5 Positive Things That Have Happened in 2020

Written by: Ishita Khambete
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​We’re in a really tough time right now, with the COVID-19 pandemic, the murder of George Floyd, the police brutality, etc., and all of these events are impacting people differently. We all need to see something positive in the midst of all this negativity, so here’s a list of five positive events that’s happened recently. 

According to animal shelters, there’s been an increase in adoptions.
Because of the quarantine/lockdowns, people are forced to stay home for long amounts of time, and this caused an increase in the amount of animals that have been adopted. In fact, adoption rates have increased so much that adoption centers such as the Riverside County Animal Shelter have run out of animals to adopt. This is great news for the center, and shows how something good has come out of a bad situation.

A 15-year old girl in India biked 750 miles back to her home village with her injured father, and has been deemed “lionhearted”.
COVID-19 has left many people jobless, and in India, there is one father who had to tell his teenage daughter that he was injured, jobless, and wouldn’t be able to go back home to their village. However, this didn’t stop this teenage girl, named Jyothi,  because she took up the task of biking home, with her father in tow. She biked a staggering 750 miles, and thus inspired many other Indians to do the same. Although the journey wasn’t glamorous (They had to sleep at gas stations, and get help from strangers), Jyothi successfully made it to her original home, and was hailed as “lionhearted”, and was invited to join the national cycling team. How’s that for a success story?

A dog broke the world record for the amount of tennis balls held in his mouth.
The name of this lucky puppy (even though he’s not actually a puppy) is Finley, and he’s a golden retriever. According to his owner, Erin Molloy, Finley has been picking up tennis balls since he was a puppy, and when Erin found out that the world record for the most tennis balls in a dog’s mouth was just five, she was determined to break it. After a year of collecting proof that she broke the record, it was confirmed that Finley held the world record for most tennis balls in a dog’s mouth. If you want to see the video of this incredible feat, here it is: https://www.instagram.com/p/CAlDwYgJEKQ/.

A 103-year old Grandma got COVID-19, recovered, and celebrated by drinking an ice cold drink of Bud Light.
It isn’t often when you see the eldery busting out the alcohol, but this is a story that  changes that. The center of this story is a 103-year old woman named Jennie Stejna, who lives in Massachusetts. She contracted COVID-19, and to everyone’s surprise, she recovered nicely. To celebrate the recovery, the hospital staff brought her a bottle of Bud Light, her favorite drink. According to her family, she has a very feisty and fighting spirit, and she never gives up on anything. Here’s a link to the video about her: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=33&v=ONhCwP-t1q0&feature=emb_title.
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The critically endangered Hainan gibbon population has tripled after years of conservation.
The Hainan gibbon is a rare, endangered species who live on the Hainan Island near China. In 1970, there were only 10 of them, but now, in 2020, there are 30! This is exciting news because this means that conservation efforts have worked and that this species of gibbon is on its way to not be endangered anymore.

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Author

Hi! My name is Ishita, and I live in upstate New York. I am passionate about women's rights/empowerment, which led me to co-found an initiative called Women's Strength, whose goals are to empower women and recognize them for their achievements as the media doesn't often do that, if at all. I am planning to go into pharmacy in college, and ideally with a double or combined major in biology and chemistry. My hobbies include reading, writing, and watching YouTube, and I love listening to BTS, Queen, and Troye Sivan.