Looking ahead past 2020
Reflecting. Eating cookies as I do it
‘Tis the season when you’ll find me here, relaxing by a cozy fire, in plush velour, sipping a perfect cocktail and reminiscing about the year gone by.
How it started
How it’s going
Nothing about my true scene is perfect. I’m in pantalons de jogging as I have been since March. I don’t own a fireplace. However, I am holding a drink so let’s do this.
This year, I launched At The End Of The Day, my ongoing attempt to find perspective while being hit with a daily firehose of bad news.
I didn’t expect the community it would spark. The replies I received were so friendly and real. When I mentioned my nine-year-old’s new lockdown-inspired obsession with birding, I received recommendations for the hottest spots.
This letter is for the birds (August 2020)
When I wrote about the COVID cloud that hung over Halloween, I heard back from parents who were also struggling with the bigger picture, in many ways.
Is Halloween dead? (October 2020)
This newsletter, which I was writing for others, became a lifeline for me. I learned that when everything feels urgent, I need to connect with people to be reminded of what matters most.
Here are three positive lessons I’m taking from a year of exploring pandemic politics, racial reckoning and personal growth:
Connect with other humans, regardless of the “how”
Social isolation is dangerous to our health. In 2020, I found new ways to connect with the same people whether it was a Zoom Seder or chatting with my parents on KakaoTalk, their Korean social media platform. Loneliness is a disease and finding new ways to connect can be a preventive cure.
Activity and action
Humans are built to move so I *try* to jog daily. But being active isn’t just about exercise. The Black Lives Matter protests showed us that “listening and learning” alone isn’t going to move us all forward. We need to act. Whether it’s in my job, my daily interactions or protecting myself and others from COVID, I’m thinking about my actions through a lens of racial and social justice. Because yes, everything is connected.
Journalism in Canada needs change (June 2020)
Be your whole self, wherever possible
This was the year our work, home and recreational walls all came crashing down. That’s okay. Maybe this new path forward is better. If you don’t have to dress, talk or act differently at work than you do at home, consider yourself lucky to be able to let go of the enormous energy it takes to keep up those walls. I’m increasingly inspired by people who are also finding new power in their voice and being ever-more connected to what matters to them. People who are outspoken, kind and collaborative.
The Korean Vegan Q&A (November 2020)
As life seems increasingly virtual, this is a crucial time to be more real than ever before.
Feel guilt over your privilege? (June 2020)
So glad you are here with me, in this little space of ours where I get to nestle up between your work emails and spam (I like to think of my ATEOD niche as “time,” as in, the time you take to leisurely read, rather than the “hurry hurry fast fast” time during which you read your work emails or scroll your news feed).
Thank you for reading. Let me know what you’d like to see in At The End Of the Day in 2021.
See you next year!
Hannah
✨✨✨With thanks to ATEOD editor Ishani Nath and Christina Vardanis of Best Health who edited this newsletter ✨✨✨
You can also find At The End Of The Day published in Best Health magazine. A couple of other stories from them that I recommend:
Learn how to make the cutest cookies ever, courtesy of Great British Bakeoff star Kim-Joy
How I learned to improve my relationship with money by Zandile Chiwanza
And if you’re out for a brisk walk, you can listen to my podcast, What Do We Do Tomorrow? produced by audio wizard, Noah Sniderman. This show is all about complex problems, big thinkers and do-able actions. The latest episode is a crackling conversation with progressive economist Armine Yalnizian. Here it is on Apple Podcasts, where you can leave a review if you’re so inclined! Find #tomorrowpodcast on any of your fave podcast apps.
If you’re looking to make a donation at this time of year, here are a few I’d love to put on your radar.
Anduhyaun Supports Indigenous women and children in their efforts to maintain their cultural identity, self-esteem, economic, physical and spiritual well-being.
First Nations Child & Family Caring Society Reconciliation-based public education, research and support to promote the safety and wellbeing of First Nations children, young people, families and Nations.
FoodShare We dream of a city where poverty and food insecurity no longer exist.
Uplift Kitchen We’re a food security initiative created to serve Black, Indigenous, and other racialized communities in Toronto and surrounding areas.
The Period Purse strives to achieve menstrual equity and reduce the stigma surrounding periods.
