Fátima Reyes, Grade 12
UWC Costa Rica

Dear 2020,
 
What a ride! You left as strongly as you came. Because of you, the world will never be the same. I will never be the same. ​
Fátima‌ ‌Reyes‌ ‌
UWC‌ ‌Costa‌ ‌Rica‌ ‌
Grade‌ ‌12‌ ‌/‌ ‌IBDP‌ ‌2‌ ‌
You took away so much, but you certainly gave us a lot in return. As I bid you farewell, in the hopes of never having to go through anything like you again, I want to make peace with you. So dear 2020, here’s everything I must thank you for. 
 
Thank you for an 18th birthday like none other. You certainly forced me to grow up, a lot.
 
Thank you for my (human) friends. For all the pizza nights, the deep and no-so-deep conversations, for all the hugs, the tears, and the laughter. 
 
Thank you for my new canine friend. Dogs are certainly a man’s best friend. 
 
Thank you for being so unpredictable. I hope I learned to embrace the moment and expect nothing from the future.
 
Thank you for that letter to the future. It was a really nice surprise to wake up to. 
 
Thank you for never leaving me alone. Even when I didn’t deserve it, you always kept someone by my side to pick me up.
 
Thank you for Julie Nolke. You gave us some of the best comedy of my lifetime. 
 
Thank you for my bed. All five of them. I often forget how much I can take them for granted.
 
Thank you for Dad. Thank you for keeping him as the one constant in my life. I don’t think I could survive without his honest advice, morning texts, or grilled cheese sandwiches. 
 
Thank you for all the ice cream you allowed me to have. In a year like yourself, sometimes one just needs to get lost in a cold, sweet paradise. 
 
Thank you for my health, both physical and mental, and that of everyone I care about. I know I got lucky. 
 
Thank you for school. It gave me a sense of routine and a purpose. 
 
Thank you for the Hamilton movie.
 
And now that we are on it, thank you for music. It truly is life itself. 
 
In order to thank you for everything you got right, I would need more time than the one I currently have at hand. So to stop boring my reader, let me stop here. Thank you 2020 for all the life you forced into just 365 days. Thank you for reminding us how fragile we are, for pointing out our weaknesses. Thank you because now we know how to be better. Because now we know how to value a smile, a classroom, and our freedom. Because you made us conscious of our resilience and appreciative of each other. 
 
Dear 2020, thank you for an unforgettable year. Now, welcome 2021.