Last year was rough and 2021 is still a challenge. The pandemic has derailed lives and pushed too many people too close to the edge of sanity. But even in those dark days, there were rays of sunshine. You had to look for them.
Through it all, there have been San Diegans who found the positive in their daily lives. Those who put others first. Those who used their skills and talents to make someone else's day a little easier, a little better.
“Look for the Positive” is a collection of NBC 7 stories shot over the course of the coronavirus pandemic that prove the best of society will shine through in the toughest situations.
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There were the business people who dug deep in their creativity bucket to make ends meet.
Lizzy Broughton took her closed salon and reopened it in the strangest of places; the folks at Señor Grubby’s took a donation and paid it forward; and the craftsman who took his child’s table and started a revolution for San Diego’s restaurants.
Schools were closed for a long time across San Diego County during the pandemic, teachers were cut off, and students were stuck in front of screens for hours. Yet, Brent Ford decided to give his students something -- insane -- to watch on those screens.
Meanwhile, little Liam Vest made us realize that the first day of kindergarten is just another challenge in life -- pandemic or not.
Teacher Scot De Pedro couldn’t stand having an empty classroom.
Every day San Diegans refused to let the pandemic win.
Positivity prevailed.
A theatrical costume designer stopped making outfits for the stage and started making masks -- and appointments.
Then there were the art teachers who packed supplies in lunches for children stuck at home.
And the volunteer-turned-vaccination-supersite-cruise-director who showed up to work every day.
The kids who learned they could feed a family with $5 and a community with $1,000; the young man who passed out thousands of meals a week.
And the simple chalkboard that kept the good vibes flowing during everyone’s morning walk.
The good was out there in 2020. There is even more good in 2021. We need to choose to see it.
