2020 in Review, Part 1: Five Things from 2020 I'm Grateful for

Some episodes aim to predict markets or decode data. This one does something quieter—and arguably more useful: it pauses to notice what still went right in a year that bent almost everything out of shape. Inside a season marked by health scares, shutdowns, and the daily improvisation of doing business, the Selling Greenville host turns the mic toward gratitude—and what that posture practically looked like in a real estate life.

Why “Five Things from 2020 I’m Grateful for” still matters

Gratitude here isn’t a platitude; it’s a framework. Across health, family, clients, self-employment, and home, this episode lays out five things from 2020 I’m grateful for—and connects each one to the real logistics of buying, selling, and living well in the Upstate. It’s part personal recap, part practical reminder that the structures holding a year together aren’t always the ones on an inspection report.

1) Health: the headline behind the headlines

Before “pivot” became the word of the year, there was a far more personal plot twist. Early 2020 brought a stubborn respiratory illness—wheezing, nighttime coughing, weeks of feeling off. Antibody checks later suggested it wasn’t what everyone feared, but the scare set the tone. Then, in February, everything sharpened into a definitive moment: a major seizure, a hospital stay, and at last a clear diagnosis for issues that had shadowed life since 2014.

Medication followed—and relief with it. Pain lingered (ribcage soreness from intense convulsions doesn’t vanish overnight), but functionality climbed back to about ninety percent. There was, however, one non-negotiable: six months with no driving. For anyone, that’s disruptive. For a working agent, it’s a land-speed record in patience.

Here’s the part that matters to listeners weighing their own tough seasons: clarity can be a gift, even when it arrives the hard way. Naming a problem invites a plan. That plan enabled showings, closings, and care to continue in a year when momentum was the hardest thing to keep.

2) Family: the engine that didn’t stall

Six months without driving means six months of partnership at full throttle. The family car became a mobile office. Different driving styles and time-management rhythms collided (as they do), but the wheels kept turning—literally. Kids tagged along for showings. Schedules flexed. The daily logistics of a service business fused with the daily logistics of being a household.

It wasn’t just chauffeuring; it was a role reversal that asked everyone to stretch. The lesson felt simple and earned: when life narrows, support widens. In a year when many needed help but didn’t always know how to ask for it, this was the picture—ordinary kindness repeated until it looked like strength.

3) Clients: Patience as professional capital

There’s a special kind of grace in a client who says, “We’re good—let’s keep going” when the process looks different than usual. Some never knew the medical backdrop; others did and offered rides between showings. Either way, the relationship held. Transactions still happened: investors adjusting portfolios, relocations out and back into the Upstate, listings prepped and sold, buyers shepherded through competitive segments of the market.

If real estate rests on trust, 2020 was trust’s stress test. The result, according to this recap, was a year full of cooperative wins—proof that transparency and steady communication can turn potential friction into shared momentum.

4) Self-employment: uncertainty with a steering wheel

Being self-employed isn’t for everyone, but this year underlined why it fits here. After a lifetime of working—from a teenage job to a nine-year corporate stint—the choice to build an independent practice paid dividends when the world went remote. Self-employment meant setting the pace when business surged and creating new pathways when it slowed.

It also meant leaning on a team and a firm that supplied support, marketing lift, and administrative backbone—the kind of infrastructure that lets service stay personal while systems stay professional. The contrast felt stark: in a climate where many had to wait on organizational decisions, a self-directed model allowed immediate adaptation.

5) Home: lifestyle, not backdrop

Last year’s move turned out to be 2020’s masterstroke. The house itself—finished main level, fully finished basement, an office for recording, a game room, a movie room—became both workplace and retreat. Outside, woods and a creek, plus neighborhood sidewalks and a pool, transformed “staying in” from sentence to strategy.

It reframed a bigger idea discussed often on the show: a house isn’t just square footage; it’s a lifestyle engine. In a year defined by staying put, the right spaces made the difference—places to work with focus, play with family, and keep morale up during long stretches when going out wasn’t an option. The gratitude here is specific: the timing of that listing, the uniqueness of the floor plan for the neighborhood, and the way it unlocked a daily rhythm that actually worked.

Zooming out: what gratitude changed in the work

• Perspective under pressure. Health scares and logistical hurdles didn’t pause the job; they shifted how the job got done. Gratitude kept decisions clear when energy and options felt limited.

• Relational equity. Family support and client patience weren’t side notes; they were structural beams. When processes went remote and timelines wobbled, relationships carried the load.

• Agency and adaptation. Self-employment plus a strong team allowed quick pivots—new workflows, remote routines, and a cadence that met clients where they were.

• Home as habitat. With so much life condensed into one address, the “fit” of a home mattered more than any single upgrade. Function became a source of morale.

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Bottom Line

Gratitude didn’t erase a hard year; it organized it. Health clarity made space for a plan. Family turned logistics into teamwork. Clients proved that patience is a professional asset. Self-employment offered steering control in a skidding economy. And home—configured thoughtfully—became the workable center of everything. In other words, five things from 2020 I’m grateful for weren’t abstractions; they were daily advantages that helped real people keep moving through real transactions in real time.

Ien Araneta

Journal & Podcast Editor | Selling Greenville