Words We’d Like to Leave in 2020
By Rachel Peck
We’re so close to 2021 we can hardly believe it. Last year, we were blissfully unaware that our New Year’s resolutions blog was about to become satire in the year 2020. So, this year, we’ve finally learned our lesson and kicked resolutions to the curb for good. Instead, we’re going to talk about things we won’t do, or in this case, words we won’t use in 2021. While this year might feel like a “new beginning,” it’ll still look a lot like 2020 – at least for the first few months. However, we remain hopeful and we’re starting with some words we’d like to leave behind in 2020:
Unprecedented
I don’t think it’s an unprecedented opinion to never, ever want to see, hear or write this word again. Call us boring, but we’d rather only experience precedented events.
Pandemic
This one is obvious. Do we need to explain more?
“New Normal”
While this is technically a phrase, it’s one we feel we should definitely ditch in 2021. Not only is it overused and tired, but the normal we live in now is…just that. Normal. Also, it feels a bit like we’re trying to bring the past back – instead of making the most of what we can with the now, but mostly we’re just tired of it.
Uncertainty
We might be uncertain about a lot of things, but we’re certain we’re fatigued with this word.
Shortage
In my short lifetime, there haven’t been many times I’ve been able to experience a mass shopping spree and shortages of dry/canned goods all wrapped up with impending doom. But I digress and will take a moment to acknowledge my own privilege – having never had to stockpile food or cleaning products. With that being said, I think we all hope to never have to buy (way off brand) scented toilet paper, bulk amounts of hand soap, or sketchy cleaning products ever again.
Pivot
We get it. We ALL had to pivot this year. Some of us had to pivot to homeschooling our children, or working full time from home. Others had to pivot careers and jobs, etc. The list goes on and on and on…. Let’s just pivot away from pivoting, shall we? Here’s to hoping for a pivot free 2021.
COVID-19
I don’t care if you call it Coronavirus, ‘rona, COVID-19 or SARS-CoV-2, I hope to one day go through life and realize that I haven’t heard this word or any of its iterations in days/months and hopefully years.
Sanitize
Do you remember the days of meeting friends for drinks on any given Saturday night? You’re all crowded into a bar; the tables and floors are a little sticky and you might be sharing drinks – never mind using a communal salt shaker for tequila shots (the horror of our unsanitary ways). How about attending a trade show afterparty and all tucking into a buffet – eating with your hands without a bottle of sanitizer in sight? The good ole days where we rarely thought about sanitation; I can’t wait to get back there. What we wouldn’t give to not care about a good sticky bar floor or some delicious buffet served with unsanitized utensils.
(Social) Distancing
Another one here that’s a phrase, but honestly it needed to be addressed. I’m not sure if we hated this one more than all the previous words, but it certainly hit us all on a different level. I hope one year from now, my introverted self will be dreaming of the days I had the perfect excuse to not be social. However, right now, we hope to never be socially distanced again.
In closing, let’s all focus on expanding our vocabularies outside of these words. To get you started, consider taking one of these quizzes from Merriam Webster, or reading anything that’s not a news story, as you’re sure to encounter all of these words in just one segment. Overall, we hope that 2021 is filled with a bit more light and joy and that our most popular words reflect that.