Five Trends That Should Be Left in 2020
1. Dalgona Coffee aka “whipped coffee”
If you have been on social media in the past year, you have definitely seen the trendy Dalgona coffee, which is also referred to as whipped coffee. Dalgona coffee requires only three ingredients: hot water, sugar, and the proprietary coffee powder. Once made, ‘whipped coffee’ is usually placed on top of warm or cold milk to enjoy. Usually, it takes about 10-15 minutes to whisk the coffee into a light cream, as intended. This protracted, labor-intensive process is what makes the coffee absolutely pointless. Why would anyone spend ten minutes whisking powdered coffee into a delicate consistency just to stir it in some milk? Dalgona coffee powder also ranges from $5 - $20 which is extremely expensive for just coffee powder. To put that cost into perspective, a Trenta iced coffee at Starbucks retails for $3.45. The coffee is a ripoff. This luxury coffee should be left with the other trendy disasters of 2020.
2. Face Mask Chains
Since the pandemic began, billions of people around the world have donned protective face masks to help decrease the spread of COVID-19. Over the months of weathering this disaster, people have gotten more and more creative with their face masks. For example, many face masks are designed with cartoon mouths in place of the wearer’s own. People have also begun to wear masks with a variety of creative and artistic designs. But others have decided to connect long chains to their face masks. This is where I call foul. The face mask chains need to go. Now. The small chains on the mask resemble those made to hold glasses around one’s neck, but these are much tackier. Not only that, but the chains just look uncomfortable. They’re like an over-sized necklace that drapes over your chest. Chains should be worn as necklaces, not as outlandish mask accessories.
3. Cow print
Cow print became a trend in 2019, but it really took off in 2020. Cow print appeared everywhere from clothing to nail art. Even celebrities like Kylie and Kendall Jenner were photographed wearing the trendy print. But sadly, cow print needs to go, unless you want to twin with the Chick-fil-a cow. For one, cow print can’t compete with the new styles that are coming back to life in 2021. For example, 90’s fashion made a huge comeback in the past year. Nowadays, avoiding sight of outfits that contain baggy jeans or a bucket hat is nearly impossible. Also, in the past, animal print has had a hard time keeping up with the latest fashion trends. Take the case of cheetah print, for example. In the early 2000s, cheetah print was thriving, but now you rarely see someone repping the cheetah look, and with good reason. Animal prints have never looked good for long once society came to its collective senses. Cow print is destined to the same fate, so let’s agree to end it now. This is one rodeo that needs to get along back to Texas cattle shows and stay there.
4. Body shaming
As people become more comfortable on social media, they tend to share more. For instance, some people love to do shopping hauls where they show off and try on new clothes they bought. Sometimes when people do these hauls they feel confident enough to share photos of themselves wearing fitted clothing, a risk which is especially difficult if the person has insecurities. Yet, instead of building the person up, there are always people in the comments trying to tear them down. Don’t get me wrong––body shaming has been around for ages, but it hit a peak in 2020. As more and more people drifted towards social media during the pandemic, body shaming progressively got worse. No matter how a person looks, for some reason, people on the internet always offer negative comments. According to these viewers, people are either too fat, too skinny, or their waist isn’t small enough, etc. Do we even need an explanation for why body shaming needs to end?? Body shaming can demolish someone’s confidence. Instead of criticizing others for their most minor, superficial flaws, we need to praise them for being comfortable in their own skin. As we enter 2021, we need to combat body shaming in all forms and replace it with body positivity.
5. Donald Trump
Last and definitely least, we have Donald Trump. Trump has definitely made 2020 infinitely more tragic than it should have been. Even before the pandemic started, Trump was destroying our relationships with allies around the world, and over the course of his presidency, he brought America from being the leader of the world to its laughingstock. The ignorant, hateful remarks that Trump made over the past year in particular disappointed the nation and world. For example, Trump called peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters “thugs” and the severe COVID-19 virus the “China virus” and “Kung flu.” Let’s be honest, has Trump ever done anything to benefit the country? I mean, it takes a profound amount of selfishness to lie to a country of 328 million people, and he spent four years doing it on a daily basis. As 2021 began, he ended his presidency by sending his loyal supporters to the Capitol, where they stormed the building in a horrifying, unprecedented assault on our democracy. Now that Trump has left office, America can finally begin to heal from four of the most difficult years in its history.
By Sariah Robbins