With 2021 officially here, I’d like to welcome everyone to a happy back to school! Winter Break felt like a blur. Personally, I spent my two weeks binge-watching The Queen’s Gambit on Netflix, baking an endless amount of chocolate chip cookies, painting cartoon characters on small 5×7 canvases, and reading a plethora of news articles from the Wall Street Journal about what has been going on in this chaotic country. Oh, and working on more college applications, of course.

While most people—if not all—were enjoying their time off of school, a couple of Spyglass staffers were extremely hard at work. I used the break to write a personal narrative, which I hope to publish soon. It has given me an opportunity to write more from my own perspective, something I have not had much experience with. Especially now, given the circumstances, it is important to hear from not only the people but also from the people who write the stories. Even though the country has been torn due to the election and the virus, now it is more important than ever to come together as a country and community.

Speaking of new stories, January holds a lot of important events, both locally and nationally. A new president will be sworn in by the end of this month, a COVID-19 vaccination is being distributed around the country, author Sandra Cisneros has virtually visited Westridge—one of my favorite events so far this year—and the Capitol was stormed by people protesting President Trump’s reelection loss. As new events happen both at Westridge and around the world, Spyglass hopes to provide consistent coverage.

2020 was eventful, to say the least. Even though there may be challenges this year, I am hopeful that the coming of this new year will bring good news to everyone in some way, shape, or form. 2021 is the year to erase the past, forget and forgive, and accomplish resolutions. This year is our year.