“New Normal”: Living with change (September-December) | Kalamazoo 2020 in Photos
The past few months have been different than the rest of 2020.
They’ve felt… normal.
We’ve adapted to social distancing, to wearing masks, to interacting with people in different ways. When bigger things happen, like new restrictions on indoor dining, they aren’t as big of a shock as the were in the first wave.
Life continues on. College football came back, but without fans. The election happened, but more people than ever voted by mail. Holidays were celebrated, mostly without the traditions we are used to. It’s not the same, but doesn’t feel like the monumental shift that occluded in the Spring.
The biggest event this season was the election, but that faded away from our conscious rather quickly. Other struggles continue and in many ways they’ve intensified. Businesses, bars and restaurants are having more difficulty than ever. People are still struggling with their mental health, especially around the holidays.
But Thanksgiving and Christmas are markers of how we’re living in this new world: we still celebrate, even though it’s different, and what we can do matters more than ever.
These recent images of our journey in 2020 aren’t as stark or bold as the previous galleries, but they reflect how our lives have continued after six months of the pandemic. I’m sure looking back they might seem odd, but they feel like the “new normal” everyone is talking about. As we take some time at the end of the year to reflect, I hope they serve as a reminder of everything we’ve gone through together. It’s to forget just how much has happened.
Whether this is the end of our hard times or a prelude of more to come, we’ve gone through something together. Hopefully we can be more kind to one another and realize that all of our small, individual actions can add up to something greater. If 2020 taught us anything, it’s that the impossible can actually happen: we should be prepared for it and also work to turn our dreams for this world into a reality.
