As 2020 finally draws to a close, The Catalyst Editorial Staff would like to take the time to reflect on all that happened throughout the year. All 31,622,400 seconds of it.

January started off with Australian wildfires. In March the world shut down and Breonna Taylor was killed. George Floyd was killed and protests across the country began in May. The election took place in November, with Joe Biden becoming president-elect.

Now, December marks nine months in quarantine and six months in online school. That means it has been six months of sitting in zoom classes without seeing classmates, friends, or teachers. Looking forward, the New Year promises the start of hybrid-model learning at NDB.

When looking back at all that happened this year, it is safe to say that everyone and everything has changed. The world that we are living in has transformed drastically, and the sense of normalcy that used to be here is gone. When viewing videos or pictures of people unmasked, it looks wrong. The new age of COVID-19 has become our reality, and wearing a mask has become second nature.

With the globe transformed by the virus, the world of journalism has undergone major changes as well. Nearly every story we write mentions or is impacted in some way by COVID-19. It is essential that we talk about and educate our readers on the state of the virus, but it grows tiring to do so. We feel suffocated by hearing and writing about COVID-19 every day.

Everyone has been forced to develop new skills to live in this pandemic, but people have also taken this opportunity of being inside to develop new passions, hobbies, and addictions. For many of us, screen time and social media have become our vices. It is practically the only way to get a glimpse into the outside world.

Cases in San Mateo County are on the rise, but there is hopeful news about a vaccine for COVID-19. Pfizer, an American biotech company, has announced promising test results for a new vaccine. So it seems there is possibly an end in sight.

Although there are many reasons to be optimistic as 2020 concludes, it is important to understand that the insanity of these past months is not expected to end with New Year’s Day. The events that have categorized this past year as crazy will have no qualms about rolling into 2021.

Black lives matter, now and always, and the environment is in crisis as wildfires across the globe are not predicted to cease their rampage any time soon. We believe that supporting leaders who recognize problems for what they are and who trust journalists is still of utmost importance, even with a new president in the White House. 2020 has asserted itself and ensured that it will not be merely a blip in a textbook.

This year has been unprecedented in nearly every way, and it is safe to say that the events that have led to 2020’s uniqueness have not exactly been positive. But the year’s tragic happenings have not been the only things contributing to it: 2020 has seen the globe more united than ever before. Living in a virtual world can feel cold and distant at times, but it has also brought people closer together in an astonishing way.

Scary yet fascinating, COVID-19 has created a “we” out of all of us here on Earth. We are here together, facing these crises, battling evil as one. There is nothing that has more power to draw people together than a shared experience of hardship. We have all been hit hard by the virus, and we will continue the fight to heal the scar that 2020 has left on our world.