It has been a whirlwind of a year, Kobe Bryant dying in January, COVID-19 making its way into the United States in February, COVID-19 shutting the world down in March, COVID-19 shutting the world down in April, George Floyd's murder in May, Black Lives Matter protests in June, COVID-19 continuing to hit mostly the United States now in July, COVID-19 lingering in August and September, and oh boy here come the politics in October as Election Season is in full swing for the 2020 General Election in early November. Whew. I am exhausted just reciting all of that. On top of all of that, I know everyone has endured and/or overcome their own struggles as well, throughout these, dare I say, "unprecedented times." Side note: I am voting for that phrase to be 2020's unofficial phrase of the year, because I know we have all heard it too many times to count.

It's right about the time of year when I personally start to look forward to "the most wonderful time of the year," the holiday season. The second Hallo-week hits, I am already mentally in Thanksgiving and Christmas mode, and yes, I am one of those people who listens to Christmas music in October. But with everything going on, and by everything I mean coronavirus continuing to hold the United States in a headlock, and the ongoing political scuffles that are feeding off of the highly-anticipated upcoming election, I can't help but wonder what the Holiday's are going to look like this year. This is a prediction of what my end of the year consists of, but I feel like I am in the same boat as a lot of people. So don't feel bad if your Holidays look like this too.

Of course there is the ongoing social distancing mandate, kindly suggesting that if going out or traveling isn't an absolute necessity, it's better to just not do it. I feel like I am making some solid predictions when it comes to what is in store for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and even New Year's. Many schools have made plans to force all classes to be remote in between Thanksgiving and Christmas, allowing students to travel home for Thanksgiving and stay home all the way until it is time to return for the spring semester in January. I know I am not going home for Thanksgiving, as my family sort of just canceled it, among other things that were canceled in 2020, for the sake of safety to the older relatives that are more at risk. And we are not really big turkey eaters, anyway. Don't worry, a Friendsgiving is in the works as we speak. But it is sort of sad, time to sit down and feast with family was much needed.

I won't be going home until the end of the semester in December, and I already know that it is going to be a "lowkey" Christmas. It'll just be the immediate family, me, and the dog. Side note: the dog doesn't like me about 90% of the time. Will I get to see all of my friends? Probably not. There is already a spike in COVID cases going on, so who knows what it's going to look like in December.

Black Friday is going to be much different this year than all the others. Is shopping in person going to be a thing this year? I have also been looking forward to this event as well. I have never been out on Black Friday, throwing elbows to get that 60" flat screen for half off. But it sure does sound exhilarating and would be willing to give it a shot. But contrary to the idea, I will be sitting on the couch, or laying in bed, most likely drinking a chai tea latte or hot chocolate, procrastinating on assignments.

This right here, folks, is the reality of the 2020 Holiday Season. So let's learn to embrace and accept it. While I would say we could attempt to make the most of it, I will leave that up to you to decide. If this is what your end of the year plans are looking like, join the club. It'll be a smooth transition to 2021. Oh yeah, 2021. Let's mask up in 2021, that way we don't have to endure another 2020 Holiday Season.