On December 31, 2019, Michael Brown stated that "barring dramatic and unforeseen circumstances, the year 2020 will be one
 of the most chaotic, divided, and tumultuous years in our nation’s 
history. It will also be a year of clarity."  Others claimed that 2020 would be a year of clarity.  What do you think?  What do high school students think?  You may be surprised.   Here are some thoughts from some Hilo High School freshmen. 
I
 believe that, in a way, they have been right. People have been able to 
be alone or with their families for so long that they are realizing that
 they really do need contact with other humans. The air is also clearing
 up and our planet is doing better than it has been in a while, which I 
am absolutely ecstatic about! This probably isn't the clarity that many 
meant, but it is a sort of clarity.
                                                                                                           Baby Yoda 
I
 believe that their predictions are right so far. During 2020, forest 
fires, a WW3 scare, COVID-19, etc has happened, impacting the way we 
live our normal lives. With these dangerous events, it helps us realize 
how bad these situations could have turned out and how lucky we are to 
be alive.
-k 
I believe that those who predicted 2020 being the year of clarity are 
absolutely right. As a series of global events continues, more people 
are beginning to realize what's really going on around them. For 
example, as of the beginning of the year, Australia's Wildfires and the 
close call for WWlll  was a huge eye-opener for so many people. With the
 wildfires, people began to realize how bad things really are on Earth 
and the path it's in. People began to realize that changes would be 
necessary. During the ongoing battle between Iran and the US, WWlll 
could have almost became a thing. From then on, people became glued to 
the news, wanting to know what would happen, scared for the country and 
their lives. Once things were settled, people were grateful with how it 
turned out. Currently, COVID-19 is the main event we're stuck in.  
Thousands have died and unfortunately, more are to go. As a global 
pandemic, social distancing is highly encouraged. Personally, being 
stuck at home helped me realize how much I had taken things for granted.
 I'm more than sure this applies for many others. 
These events all have something in common-they all make people grateful for the things in their life. Thus, changes are being made to help the Earth. So perhaps 2020 is a year of clarity after all.
bananak 
I
 believe they were right to think 2020 would bring clarity. In the few 
short months since this year began, our eyes have been opened to the 
ways our current system, and humanity as a whole, have responded under 
times of great pressure.  We have witnessed events to a scale previously
 unknown to mankind, and I believe we will walk away with clarity 
previously unbeknownst to us. This clarity shows us the flaws in the 
current operations of our society, but also the hope, resiliency, and 
strength that humanity is capable of.
Cosmically Cosmic 
Yeah
 2020 is definitely a year of clarity. Covid-19 will forever change the
 way we live. We’ll be more cautious of what we consume and how clean we
 are. It also shows who cares about their money rather than their 
people. Republicans and democrats on office have been pointing fingers 
at each other rather than pointing fingers at a solution. Now we have 
three times the number of cases than the country in second. It also 
shows that we shouldn’t believe everything the news says, and sometimes 
they can make something look bigger than it is. In addition to global 
warming, wildfires have shown us that our environment is in bad shape. 
Mother Nature had 20/20 vision and decided to give some of it to us so 
we can wake up and make changes to our word for the better.
Booger MacFarland 
I
 believe that they were right to think that 2020 was going to be a year 
of clarity. Seeing how badly COVID-19 has affected us is really showing 
how we need to improve the way we handle situations. If the situation 
was handled properly, people would've been tested but many sources state
 that airports didn't have tests in the first stages of this pandemic. 
Although things aren't looking too great, I hope that this experience 
will help us become better as a country.
fork 
They
 were correct in their predictions.  Though we are only four months into
 2020, the entire world has gone through several intense and impactful 
(and worrying!) disasters.  From potentially being on the brink of WW3, 
to the Australian wildfires, to a massive global pandemic due to the 
Covid-19 outbreak,  many have suffered.  During these difficult times, 
we have been able to see how people handle being put under immense 
pressure.  We have been able to see how the entire country responds to 
Covid-19.  Though there are things that the government could have done 
to prevent the virus from spreading so much, and many decisions made 
regarding the current situation were flawed or late, there is an aspect 
of this pandemic that I feel is often disregarded.  The resiliency and 
bravery demonstrated through out the world by people fight Covid-19 
hasn't been this recognized or celebrated in quite a while.  Our planet 
is healing, which is amazing!  Perhaps the clarity people spoke of is 
the positive outcome of such a dark time.
kohn 

