With four months left of this seemingly endless year, there is a looming question: “What next?”
There was a high sense of optimism for this decade, with people hosting “Roaring ‘20s” themed New Year’s Eve parties, hoping for as exuberant of an experience as the 1920s decade.
Instead, we got all of the bad with little of the good.
The death of basketball star and hero to some, Kobe Bryant, in January of this year seemed to set the tone for how the remaining months would go.
Americans have experienced one challenge after the other following the tragic and unexpected death of both Bryant and his daughter, Gianna.
States all across the country were forced to shut down in mid-March after the deadly outbreak of the novel coronavirus and the disease it causes, COVID-19.
This is a challenge that Americans are still suffering from to this day, with new cases still appearing and schools and businesses still unable to open, and people still not being able to go back to work.
Following that, it came as no surprise to some that we encountered the threat of “murder hornets.”
What’s more appropriate in a year full of sequential and unthinkable events than the world’s largest hornet invading North America?
Luckily, that one ended up being a farce.
Not only was the invasion avoided, but it was learned that the term “murder hornet” referred to their killing of honeybees, not humans.
That wasn’t the end, however. One thing that may be similar to the 1920s is that we seem to be in a period of political change.
The killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police sparked country-wide rage.
Following Floyd’s killing in May, protests have been held in cities all across the United States demanding not only justice, but reform.
Floyd wasn’t the first black person to be unjustly killed by police, and he wasn’t the last.
Seven police officers in Rochester, N.Y., have been suspended following the March death of Daniel Prude, a Black man, while in police custody.
The public is still seeking justice for Breonna Taylor who was shot in her home as she slept by Louisville, Ky., police officers conducting a no-knock search warrant.
And on top of that, California burst into flames over the summer.
Tens of thousands of Californians were evacuated due to rampant wildfires across the state, which, according to CalFire, have killed seven people, burned more than 1.8 million acres and damaged more than 3,700 structures.
The rest were told to stay in their homes due to poor air quality caused by the fire.
It appears that masks might just be the new fashion statement, as there is now more than one reason to wear one.
It’s bad luck to ask: “how could this possibly get worse?”
But this year begs the question: What next?