MINNEAPOLIS — I think we all can agree the 2020 struggle has been real. A nine-month stretch met with shutdowns and lockdowns and a daily rising death toll amid a pandemic, which has taken its toll on all of us in more ways than one.
"My blood pressure spiked," said Minneapolis resident Martin Stachnik. "Now that summer's over and people can’t be outside as much, it's catching up with them and we’re seeing more depression, and in my case, it's anxiety.”
"Feel shut in for sure, it's just like stagnant," said Minneapolis resident Milo Meier.
It's no wonder why Wednesday's dial-back orders announced by Governor Tim Walz to keep places like restaurants and bars closed, is beyond frustrating for so many.
"It was disappointing because its been wearing on us for this long," said Stachnik.
Frustrating, in the sense that these sort of places serve as an escape during life’s most challenging times.
"They cant go to concerts they cant go to live music at bars and restaurants," said Stachnik. He went on to say, "it's just an accumulation of all that, and not having your usual outlets to cope with it.”
Just this week, we all witnessed the first round of healthcare workers take a final shot at beating this pandemic, which some have been referring to as a "light at the end of the tunnel," but for others, that light is still a bit dim.
"There’s no end in sight right now," said Stachnik.
"We need to stick with science so we can get things under control," said Karah Neisen, who lives in Minneapolis.
While in doing so, keeping an optimistic mind as life allows us to live on as we near the end of a year met with so much struggle.
"I think we’ve just got to keep the hope alive so we can look forward to tomorrow and the next week. Without that hope, you don’t really have anything to live for," said Stachnik.