MINNESOTA, USA — “So much has been back to normal, for the first time,” said Melania Foster, a college student. “We went back to class and could see people’s faces.”
“We were freshmen in 2020,” said her friend, Julia Barger. “So it was like starting college was totally different.”
For Minnesota native Gretchen Mathiason, it was the year to move away from home.
“I started a job out in Colorado and I’m visiting family now and everything,” she said.
Her mother, Amy Sands, is officially an empty-nester.
“It's always a little bit of a challenge to have a quiet house but we got a couple of kittens,” said Sands. “But we try to go out and see them as much as we can.”
Some said it was easier to get together with people you care about.
"We were lucky enough to buy a cabin. So we got to spend some extra time up north in the woods with the people you love,” said Stephanie Galarneault.
And some said it was easier to get away from them, too.
“It was nice not being in the same house together at the same time,” laughed Galarneault.
While a lot of folks talked about their happy memories of 2022, there were also some defining moments that were more difficult to go through.
"There was this challenge to resuming life and enjoying what we could, but also holding a little bit of the pain and the loss, particularly with our children,” said Galarneault. “Noticing some of the gaps that were there, and the transitions that still needed to be made. And sometimes that was bittersweet.”
But whatever memories bring back joy, Minnesotans are hoping for more of that.
“Just being able to be with people has been really great,” said Sands.
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