Throughout the last 11 months, Americans have been faced with multiple challenges: unemployment, the spread of COVID-19, and an unforgettable presidential election. Millions of Americans have lost their lives, jobs, and businesses this year. However, due to the significant unemployment rate, the House of Representatives will pass a new Coronavirus relief bill in the coming weeks. The bill will be passed as House Democrats prepare to implement President Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief proposal next week, which will increase the minimum wage to $15.

On January 29, 2021, Johnson and Johnson unveiled their new COVID-19 vaccine that has proven to be 66% effective in preventing moderate and severe disease in a global Phase 3 trial. 

On January 20, 2021, Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Kamala Harris were sworn into office and officially became the 46th President and 49th Vice President of the United States. Throughout the Inauguration, millions of Americans watched as President Biden delivered his Inaugural Address, prominent musicians performed, and politicians congratulated the president.

Due to the ongoing global pandemic, many students across the nation have continued to learn remotely and adapt to the virtual environment. Attending Google Meets, submitting assignments on time, and interacting with peers and teachers online has become the new norm for American students. Thus, maintaining grades, learning new material, and finding motivation can be difficult.

On Wednesday January 6, 2021, a group of domestic terrorists invaded the U.S. Capitol building as lawmakers met to certify the electoral college votes for President Elect Biden. Earlier in the day, President Trump had directed his supporters to “fight like hell,” “stop the steal” of the election, and go to the capitol building during his “Save America” rally.

Since the coronavirus first invaded the country, there have been 303,963 deaths (and counting) and there are 16,771,562 cases currently. As the year has progressed, Americans have seen how the coronavirus has taken over the country and continues to burden daily lives.

As the ongoing global pandemic has affected the lives of millions across the country, many have struggled to maintain their physical and mental health. With the difficult year of 2020, Americans have been forced to face unemployment, the losses of loved-ones, public unrest, one of the most significant presidential elections, and so on. However, to make things easier for our fellow neighbors, the Nutley community has established the Nutley Family Service Bureau.

On November 3, 2020, the nation came out in record numbers to elect the next President of the United States. As the year 2020 has progressed, Americans have been forced to overcome multiple challenges such as dealing with unemployment, national unrest, the spread of COVID-19, and losing loved-ones to the virus. With these challenges, the country has truly been shaken by 2020.  The 2020 Presidential Election will be one of the most significant and life-changing elections any American will ever witness. 

On September 26, 2020, President Trump nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the U.S. Supreme Court, who passed away earlier this fall. Amy Coney Barrett is a federal appeals court judge, professor of law at University of Notre Dame, and former law clerk of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. With the 2020 Presidential Election looming around the corner, the U.S. Supreme Court held multiple hearings for Mrs. Barrett’s appointment.

2020 has been one of the most unforgettable, unprecedented, uncertain, hectic, disastrous and exhausting years I think any individual has ever experienced. From Kobe and Gianna Bryant's death, to the impeachment investigation, to the outbreak of Coronavirus, to George Floyd’s death, to the wildfires in the west coast, to the notorious Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death, to the impending election, 2020 has been a year no one will ever forget. Who knows what still awaits us in these last three months?