There is no question that the year 2020 has been the Weirdest Year Ever. Never, in the history of Ever, have quite so many “interesting” things happened to so many people in the span on one year. Quite frankly, I would like a return to boring.

However, there's one thing that this year has brought us that I'm happy to have experienced: The Great Unveiling. In this year's many dark times, a bright light was cast across the world that revealed true colors and exposed unpleasant creatures living among us. It's shocking to realize that the monster under the bed is closer than you think.

When news of the pandemic came early in the year, plenty of people – myself included – brushed it off, thinking it surely couldn't be as bad as the media was saying. As time went on, as scientists and doctors knew more, I took it seriously and followed the advised precautions. That wasn't just for me, that was for all of my fellow humans. Truly, if doing such small things – wearing a mask, avoiding crowds, following simple advice – could help the world get past this thing, isn't that my responsibility as a citizen of this world?

Not everyone agrees. There are many who believe that asking your fellow humans to help another is a violation of their rights. When these people are asked to take very simple steps, what I hear them saying is “I don't care about your mother or my uncle or anyone else's well-being. I don't care about anyone but myself and I want what I want and I want it now.” People are dying at astounding rates because some very selfish people don't like to be told what to do.

I get that people aren't trusting of the talking heads on TV, but when they refuse to hear experienced scientists, concerned doctors, and exhausted nurses, that's all I need to know to see that you don't care about other people. You don't care about children in schools, you don't care about the guy who cuts your hair, you don't care about anyone but yourself. I can't change that but I thank you for showing me who you are so I can move away from you.

My husband has been in hospitals and care facilities more often this year than he's been home. This has given me a clear picture of the havoc this virus has wreaked on everyone. Patients are alone. The elderly are alone, often scared, confused, and vulnerable. Their caretakers are also vulnerable. This is real. People are dying.

I've heard the argument from the folks who don't want to be bothered with precautions that “People die from all sorts of things, why should I change the way I live?” Yes. People die. They're not all dying of Covid. But they are all dying alone. My brother went to the hospital alone. He was there ALONE for days before he died. Alone. No goodbyes, no hands to hold, no last words. Just gone. Alone. He didn't die from Covid, but Covid is why he was alone.

Doctors and scientists have been telling us for months that if we just make small mindful sacrifices – wear masks, wash hands, avoid gathering – just for a little while, we can get ahead of this thing and get back to normal. Or a new normal. But our communities are filled with selfish and single-minded people who refuse to do the smallest things to help their fellow humans. As a result, more people are infected, more people are suffering, and more people are dying. Alone.

I have a friend who lives far away from her children. Her husband has had a lifetime of chronic illness. She herself had a heart attack a couple of years ago. This couple has been basically quarantined since the beginning of the year. They only go out to take walks, to do minor grocery shopping in the early hours of the day, and to see their doctors. They've been extremely careful. Then, a couple of weeks ago, her husband had an issue and had to go to the hospital. Because the hospital was already overwhelmed with Covid patients, he became infected. Which meant that when he returned home, my friend became infected. So they are home, alone, struggling to breathe, struggling to get through each day, because people in their area refused to stop going to parties, refused to follow simple protocols to keep one another safe.

So I'm a little pissed off. I'm angry that stubborn, entitled fools feel that their wants should be greater than society's needs. My children want to go to school. They're pissed off, too. Hospital staff are exhausted and probably pissed off. I no longer hold my tongue when I go to the grocery store and see people without masks. I may or may not have yelled at people I see gathered closely in crowds. It doesn't have to be this way.

I'm happy that scientists from all over the world have joined together to develop vaccines that can hopefully help us all find a new normal. That's what human beings are meant to do – work together for the greater good. I don't believe that things will return to what they were but we can find a new way. I don't know what that will be.

I know one thing for sure. One's actions in difficult times tell more about who they are than what they do when times are good. I know who I will welcome back with hugs. I know who can just keep on walking by. 2020's Great Unveiling has made that an easy choice.