreds of millions in $US it says it is owed.

I find the relationship between politics and the law fascinating and eagerly anticipate any legal proceedings that shed light on Trump’s actions and behaviour.

On a more positive note the new U.S. President, Joe Biden and his Vice-President Kamala Harris, have been gifted a Democratic Congress to work with a Democratic White House, and one can only hope that the most diverse Presidential cabinet in U.S. history is able to live up to the hopes and dreams pinned to it. And at least we can now say that a female from an ethnic minority has finally taken the role of Vice-President! Best of luck to both of them.

Brexit

I have nothing to say here other than Brexit happened, food shortages have started happening in some parts of the U.K. and that I still think Brexit was the wrong decision for us but here we are. As with so many things in Boris Johnson’s premiership, Brexit too, was a case of lastminute dot com and it shows.

2021

I am hopeful for 2021. The disturbance of 2020 has come to a close and there is light at the end of the tunnel. Vaccines against Covid-19 are being rolled out and more are being developed. The government’s vaccination plan leaves much to be desired but it’s a start.

On a personal note, I have pivoted my attention entirely to a few projects which have been in the works, on and off, for a few years. Having enforced free time has meant finally getting on with developing these further and a soft launch is intended in February for the first project, with a further two in the pipeline later in the year should the first prove to be successful.

A focus on health and well-being is the goal for this year. If 2020 taught me anything, it is that time is fleeting and to grab hold whilst you can. That is exactly what I plan to do and a focus on both physical and mental health and well-being is at the top of the list. Having implemented some changes to my lifestyle at the end of last year, 2021 will be the year that these changes finally take off insha’Allah.

I do hope 2020 was not too hard on you and I wish you all the happiest year ahead.

Ramadan

I wasn’t planning on writing anything lockdown or Covid-19 related at all, and to be honest, I still won’t be but I had a couple of thoughts as a side effect of these two things so I thought I’d share.

I have no doubt things will change even more so than they already have, but as we are now in week four of lockdown here in the UK, a few thoughts have been floating in the ether which I decided to finally commit to paper, so to speak.

The Benefits of Lockdown

Like many people across the world, this will be the first and perhaps only time in our lifetimes, that we find ourselves in a situation quite like this. Living here in the UK, I can’t help but feel so very, very lucky to live in a country that regardless of the ongoing situation, means that we can still access almost everything we need fairly easily. Apart from having restrictions on movement (i.e. how much we can go outside, where we can go etc)., overall, the picture is generally okay.

I was speaking to my mum about how simple it is for us (or one person) to go to a supermarket, buy most of the things we need and come home. In terms of healthcare access, we can still go to hospital if needed, access GP care or emergency dental care. Whilst lockdown may not be convenient (and I’m certainly not going to get into the health and virology side of the discussion), it is certainly proving to be a good time of self-reflection and appreciation for all that we have.

Clearly this picture will be very different in other parts of the UK, and I’m aware that some more remote or rural areas may struggle with aspects of this, but for the most part, I think I speak for a large majority of the country in that, whilst things are not ideal (and for good reason), they could be much worse and there is value in remembering this and how lucky most of us are.

Welcoming Ramadhan

For those of you who may not know, I am also Muslim and for me, this means the month of fasting (Ramadhan) is due to start within the next couple of days. In some ways, the approach of Ramadan feels odd this year, mainly because the annual hustle and bustle of preparation hasn’t been in play.

In normal times, you’ll usually find Muslim families up and down the country starting their preparation the month before Ramadan begins - whether that means stocking up the freezer so you don’t have to shop as much during the month, or preparing oneself spiritually to take as much advantage of this month as possible. This year, it almost feels like it’s come out of nowhere and because we’ve been in lockdown for the last three weeks, that preparation hasn’t happened to the same extent.

It’s fine though - it’s not a complaint, just an observation that Ramadan (and likely Eid) this year, will be of a different sort. Change can be a good thing and being ready to embrace change is always helpful. Who knows, episode 2 may reveal more…

Things to Think About in 2020

A new decade: if you’re looking for a fresh start, this is exactly the right time.

We all enjoy spending a few days before the new year thinking about the goals we want to achieve, the things we want to do and see. It’s a precious moment of the year and setting your resolutions clearly is going to give you the chance to look yourself in the mirror in 12 months and be proud of how far you’ve come.

But before you start setting any unrealistic lists of “working out every day” and “reading a book a week”, find the time to give yourself a little pep-talk and try to get to know yourself better, and understand what you really want to achieve, instead of what you’re supposed to. Be realistic and gentle with yourself, don’t expect to change overnight, forgive yourself for any mistakes and keep trying. A few, simple goals to focus on and to always keep in mind is the first step to walking brightly into the new decade.

2020 should be the year for every woman to finally get things straight: girls, don’t let anybody hold you down or tell you what your’re worth or what your’re capable of. Keep your head up and be fierce, you deserve it. Remember that femininity can be combined with power, strength and success, so be you, whoever you are.

Whether you are married, divorced or happily single, dedicate this year to improving your relationship with those who surround you. Know your boundaries and be clear about them, so people know how to behave with you. This will help you avoid toxic people, and those who deserve your company will automatically stay and respect you. Often, we’re uncertain of what’s okay and what is not, therefore people around us take advantage of our confusion and mistreat us.

For people to respect you, in any case, you need to respect yourself first. You know when you love someone, and your mind keeps thinking of how many nice things you could do to make that person happy? Well, do it for yourself! Take yourself on dates, plan time to do what you love. This doesn’t mean only spa days and holidays, but also not missing your doctor’s appointments and checking on your diet and lifestyle.

Explore your motivation to be better: do you want to improve yourself to look better in other people’s eyes, or your own? Changing to impress someone else can give you some motivation, initially, but since change isn’t an easy task, doing it for someone else is just going to lead to a constant, frustrating need for approval.

It’s not going to be easy, and it shouldn’t be. Challenge yourself this year, push your limits and always move forward. This is not just the start of a new year, but it’s going to be your first step towards a better you.

Let this be your year, your decade, to become your best self.