{"id":20393,"date":"2020-12-14T09:00:24","date_gmt":"2020-12-14T17:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/?p=20393"},"modified":"2020-12-15T09:50:28","modified_gmt":"2020-12-15T17:50:28","slug":"happiness-haircuts-crippling-insecurities-the-best-and-worst-of-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/2020\/12\/14\/happiness-haircuts-crippling-insecurities-the-best-and-worst-of-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Happiness, haircuts, crippling insecurities: The best and worst of 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the end of every year, we at Nexus<\/em> like to take a minute to look back at the best\u2014and worst\u2014parts of the 12 months that just went down. Now, look, we all know 2020 was a tough one, but there was still lots of good to be found, as the following lists from our staff and volunteer writers prove. And, I mean, wow: we’re all so sick of the virus that it barely even made itself known here.<\/p>\n

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Jayden Grieve, contributing writer<\/strong><\/p>\n

1) Sweet co-workers that make the job a good time.<\/p>\n

2) The Happiness Lab<\/em>, a wonderful podcast on the science of what actually makes people happier<\/p>\n

3) ADHD assessment; so glad to know what the heck is going on.<\/p>\n

4) BLM protests, seeing people pushing for positive change.<\/p>\n

5) Bike lanes, it\u2019s very nice to feel really safe on the road.<\/p>\n

One thing I don’t want to see in 2021:<\/p>\n

Rihanna delaying; come on, girl: time to put out that new album, we\u2019ve waited a looooong time.<\/p>\n

Nicolas Ihmels, contributing writer<\/strong><\/p>\n

1) I got an A+ on my first essay of the year.<\/p>\n

2) I got one of my first comments on one of my Nexus<\/em> articles, which was awesome.<\/p>\n

3) All of my Amazon packages came on time.<\/p>\n

4) I mastered like 30 video games that I’ve been trying to beat for forever.<\/p>\n

5) I started my own blog.<\/p>\n

One thing I don\u2019t want to see in 2021:<\/p>\n

Because of this pandemic, I’ve been unable to enjoy media such as movies in a real theatre. As a film fan, this has hit me really hard. I hope that the movie-theatre experience makes a heroic comeback once we are all vaccinated and that we’ll stop streaming everything at home.<\/p>\n

Celina Lessard, contributing writer<\/strong><\/p>\n

1) Working on my Halloween costume and drinking Starbucks pumpkin spice hot chocolate all October long.<\/p>\n

2) Receiving my certificate for completing year 1 of the ICS program here at Camosun. Behind this piece of paper are countless hours of suffering. Now I\u2019m FREE! YAY!<\/p>\n

3) Seeing the production of Dear Evan Hansen<\/em> in Vancouver with my two best friends.<\/p>\n

4) Re-painting my room and purging all the things I don\u2019t need anymore from my living space.<\/p>\n

5) Learning how to play \u201cTo Build a Home\u201d by The Cinematic Orchestra on the piano. (Still a work in progress, but I\u2019m having a great time with it!)<\/p>\n

One thing I don\u2019t want to see in 2021:<\/p>\n

Racism! We\u2019re in the 21st century. Why is racism still a thing? Why do we need to protest to prove that people of colour are human? Absolute nonsense. I don\u2019t want to see it in 2021.<\/p>\n

Adam Marsh, student editor<\/strong><\/p>\n

1) Seeing how students and volunteers still want to write and be involved with Nexus<\/em> even though things are vastly different this year. When the COVID-19 crisis started, I feared the worst, but people have really stepped up.<\/p>\n

2) Discovering YouTube’s vast music selection. Pretty sure almost every song in the world is on there.<\/p>\n

3) Doing home haircuts in quarantine. It’s great. Hair is surprisingly slippery.<\/p>\n

4) Discovering audio books.<\/p>\n

5) Being diligent with exercise. I run about 30 clicks a week; working from home, it makes all the difference in the world. (Then I’ll have junk food. ‘Cause, you know, life balance.)<\/p>\n

One thing I don’t want to see in 2021:<\/p>\n

An apparent inability for people to hear, and listen to, a POV opposite their own.<\/p>\n

Greg Pratt, managing editor<\/strong><\/p>\n

1) Nexus<\/em> thriving despite all the obstacles thrown at us this year. Our writers really came through and made us stronger than ever while we’re not printing physical issues.<\/p>\n

2) Watching my third kid take his first steps. That never gets old.<\/p>\n

3) Finally pulling the triple stemarang on my BMX bike. I ate concrete for eight months trying to learn that trick. That one second where I hit the pedal and rode away made it all worth it.<\/p>\n

4) Rediscovering the joys of graphic novels and comics (currently reading: The Department of Truth<\/em>, Gideon Falls<\/em>, and Family Tree<\/em>).<\/p>\n

5) Nexus<\/em> website readership numbers doubling over the past year. Welcome!<\/p>\n

One thing I don’t want to see in 2021:<\/p>\n

The Nexus<\/em> Christmas party cancelled again.<\/p>\n

Tiegan Suddaby, contributing writer<\/strong><\/p>\n

1) Being unapologetically cheesy.<\/p>\n

2) Responding to my freaking emails.<\/p>\n

3) Watching rom-coms from the ’80s to mid-’90s.<\/p>\n

4) Expanding my vinyl record collection.<\/p>\n

5) Making paintings bigger than me.<\/p>\n

One thing I don’t want to see in 2021:<\/p>\n

Overwhelming and crippling insecurities!<\/p>\n

Emily Welch, contributing writer<\/strong><\/p>\n

1) I spent a lot more time with my family; I got to know them all again in new and different ways!<\/p>\n

2) I got a story published in a literary magazine, which was really nice.<\/p>\n

3) I went through some depression, which turned out to be a blessing; I learned a few things about myself.<\/p>\n

4) I found out my fellow staff members at Nexus<\/em> were real friends (which I already suspected).<\/p>\n

5) Nexus<\/em> sent me to a student journalist conference in Vancouver, and because of terrible weather, my colleague and I had to fly home, as the ferries were cancelled. Big adventure!<\/p>\n

One thing I don’t want to see in 2021:<\/p>\n

COVID-19. Or maybe the US election? Although that made me laugh every day, so I have to say COVID. It sure will make for good stories, though.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At the end of every year, we at Nexus like to take a minute to look back at the best\u2014and worst\u2014parts of the 12 months that just went down. Now, look, we all know 2020 was a tough one, but there was still lots of good to be found, as the following lists from our […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18078,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-webexclusive","category-campus"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t