Marie Claire is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy. As we approach 12 full months since we first went into lockdown, what has changed? A better question might be what hasn’t. Daily life this past year has felt more like a sci- fi thriller, where a hug or even going to the supermarket could mean death for you and your loved ones. We were forced to be more mindful, less distracted, to listen more and to lean in further. The world looked on from lockdown as the BLM movement exploded and the quiet, toxic invisible gas of 21st racism was called out and finally recognised. Who knows if the message would have spread so widely had we been in the midst of our old busy lives instead of collectively at home watching as the multiple stories of police brutality unfolded and we were unable to escape the reality of systematic racism.