 | | Babacar Sene, who sells light-up accessories at Independence Square in Dakar, Senegal, on New Year’s Eve, December 2020.Ricci Shryock for The New York Times |
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We asked our Times colleagues what they managed to love in 2020. It was a brutal year that took something from everyone, so it was heartening to read about those sometimes mundane, but no less real, moments of joy. |
For many of us, celebrations, parties and events are escapes from the stresses in our lives. But once the coronavirus pandemic hit, those gatherings were put on hold. Then came Verzuz. Created by Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, the Instagram live series invites two music icons — predominantly R&B, hip-hop and reggae artists — to highlight their discographies in two 10-song rounds. Broadcasts have included battles between the producers Teddy Riley and Babyface, the singers Erykah Badu and Jill Scott, Patti LaBelle and Gladys Knight, Brandy and Monica (my favorite), the rappers Gucci Mane and Jeezy and the reggae artists Buju Banton and Beenie Man. Verzuz provided much-needed nostalgia as we chatted with friends and other music lovers about how these artists and their music had influenced our lives — and it came at a time when those moments were especially necessary. |
| — Pierre-Antoine Louis, News Assistant |
 | | Deputy National Editor Jamie Stockwell and her pug, Diego. |
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The year began with such promise, and so ordinarily, too. My spouse and I had just returned from a week in Texas, where we spent Christmas with our families, and we had vowed to return soon for a long weekend. It was to be one of many trips planned for 2020, the year of our 10th anniversary. |
And then our worlds abruptly shrank to the size of our New York City apartment. While making this shift was initially unsettling and disorienting, I quickly embraced what it allowed: afternoon cuddles with my elderly pug, Diego; lunchtime runs in Central Park; dinner with my spouse — on time! — every night; and new hobbies I’d long aspired to pick up but always found reasons to put off. Working from home has had its challenges and disadvantages, but it has also helped me to put into practice a much better work-life balance for the first time in my 20-year career, and for that I am grateful. |
If 2020 was the year of social isolation, it was also the year my parents, my brother and I regularly met for video chats, a first for us, and the year my spouse and I spent evenings playing video games online with our siblings. It has been a difficult year with immeasurable grief and the loss of many friends and relatives to Covid-19. But it has also been a year of patience, of slowing down, of taking the time to pause, reflect and find joy in the many new ways we have found to connect. |
| — Jamie Stockwell, Deputy National Editor |
Time to Reset and Reconnect |
Covid-19 has slowed down all of our lives and gave us the time to connect in a way we never had a chance to before. In the past few months, my friends from high school started a chat called African Conversations with participants from all over the world, including Zimbabwe, South Africa, England, Italy and the United States. We’ve also organized monthly family Zoom calls and birthday calls, which we never did before. It’s not as if the technology did not already exist but now we had the time and the ability to appreciate the precious moments in this unpredictable life. The world is experiencing this pandemic at the same time, and the virtual space allows us to bridge distances. It makes us feel like we are in this together. It’s almost as if we have been given this time to reset and reconnect. |
| — Wadzanai Mhute, News Assistant |
 | | Weruche Opia, left, and Michaela Coel in a scene from season one of “I May Destroy You.”Natalie Seery/HBO |
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Michaela Coel Did Destroy Me |
Michaela Coel’s HBO series “I May Destroy You” did, in fact, destroy me this year. In July, E. Alex Jung interviewed Coel for Vulture about the making of the series, which centers on the idea of consent (and is based on Coel’s own experience of sexual assault). Empathy, she told Jung, is a daily practice. Months after watching, I’m still thinking about the series. Out of trauma, there can be reconciliation, but only if both sides actually want change. |
| — Kathleen Massara, Senior Staff Editor |
 | | Nivaas Thanoo and Natasha Kamat, resident physicians in Ohio’s Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals, were married over Zoom on May 24, 2020.Sumedha Goel |
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The pandemic made makeshift documentarians out of so many people: They facilitated goodbyes on FaceTime and balanced laptops at funerals. They wrangled ancient AV systems at houses of worship and held memorial programs up to webcams. They took camera direction, so patiently, over Zoom. |
It was no small ask. None of us wanted to be here, holding screens during earth-shattering devastation. But I’m happy to grasp at small consolations and take Mr. Rogers’ advice to look to the helpers: the ad hoc videographers of 2020 who did their best to keep the view steady. |
Sometimes it was lovely. The bride and groom operated multiple camera angles by themselves at the first wedding I virtually attended early in the pandemic, shuffling computers around their living room and calling their priest on FaceTime to officiate the ceremony. |
There are virtual wedding planners now who would have smoothed out the awkward angles, unmuted relatives and anticipated the inevitable delays (“This is the first time they’re getting married on Zoom,” the best man offered without missing a beat.) But it wouldn’t have been the same. |
| — Anushka Patil, Senior Social Media Strategy Editor |
While 2020 presented many work-life challenges, the work-from-home edict issued by our company allowed me to take a more introspective look at my life. I re-evaluated the importance of time and space — setting boundaries seemed easier and saying “no” was easier. Renovating the backyard became a mission. I was able to step away from my workstation every 20 minutes as suggested by the company’s ergonomic specialist (somehow I was not able to pull that off in the office). During my breaks I would explore my Brooklyn neighborhood (wearing a mask, of course) and admire the architecture of Bedford-Stuyvesant.
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I valued more time with my husband, who thankfully worked upstairs, while I worked downstairs; we would meet in the middle to have real meals with conversations about everything but work woes. Our son was eventually able to join us from college. I realized that we had never really had meals together while he was growing up. |
I started to look forward and began mentoring more young women photographers, volunteering my time and expertise. Everything has a silver lining. |
| — Sandra Stevenson, Assistant Editor, Photography |
Let me be clear: I hate most forms of exercise. I don’t get that runner’s high everyone talks about nor do I smile my way through a series of planks. Intellectually, I understand that we need to move for our mental and physical health, and that’s why I usually do it begrudgingly. One exception is boxing. I’m not particularly agile and I tire easily, but that’s not the point. Boxing reminds me to stay focused, in the moment and just keep going — something I desperately needed in April. |
Shortly after we all began quarantining in our homes, when the infection numbers in New York City were particularly harrowing, I found myself unable to stick to any routine. On a whim, I subscribed to Title Boxing, which has workout videos available to stream. It wasn’t the same as sparring with my trainer in my wraps and gloves, but it reminded me that I’m always so much stronger than I give myself credit for. |
—Fahima Haque, National Audiences Editor |
Happy New Year, readers. We’d love to hear from you. What are you most looking forward to in 2021? Email us at racerelated@nytimes.com and we may publish a selection of your responses. |
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