🎶 Hey look, ma — we made it. 🎶 No matter where you are, 2020 has been one for the books. At home here in Columbia, we’ve celebrated, quarantined, protested, cooked, built, shared, innovated, voted + when all else failed, we sang.
We know a lot of you probably just want to forget this year ever happened. But there are lessons to be learned from all we’ve experienced as a community: adaptation, growth, resilience, patience, and perspective (to name a few). To preserve these lessons and memories for the future, we’ve been collecting your virtual memories for a digital time capsule.
For the past month, we’ve asked you to submit your most meaningful Columbia-in-2020 related photos, videos, diary entries, blog posts, text messages, screenshots, etc. Here are some our of favorite “items” collected from residents around the Midlands:
“2020 was the year after writing and editing for three years; I finally self-published my first novel, “Frozen Harvest.” The picture is my first shipment of books arriving from the publisher.” – Joe N.
“We wanted to share a 2020 moment from Experience Columbia! Our first reel about masking up!” – Helen D.
“I happened to walk by and see this and was drawn to it. This captured 2020 in so many ways.” – Drew W.
“I would add a (empty) can of the Black is Beautiful beer. This was a world-wide beer collaboration that made its way to the Soda City when Hazelwood and Cottontown joined over 1,000+ to make a beer that raised awareness about social injustice + all of the proceeds supported local organizations. If you haven’t heard of this before learn more about how it got started here.” – Editor Jess
“My mom and I went together to vote. This photo, wearing our masks and “I voted” stickers, seemed to perfectly sum up a year that was dominated by a pandemic and an election.” – Editor Lauren
Each image and link tells a story and — we hope — will shed some light on our city’s collective experiences for auld lang syne whenever this webpage is revisited. We don’t know what the future holds, but we’re glad to be on this journey with you, Columbia.