Written by: Felicia Shanken, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
You know the expression “What doesn’t kill us, makes us stronger?” This is where I went for my headline, except, of course, with a little twist on it. Let's dig in!
Stop what you are doing and reflect on where you were a year ago — the moment you found out the whole world was going on lockdown. Remember the feeling? I remember mine so well as if it was yesterday. The unknown and fear, thinking, is it the end of the world? As cliche as all of this may sound, how many of you can relate? Can you believe that it has been a year?
The news was filled with COVID stories, non-stop, every day, all day. We heard from the CDC and the WHO on the number of rapidly rising cases and deaths. All of us wondered if we would see our loved ones again while wishing and praying for the world while trying to stay strong for those that depended on us the most.
We all became emotional — thinking about the last hug, the last goodbye, the last time you told someone that you loved them, the things we took for granted. Think about the handshakes, hugs, kisses, and spending quality time with those we love that were taken away from us just like that.
Some of us felt what loneliness really felt like if we lived alone or the challenges of relationships and so on. We had to face the hard truths about it all, and it may or may not have been pretty.
Now that you had a few moments to reflect let’s move forward. It’s time to smile now, not because the pandemic is over, because you made it. A year has gone by, and you are still here. We grieve for those we lost, and they will forever be with us. We found the strength to carry on. We realized that we as human beings are stronger than we thought. We have been through the hardest year ever, but yet we are still standing.
What a difference a year has made in our lives because of this pandemic. Was it feast or famine? With all the things happening, some things soared while others collapsed. The world is slowly returning to a place where we feel some hope and comfort, but what does that really mean? Let’s face it. The world will never be the same.
How do we start over? What have we learned about ourselves? How do we look at relationships — business and personal? The power of the Internet and digital video platforms is now the core of how we will run our businesses moving forward. Let’s face it, a lot of businesses, including mine, thrived during a time when the world was still. Sadly, some closed their doors forever.
Where do we go from here? What’s the new plan? We need to continue developing new strategies and ask ourselves new questions.
Worldwide there are numerous COVID-19 vaccines. Once available to you, the decision to get vaccinated or not is strictly your choice. As with anything in life, educate yourself and go from there. Here in the US, relief plans are on how to rebuild and make our economy strong again. Small businesses are finally receiving the lifeline needed to rebuild.
The promise of 2021, what does it have in store? I think I am almost at that point where I can take a deep breath and relax a little bit.
This is our story to write now. Are we going to continue the way we did before COVID, a year ago when this pandemic took us all by storm? Or, are we going to take advantage of this new beginning as the world starts this slow but steady upswing or miss the opportunity completely? What opportunities do you ask? The ones I hope you created or came across in the year 2020.
The opportunity to connect more, self-development, prioritize what or who was important, taking care of yourself more, tapping into your creative side, doing all the things you wanted to but couldn’t because you didn’t take the time, developing those relationships that mattered and saying goodbye to those that didn’t. Yes, 2020 was a HUGE lesson for all of us, to say the least. What a difference one year makes.
We will never be the same people we were a year ago, and maybe that isn’t such a bad thing. If each one of us came out of this whole experience a little kinder and more knowledgeable, then we did learn those lessons, and that is what makes us all human!
Have a great day on PURPOSE. Cheers to one year behind us!
Felicia Shanken, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Felicia Shanken is a Women Strategist and Builder. She is the Founder/CEO of the Philadelphia Women's Network Connection, LLC and PWNC Foundation 501(c)(3). PWNC is about helping local businesswomen build their business, connect with like-minded individuals and benefit from shared resources. The Foundation is committed to helping women growing a business as solo entrepreneurs transition from a full-time or part-time job to full-time entrepreneurship. Felicia has also been recognized and honored by "Fun Times Magazine" in their March/April 2020 edition for being "2020 Philadelphia Who's Who Black Women of Influence". Felicia had the opportunity in September 2019 to have her own show on RVNTV, a digital television platform called "Power Up Your Passion," where she brings guests on to talk about their passion in life and how it lead to where they are now. Felicia was raised in Queens, New York. She moved to Philadelphia over 20 years ago, where she met her husband, Paul, a native Philadelphian. They live in the Fairmont area of Center City, Philadelphia.
