6 Milestone Articles of 2021
My year, at a glance
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In January, I would’ve never been able to predict what this roller coaster of a year had in store. My sole focus back then was the vaccine rollout. When can my parents get it? When can I get it? Will we all get it in time before we get really ill? I thought everyone that had access would get it, and we would be out of the woods by summer.
I was wrong.
I listened to the news every day and signed up for Twitter alerts to make a vaccine appointment as soon as I heard the notification. I got a lot of co-workers appointments like this too. Ding!
Working through a worldwide pandemic in a customer-facing job has been an enormous challenge. Pandemic retail has forged more resilience and determination in my guts than I ever thought possible — and I had grit before this.
With nowhere to go and enthusiasm to write, I dedicated my time outside my 9–5 to learn the Medium platform, really understand it. I figured out a lot on my own, but I was ready to kick it up a notch. I dove in and learned from some of the best.
The following articles were milestones for me in 2021. These milestones aren’t based on views or going viral. They’re based on what I learned from each one. Each article I write teaches me a lesson, and these six stand out.
ONE
I wrote this in response to a call for stories within the platform. We were coming up on a year into COVID-19, and editors were looking for stories from every facet of life. A year out seemed like a long time. Now, it feels like nothing.
My husband and I work in customer service, but he was on the front lines even as every other company shut its doors; he works in a grocery store. As the world quarantined, his store was flooded with panic and aggression.
Our experiences were unique, and we chose to survive each day with music and great food. Empty freeways and our dog were elements that got us through. Sometimes I write to remember. This was one of those times.
