How to recap a year like 2020? The thought of surveying the whole year is overwhelming, and I’m not sure I want to revisit it all in a methodical way. Like everyone else, I’m pretty ready to move on. Still, there are a few takeaways and silver linings worth noting before I jump into 2021 with a healthy dose of hope, and a firm agreement with myself to go with the flow of things amidst lingering uncertainty.
The Power of Together
At the beginning of 2020, I committed to taking a weekly snapshot and sharing each in a Facebook album with a short write up about what happened behind the scenes at Yes and Yonder that week. I had no idea when I set that framework for myself that a pandemic would make the world feel really small and there wouldn’t be much to photograph. I thought I’d be showing images of workshops, creative sessions, community events, client office spaces, and most definitely I assumed these photos would heavily feature the people behind the projects. Instead, there are a lot of screenshots and photos of things like my sketches, my desk. My snacks and dogs even made appearances.
Scrolling through the album, I feel the giant void of humans all over again. The isolation that plagued me all year. For comparison, take a look at my blog recap of 2019, so full of life!
2020 reminded me how powerful, creative, and fulfilling it can be to have a group of humans working together in a room. I don’t think I’ll take those times for granted when we’re finally able to gather again.
I had no idea this experience mapping session with Child Advocates would be my last in-person facilitation for months.
Oh, the Humanity!
Related: one thing I REALLY loved about all of the Google Meet/Zoom/Webx/etc time was getting a peek into my collaborative partners lives. I saw home offices and kitchens. I met people’s kids and cats. I made a habit of pre-apologizing that my dog might bark, and often was met with “Mine too!” People shared their art collections and home reno projects. It was a given that interruptions might happen, as people juggled e-learning for their kids and working from home, and that was okay. It seemed like a collective permission allowing us all to be more real.
Finding a Way
This year tested nearly every bit of my process and habits for how I run the business. And while I would choose an in-person client kick off every time if it was possible, I have now figured out how to successfully run team retreats and creative sessions from a distance. This sets YAY up to be able to help people near AND far, and honestly, without my hand being forced, I’m not sure I’d have spent the time to develop this competency.
Yes, in an ideal world, I’d always make space for that kind of innovation before the need arises. But sometimes we all need a forcing function to get inventive.
My first stab at facilitating a remote ideation session with Joy’s House.
Inequality and Racial Justice in America
George Floyd’s murder and the protests and marching that followed were a watershed awakening for our nation. The concurrent timing of the pandemic only amplified the disparities people of color face. Seeing it all unfold had a profound impact on me. I have always considered myself an ally, yet in the wake of all of this, I realized how much I still have to learn, how I needed to examine my own privilege and my actions and lack of actions. I felt heartened by the swell of individuals, businesses and nonprofits calling for change and having their own reckoning, taking steps to do better and invest in equality and inclusion. My hope is that 2020 was a point of no return, and forward progress continues on.
And I guess it’s true about the year as a whole. No where to go but up, right?