Dearest Grandchildren,
I am composing this letter on behalf of my generation, widely known as the Millennial generation to document the series of rather grim events that unfolded at the start of the year. I will continue the next part of this letter at after a year in a much more positive tone, I hope.

The year 2019 was coming to an end. Most of the folks my age were either married or in the process of doing so. We were just at that phase in life where we felt it’s probably a now or never kind of thing.
Some would wait until the next year to put a ring on it. They cherished being eternally bonded with their significant other for that upcoming year because numerically it had a nice ring to it.

That year would be 2020 (MMXX) Anno Domini.
T’was to be a year where people would live out their dreams and smash all of their goals and aspirations; or so they thought!
Au contraire, as the year unfolded it really felt as though Pandora’s Box had finally been opened and the Hounds of Hell had been unleashed.

Twenty years ago at the dawn of the new Millennium in the year 2000, I witnessed firsthand the mass hysteria and panic over the Y2K fever. There was a similar paranoia in the air and everyone thought all the world’s economies would crash and the end was neigh.
Then again twelve years later in 2012 based on the completion of the Mayan calendar, everyone expected the world to end once again. There were so many apocalyptic movies out, I’m talking world annihilation not just zombie flicks.

But then came 2020. It had a shockingly awful start as everyone was so filled with positivity. We weren’t even done with the first month and we almost bore witness to World War III. We did come really close to it some would argue as tensions between the U.S.A and Iran escalated to alarming levels that struck fear in the hearts of the populace worldwide.

We lost Kobe Bryant, who was a famous basketball icon of our time in a tragic helicopter crash. Australia suffered devastating death and damage to property and wildlife ecosystems because of ravaging bush fires that engulfed the nation; in addition to the Great Barrier Reef experiencing a third mass bleaching event in a short span of 5 years.

There was a lot of chaos, death and destruction taking place with endless wars and fighting. Ironically, it would take a global pandemic to put cease fires into place and finally unite people. Ah yes, the infamous Corona Virus Pandemic that gripped the world.

As I write this letter to you guys, it is still an ongoing development and there have been at least 61,199 confirmed deaths and more than 1,141,069 confirmed cases globally and I fear that by the time I finish composing this letter there will be many more deaths and even more cases as it is spreading exponentially.

The official origin story is that it comes from Bats. Unofficially, there are a lot of conspiracy theories floating around claiming the virus to be not exactly a product of nature and evolution but my aim is not to mislead any one hence I shall stick to the official reports.

What I can tell you is that this pandemic has brought the entire world to a standstill. Entire nations have enforced curfews, lock-downs and travel bans. Businesses have been destroyed, well except for manufacturers of hand sanitizers, disposable face masks and gloves.

Social interaction has been completely limited and most people spend their time watching movies and shows calling it ‘Quarantine & Chill’ or making group video calls to friends and family.

I too had travel plans of my own which needless to say had to be postponed. So I’ve decided to write about my recent trips from earlier this year and late last year. I didn’t find the time to compose them previously, so brace yourselves: the blog posts are coming.

Alas, it is not all gloom and doom. As they say, every cloud has it’s silver lining and this one was no exception.
Because of all the mandated curfews, there are currently a lot less planes flying in the skies and a lot less cars driving on our roads across the globe.

This has led to a slight decrease in air pollution and an increase in the quality of the air. The Ozone layer has already started healing. Beaches and seas are ever so slightly cleaner and wildlife is slowly yet surely returning to habitats that they had to once abandon because of our encroachment and modern day activities.

Pigeons however seem confused as hell and really don’t know what to make of the situation. They continue to poop wherever they please.

Families are together once again in the same house. People are utilizing their time and catching up on much needed rest as well as exercise. Creativity is in bloom among the initially bored. The planet and all it’s occupants are healing in their own ways.

I do express sincere remorse and pray for the many souls that have lost their lives as a tragic outcome of all the current events. What the future holds we know not, but I hope that we will come out a stronger species through all the adversity; not just physically and biologically but mentally and spiritually.

I pray that we learn our much needed lessons and impart our decisions in the future with wisdom and grace and above all , I hope we pay heed to and respect our irrefutable bond with nature and realize our place in the grand scheme of things. We have a responsibility towards the planet that we must adhere to with immediate effect.

I will continue to write this letter to you once again after a year, with better prospects and good news; This I sincerely hope.
Until then, I bid you Adieu and Bella Ciao! (We had this crazy show called ‘Money Heist’ and it was freaking awesome!)

With hopeful anticipation we remain,
– Generation Y