By Juhi Bansal
To say 2020 was different would be an understatement. There were goods and bads and uglies. I enjoyed some, coped some and gave in some. And that’s why probably it took me this long to write my ceremonial “looking back, looking ahead” post for 2020. I can’t just seem to sum it up but sum it up I will.
(YOU CAN READ VER 2020, VER 2019, VER 2018, VER 2017, VER 2016, VER 2015 AND VER 2014 HERE).
I started 2020 with the following resolutions: read, workout, travel to new places, rediscover old ones and be grateful. And what do you know! I did manage to do most of it and then some!
I did end up reading 96 books! Yes! Even I am surprised but I guess that counted as my me time as always and I made the most of it. I also explored new genres, new authors and got out of my comfort zone.
I worked out a whopping 240 times in 2020. (Whopping for me because I am this side of lazy and always look for excuses to get out of working out.). So workout I did and I think my #100Daychallenge group is the biggest reason for it. That and the fact that we don’t have early morning school for iyra so I can workout guiltfree 7.00 -8.00 AM. I clocked in about 800 running kms and 4000 suryanamaskars.
I may not have travelled to new places in 2020 but I did manage to travel quite a bit and reexplore Bharatpur, Agra, Udaipur, Rishikesh, Dehradun, Jaipur, Mathura, managed a quick trip to Mussoorie for the first time in my life and froze (I am not a cold clime person at all!) and also rediscovered Goa like never before!
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Also, had the privilege to move to Goa for 2 whole months and made use of WFH to its fullest. We worked like crazy but also had a lot of fun. Those 2 months in Goa will be my best ever for a long time.
Learnt to cook, clean the house, work from home and not kill each other 🙂
While WFH was not fun to begin with we got used to it and made the most of it (read Goa and a road trip in Uttaranchal). And I am happy to report that we didn’t miss out on school or work at all (apart from a day when there was an internet outage and a day when a morning trek turned to a day long trek) we worked and learned (Iy’s online classes) every single working day.
Work in terms of Ahmedabad University was unprecedented as well.
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We moved to online teaching and it was a revelation. We experimented, failed, learnt, succeeded and had a lot of fun on the way. I am proud to report that we have made immense strides in teaching remotely!
As for CB, it was a slow year because brands were lying low and so was I but I did manage to work with brands like Disney, Allout, Vicks, TBZ, First Cry etc. and launched brand s like Mango and Skinlab in Ahmedabad. Also, interviewed Milind Soman!
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And ofcourse WMOA for very active as did my two groups #100DayChallenge and #ReadingChallenge.
Like I had planned at the beginning of 2020, gratitude was a big part of the year. It taught me not just the value of companionship but also the fact that I don’t need a lot to get by and definitely not a house full of things. Home is an emotion and I can be home anywhere in the world!
So, what are my resolutions for 2021: pretty much the same: Read, workout, spend time with family, travel, be open to new experiences and be grateful.
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