2020 in Review

What a year to be living in. It felt like we were just making new year resolutions for 2020 – and now we are ready for next year’s! But before that, let’s take a trip down memory lane that is 2020.

1. Top of the list has definitely got to be when the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic and changed our lives forever.

2. Australia declared a state of disaster amid large bushfires that have killed almost 500 million animals.

3. Then came the first-ever Movement Control Order (MCO). Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin made an official speech and announced the first MCO on 18 March.

4. Of course, Malaysians (and literally everyone around the globe) had to go into panic-buying mode! Remember all the viral pictures of people stocking up toilet papers, food supplies, sanitisers, face masks circulating on your timeline?

5. Oh yes! Demands for face masks and sanitisers grew. These items were sold out everywhere.

6. Hygiene became more important than ever – wash your hands, sanitise, disinfect surfaces, and minimise touching.

7. Wearing sweatpants and T-shirts became acceptable for everyday fashion.

8. Delivery services such as Grab, Food Panda, Bungkus It, etc became extra important when we were stuck at home.

9. We might have gained a little weight from playing chef in the kitchen. Here’s a list of some viral MCO recipes:

• a. Steam a cake instead of baking it
• b. Air-fried lemang
• c. Dalgona coffee
• d. Milo ice-cream sticks
• e. Homemade RotiBoy
• f. Three-ingredient crème brulee
• g. Homemade IKEA meatballs
• h. Sourdough

10. Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok (everyone’s newfound obsession) – where we all hung out during MCO. Thank you to all the micro-trends that kept us sane indoors.

• a. Until Tomorrow Challenge
• b. Draw a This & Draw a That challenge that we were all tagging each other on Instagram.
• c. Push up challenge, even YB Syed Saddiq was doing it
• d. Baby photo challenge
• e. Musicians took to social media to give us personal concerts from home
• f. Posting our failed recipes in the “Masak Apa Tak Jadi Hari Ni” group on Facebook
• g. First #WorkFromHome selfie and Zoom Call screen capture post on our Insta stories.

11. TikTok blew up and our boredom was somehow cured. Quarantine was filled with learning new moves and dances and watching endless hours of these addictive bite-size videos.

12. Everyone was watching The Platform on Netflix – either on a solo binge-watching session or via Netflix party with your partner, friends, and distant family! And a bunch of other amazing movies and hidden gem series like Emily in Paris, Bridegerton, Alice in the Borderland, The Queen’s Gambit, Sweet Home, and many more that kept us occupied throughout the #StayAtHome period.

13. Sneezing and coughing in public got people taking two steps back from you. #WearYourMask.

14. We learned that home-schooling is actually tough for both students and teachers. Teachers were recognised as heroes.

15. Healthcare workers, delivery guys, policemen, nurses, and other essential workers became our new real-life heroes.

16. Celebrating big milestones like weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, and festivities. Especially the 2020 Eid celebration. While still under lockdown, people with families across borders had no other choice but to celebrate via Zoom and video-calls. Weddings were also done via video conferencing, and it was beautiful.

17. Trending games that brought us closer and got viral on Twitter: Plato, Among Us, and Animal Crossing (unfortunate for those who don’t own a Nintendo Switch…)

18. Nostalgic when they announced the first Drive-in Movie Theatres here in KL.

19. This opera performed to a beautiful audience of house plants and then donated the plants to healthcare workers.

20. Thanks to MCO, Sungai Melaka is now green and clean. Some even say it was as clear as the water in the Maldives. Let’s hope we all learn a thing or two from this moment and continue making Mother Nature happy.

Here’s hoping the pandemic will end soon. Let’s welcome 2021 with open arms and a gracious heart!