Goodbye to ALL THAT

Vanities/Beauty

As the year draws to a close, a proper kiss-off is in order. Here, six cultural voices mark the transition to 2021 with choice words and swipes of lipstick

By Laura Regensdorf

MONA CHALABI

Data journalist and illustrator

Paper is such a fragile medium—every time you touch it, you leave a trace. That's what 2020 has shown more than anything else: how fragile our health is, our political systems, our planet. I guess I'm trying to surrender to that a little.

MARILYN MINTER

Artist and activist

Dear 2020, You've been a real bastard. I have blocked you on social media, deleted your number, and torn up your picture. Hope to never see you again, baby. It's not me, it's you. Fuck off, Marilyn Minter

MIRANDA JULY

Director, Kajillionaire

I don't want to condemn 2020 for being so hard. It seems wiser to acknowledge that we were humbled, awakened, brought to our knees and into the streets. I will portion out my hope over the course of 2021 to last until a vaccine comes.

CHANI NICHOLAS

Astrologer

The year 2021 is here to remind us that communal care is self-care, and collective power is where our focus needs to be. Rugged individualism is not only outdated— it's harmful, dangerous, and the very thing that got us into this mess.

ALEX CAMERON

Musician

Today I could be 70. I descend the stairs, frigid and stiff. My partner already angry at me. And I begin the climb, forging a brandnew reputation in the eyes of the only person that matters to me. When it's time to sleep, they say they love me. Tonight I could be 17.

JOY HARJO

United States poet laureate

Twenty-twenty Don't look back Kiss the sky Twenty-one