Yet, there have also been many personal victories even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a nation, we learned just how resilient we can be. We learned how to adapt in ways we never had to before. We rediscovered the necessity of friendship and connection, and that simple gestures and steps go a really long way. Take, for instance: Denise Albert, 46, of New York City Albert, who is cofounder of The MOMS, a multiplatform brand focused on matters related to motherhood, learned how much she could tolerate when she spent almost six months of lockdown living with her ex-husband, his new wife, her ex, and their four kids. “It brought so much good for the kids,” says Albert. “We are still doing things as a blended family. We never did before. We’re in a “bubble,” so it’s really our social circle right now.” Many people revisited long-lost hobbies or picked up new ones. Others finally cleaned out overstuffed closets. And others got in shape: Jenee Jongebloed Bobbora, 50, of Houston, Texas Bobbora finally lost the weight she been carrying around since she was sick with inflammatory breast cancer. “It took me 18 years to figure it out, and I did it this year in quarantine,” she says. “It’s gone for good.” Here are some other personal stories of resilience, silver linings, and things people were thankful for in 2020: Aron “Teo” Lee, 53, entrepreneur and activist, Rockville, Maryland “It’s been an amazing period for artistic inspiration. My single was finished and released, the album is almost finished, my company, DEILAB, is teaching online, and I’m getting calls about consulting work. I’ve met incredible people who are on the front lines in the fight for racial equity, justice, and healing.” Dan Naturman, 51, comedian, New York City “I started writing a novel in July 2019, but I had a chance to finish it. I managed to integrate COVID into the story.” Heather Carlucci, 53, psychic medium and medical intuitive, New York City “I’m much more confident in my work. I learned that I’m a better psychic than I realized. And I met my boyfriend.” Tripp Whetsell, 49, author, journalist, adjunct media studies professor, New York City “After the pandemic first reared its ugly head in March and everything shut down, I came to Nashville, where my parents live, for seven months — the longest continuous period of time we’ve been together at one stretch in 30 years — which we never would have been able to do otherwise.” Guy Mossman, 49, filmmaker, Los Angeles, California “I was able to learn to count past 10 in Portuguese. I was also able to develop a new TV show that I never would have had time to do otherwise. More importantly, I’ve gotten to spend every single day with my son Jack. Not sure how I’ll go back to work.” Mike Mitchell, 62, entrepreneur and philanthropist, Santa Cruz, California “The virus helped us work nonstop for the past eight months here at our sanctuary, mostly clearing brush to prevent forest fires.” Michelle Walsh Carson, 53, events and promotions manager, Melrose, Massachusetts “I learned to garden and grew food. And supported pollinators. And raised monarchs.” Melanie Kron, 44, satellite radio producer, New York City “I have spent more time on my family history and genealogy and found a part of my family I didn’t know existed. We’ve connected — and are getting to know each other.” Deirdre Day, 60, artist and realtor, Rosendale, New York “I produced a lot of art and I sold more houses in a shorter period of time than I ever have before.” Brendan Primeau, 34, designer, Toronto, Canada “Many of my queer and trans friends are feeling more comfortable with their gender expression. Being able to stay home and not worry about the stares, wrath, or questions from heteronormative people has given many individuals freedom and reduction in pressure when it comes to gender binaries.” Linda Burmania, 52, physical therapist assistant, Waupun, Wisconsin “I decided to go back to college at age 52 after working in healthcare for the last 30 years.” Cynthia Bulik, PhD, 60, psychologist and eating disorder expert, Chapel Hill, North Carolina “The ability to reach remote patients via telehealth. And being able to do intensive languages courses totally online via Concordia College Language Villages.” Alyse Richman Barbash, 55, business owner, Salem, Massachusetts “For the first time in 26 years, my husband David and I had dinner together every night. He stopped going into the office, so he wasn’t coming home so late. I am enjoying it.” Susan Pica, 44, senior living sales, Wilton, Connecticut “The dog rescue I volunteer with saved a record number of dogs — almost 1,200. With extra time on my hands, I helped so many families adopt a dog.” Jeryl Brunner, 55, author and playwright, New York City “I am at my lowest weight in years, totally transformed my apartment, am working on a novella and wrote a play for the 24 Hour Play [series].” Danielle S., 36, New York City “All the joy and excitement for our long-awaited baby No. 2 was blunted by the fear of a novel virus that started ripping through New York. March 13, 2020 — ‘the day the world shut down’ — is the day we welcomed baby JJ into our family. No visitors, a mountain of hand sanitizer, and very quick, limited nurse visits defined our hospital stay. Each day we spent at the hospital our anxiety heightened, and as our stay extended with a stint in the NICU, we heard more buzz about the virus and saw the staff slowly start to panic. All I could think was, ‘This is not good.’ I just wanted to take our baby home and let this thing pass. Little did I know I’d be locked in as a new mom of two, lose my 10-year career, and fear for our lives every time someone leaves the house for the next nine months and counting. “How do I get past these overwhelming emotions? I stop, take a deep breath, and look right in front of me. I look at the beautiful family I was blessed with and the opportunity to now devote all my attention to them. I get to be there for the big running hug from my oldest at kindergarten pickup. I get to see, with my own eyes, all of the little one’s ‘firsts.’ And I get to watch in awe as my girls play together and belly laugh from the simplest of exchanges. If the world didn’t stop, I wouldn’t have stopped and I already missed out on so much.”
