Dear 34 year old Adam,
I've just turned 33. This has been a very challenging year. I'm sure the history books will remember 2020 as the year of the COVID-19 pandemic and the year Trump lost. This year started out very promising. I had purchased plane tickets to visit Brian over spring break, fly to Colorado for Travis' wedding, and go to India with Tem. None of that happened. Instead I spent this entire year stuck in the great state of Ohio. Sometime in March Governor DeWine closed down all schools in Ohio for three weeks. He called it an 'early spring break.' Shortly after that the entire fourth quarter of school was to be done virtually. I have spent from March to this very moment in quarantine. I've tried my best to be a good brother to my fellow humans but it seems one person's actions alone isn't enough. This summer I spent my days walking the streets of Columbus listening to podcasts and auidobooks during the mid mornings. Attending protests at the statehouse in the afternoons. I spent my evenings connecting with friends on Xbox Live since in person visits were out of the question. Tem and I spent every second together in that one bedroom condo on Hamilton Avenue. I can't remember the last time I went to a bar or restaurant. Well, I guess I did go out once when Tem's sister was visiting. I can't remember the last movie I saw in a theater. Travis ended up cancelling his reservations in Veil and settling for a backyard wedding which I did attend. Worth the risk to see my friend get married. This fall as the school year approached it became clearer, the first quarter of school would also be virtual. And now here I am halfway through the second quarter with no end in sight of teaching Kindergarten through a zoom call. Tem and I bought a condo on Monroe Ave in King-Lincoln this fall. I still have the iPhone Xs I bought last year in Seattle. I still spend my free time talking to my friends while playing video games on Xbox. I became an uncle, Tyler and Brittany has a daughter, Aurora, Travis and Bobo both got married, Alan became a father, and Brian moved back to Cincinnati. This year has been like nothing I've experienced. The Olympics were cancelled travel was banned between countries, and many lives have been lost. This pandemic has really showed me how fragile life is. The delicate balance this planet reminds us again and again. Like a single beetle from Asia destroying trees in North America. Life has always been vulnerable, heart disease, traffic accidents, and the sort. But seeing how something not visible to the human eye can halt the entire world makes me realize how incredibly balanced this planet has been in years past. I could take a plane from Ohio to Ndola and breathe the air, taste the food, and hug the people without danger. At any moment life could be changed by a single microscopic virus. I guess it's also been a decade since I graduated college.
I've just turned 33. This has been a very challenging year. I'm sure the history books will remember 2020 as the year of the COVID-19 pandemic and the year Trump lost. This year started out very promising. I had purchased plane tickets to visit Brian over spring break, fly to Colorado for Travis' wedding, and go to India with Tem. None of that happened. Instead I spent this entire year stuck in the great state of Ohio. Sometime in March Governor DeWine closed down all schools in Ohio for three weeks. He called it an 'early spring break.' Shortly after that the entire fourth quarter of school was to be done virtually. I have spent from March to this very moment in quarantine. I've tried my best to be a good brother to my fellow humans but it seems one person's actions alone isn't enough. This summer I spent my days walking the streets of Columbus listening to podcasts and auidobooks during the mid mornings. Attending protests at the statehouse in the afternoons. I spent my evenings connecting with friends on Xbox Live since in person visits were out of the question. Tem and I spent every second together in that one bedroom condo on Hamilton Avenue. I can't remember the last time I went to a bar or restaurant. Well, I guess I did go out once when Tem's sister was visiting. I can't remember the last movie I saw in a theater. Travis ended up cancelling his reservations in Veil and settling for a backyard wedding which I did attend. Worth the risk to see my friend get married. This fall as the school year approached it became clearer, the first quarter of school would also be virtual. And now here I am halfway through the second quarter with no end in sight of teaching Kindergarten through a zoom call. Tem and I bought a condo on Monroe Ave in King-Lincoln this fall. I still have the iPhone Xs I bought last year in Seattle. I still spend my free time talking to my friends while playing video games on Xbox. I became an uncle, Tyler and Brittany has a daughter, Aurora, Travis and Bobo both got married, Alan became a father, and Brian moved back to Cincinnati. This year has been like nothing I've experienced. The Olympics were cancelled travel was banned between countries, and many lives have been lost. This pandemic has really showed me how fragile life is. The delicate balance this planet reminds us again and again. Like a single beetle from Asia destroying trees in North America. Life has always been vulnerable, heart disease, traffic accidents, and the sort. But seeing how something not visible to the human eye can halt the entire world makes me realize how incredibly balanced this planet has been in years past. I could take a plane from Ohio to Ndola and breathe the air, taste the food, and hug the people without danger. At any moment life could be changed by a single microscopic virus. I guess it's also been a decade since I graduated college.
Things I'm doing now:
I've been living with Tem for over a year now. In fact in October Tem and I bought a condo together. I am in my fourth year teaching Kindergarten. I passed RESA last year. However this year has introduced a new challenge of teaching virtually. I spend my days in front of a computer screen in an empty classroom. I've always loved my job and looked forward to work but these days waking up to go to work has been a struggle. I hate living like that. I still hit the gym in the mornings three times a week I'm still reading books from reading list we made although I will admit some of them I downloaded the audiobook version. We did manage to vote out the president this year like 31 year old Adam had hoped. However, now we are stuck with Biden. But we'll see how he does. I no longer want to see the police reformed. I'd prefer the force be abolished entirely. As far as Africentric's rating goes those goals may be put on hold a bit because of this pandemic.
Things I hope you're doing:
I hope you and Tem are ready for a baby. I know we've planned to try once she turns 30 and that will be next year. I hope you do a better job journaling than I did. I hope you're back to in person school. Jesus I hope you're back to in person school. I hope you and Tem visit India and New Zealand. I hope the vaccine happens and that it isn't just for the rich. I hope you're able to go to a fucking bar finally. I hope you can hug your friends, visit Wauseon, see Aurora often, visit Bobo in Chicago, Todd in San Diego, finally meet Sula, Alan's daughter. I hope you're paying off this new condo. I hope the renters at Hamilton aren't complicated. Honestly, I just hope the pandemic is over and I never have to experience another. The bar is very low for 2021.
Things I've learned since turning 33:
My early 30s. What have I learned this year? I learned a bit more about how racist this country I live in is. I learned a lot of people wanted Trump to stay president including the majority of Ohio. I think I always wondered what it was like to live in the 1960s during the civil rights movement. As years pass I wonder if 2020 will be placed among those years. It is amazing how a history book can make news look like the most important thing and it certainly can be but at the same time so many people are privileged enough to ignore it. It was very possible to live in the 1960s and not even know any of the protests were happening or for them to not impact your life in anyway. I saw that in 2020. Protests across the nation in every major city and what changed? What did the politicians do? How many Americans were completely apathetic to the cries for justice and how many more were actually on the other side of the issue not crying out for justice from their government. I've learned this year that no matter how advanced technology gets face to face, in person interactions will always be needed. People don't just want to stay home and order things online, although people are free and able to do so. I probably shouldn't speak in absolute about those sorts of things. I've seen a darker side of humanity this year. I've seen people hoard toilet paper, a commodity that has always been available in abundance. I've seen protesters supporting white nationalists. People denying the reality of a pandemic. It has been a truly odd year. But since the marches in Ferguson I've also seen a bit more of an awakening in America even if it was short lived even if nothing changed. It seems messaging of oppressed groups, thanks to the internet and social media, can be amplified to maybe even reach those privileged people who've had the luxury of ignoring other's needs. It seems to be two steps forward one step back but slowly forward. I've learned that voting for the lesser of two evils, although not ideal, is necessary because someone is going to be elected. Voting isn't everything, but it is certainly not nothing. The older I get the more I seem to pull away from an interest in sports and fantasy and start to draw more towards politics and history. I think this new interest has sprouted from a desire to understand the world. To try and make sense of horrible things, to try and categorize the chaos. Ignoring suffering isn't doing it for me and shrugging of shoulders isn't good enough. Learning how we got here and learning the paths forward continues to gain my interest more and more.
1987 Born
1988 00
1989 01
1990 02
1991 03
1992 04
1993 05 Started Grade School
1994 06
1995 07
1996 08
1997 09
1998 10
1999 11
2000 12
2001 13
2002 14
2003 15
2004 16
2005 17
2006 18 Graduated High School
2007 19
2008 20
2009 21
2010 22 Graduated College
2011 23
2012 24
2013 25
2014 26
2015 27
2016 28
2017 29 Ohio Early Childhood Teaching License
2018 30
2019 31
2020 32 Bought Condominium, Became an Uncle
1993 05 Started Grade School
1994 06
1995 07
1996 08
1997 09
1998 10
1999 11
2000 12
2001 13
2002 14
2003 15
2004 16
2005 17
2006 18 Graduated High School
2007 19
2008 20
2009 21
2010 22 Graduated College
2011 23
2012 24
2013 25
2014 26
2015 27
2016 28
2017 29 Ohio Early Childhood Teaching License
2018 30
2019 31
2020 32 Bought Condominium, Became an Uncle