It's the magic of all new years to create an atmosphere of hope and ambition. A belief that everything will change for the better, that to-do lists will finally be finished and that dreams will come true. 2021 specifically is promising more than any year before it. And so I lie in bed, hitting the snooze button again and again just to hold on a little longer to the dream that 2021 still is instead of stepping into its reality.
I snooze a bit longer.
It's a dream of global change for the better. Of an end to racial injustice, misogyny, and climate inaction. I dream about the Covid-19 vaccine being distributed to everyone, not just rich countries like the Netherlands that wrote the biggest checks. And, as many can relate, it's a dream about the little, insignificant things that, as 2020 proved, aren't little and insignificant at all. I dream about hugs, about sharing a bottle of wine with so many people that your glass is never quite full, and about unpacking suitcases after a beautiful trip rather than after the disappointment of this trip being canceled yet again.
One last snooze.
2021 is full of promises. I might go on a semester abroad to Madrid after all. I plan to graduate. Start a masters. Move. Meet new people. Live in new places. Laugh. It's all so close I can already feel it. Spain's sun sizzling on my face. My back aching from heavy boxes filled with memories. Tears rolling down my cheek - hopefully of laughter. We're so close. If we all just hold on a bit longer, fight a bit more, 2021 might be the year that everything changes.
Should I snooze a bit longer? I look at my phone, it's 9:40 am. I jump up - I have class in 5 minutes!
Well, I guess 2021 is not the year that everything changes.
Jesler van Houdt