A very 2020 Christmas

I imagine we can all agree that 2020 has been a weird year (unless the coronavirus is one of my readers, in which case here’s a vat of fluorine to drown yourself in). The entirety of it passed somewhere between being stuck in my room for days on end and handling online classes and Zoom meetings, and now it is Christmas and the year is about to end. I’m sure that I had a far easier time than many, many other people, but…

Let me (re?)introduce you to relative deprivation theory. I first heard of it in Malcolm Gladwell’s talk at Google Zeitgeist several years back, which you can see here - Why Did I Say “Yes” to Speak Here? | Malcolm Gladwell | Google Zeitgeist. Very basically, relative deprivation theory suggests that (quoting Mr. Gladwell)

As human beings, we do not form out self-assessment based on our standing in the world. We form our self-assessments based on our standing in our immediate circle, on those in the same boat as ourselves […]

So when I found myself as the only one in my circle with no plans for Christmas, relative deprivation theory kicked in HARD. I had seen decorations preparing for Christmas weeks in advance. I recalled all the fun I had had in Christmases past, which I had always spent with family. For a few hours on Christmas Eve I wanted to be anywhere and with anyone rather than spend Christmas alone in my room but some dark part of me also wanted to give in to my overwhelming laziness and spend the day staring into space moping about it. But then I surprised myself…

One of the photos I took of the Christmas decorations came out surprisingly well.

Over the past few weeks I have realised that even though 2020 has been a soggy-thing-that-bulls-drop-on-grass-fields year, it has also taught me some valuable lessons that go beyond the year itself, and one of those is to be aware of my own mental health and discover ways to face any challenges that come up. At some point I decided that spending Christmas within my room or outside it was entirely up to me, and I ended up planning a solo ‘trip’ amidst the natural beauty that is conveniently situated close to the College Park area but that I hadn’t (and haven’t) yet fully explored. I walked to places that I would normally take an Uber for, went on trails that I had never been on, saw some deer, watched some streams (filled with water to an unusual extent because it had rained the night before), did some bird-watching (now I know what a Northern Cardinal looks like), and in the end, rounded up the day with a nice dinner from a restaurant that I hadn’t tried before. Not bad, at least according to me.

Stream, path, trees, all in one.

Deer-ie me!

I imagine this won’t be the last time I need to do something like this, but thanks to this word-you-get-if-you-say-sheet-quickly year I believe I will know how. Thanks but no thanks.