What will 2010 mean to us?

2009 has finally come to an end and millions of people couldn’t be happier about it. It was a year of extreme highs and lows. We saw the magnificent accomplishment of Barack Obama’s successful presidential campaign and experienced the tumultuous downfall of the job market due to the economic crisis. Through it all, we somehow managed to survive the year, just barely, and make our way into 2010.

With a year like 2009 behind us, I can only look forward to 2010. Despite the massive financial setbacks in 2009, I see opportunity for self-starters, i.e. entrepreneurs. Yes, we did see the unemployment rate soar past 10% nationally and as more people were laid off, more of them had the opportunity to pursue careers of their choice. I personally know of two women who were laid off in creative fields and used their skills to realize their dreams of entrepreneurship. These layoffs have really driven home the fact that company loyalty is hard to find and the days of putting in 20 years and retiring from the same job are long gone. If you want opportunity, you have to make it.

Entrepreneurship and health care are two separate issues that are also intertwined. In the past, many entrepreneurs have been afraid to take that leap because they were bound to their employer by healthcare benefits. Healthcare reform has been the hot topic of 2009 as it was at the top of President Obama’s short list. The problem has been defining what healthcare reform really means. We had 40 million uninsured prior to the recession and once the economic downturn hit that mean a serious increase to that number. With medical premiums soaring and liability insurance premiums increasing for physicians, everyone has been hit hard. Right now reform means making healthcare insurance available to more people, but by the end of 2010, I see premium prices decreasing as individual policies increase. The individual policies are going to increase as a result of layoffs and the rise of entrepreneurs. Healthcare insurance is a must and I believe that the people are going to force the insurers to take heed. More and more people are starting to realize the power of their voice and that change comes through action. Here’s a really out-there addition to the healthcare issue: I am predicting that international healthcare providers are going to plant seeds in the U.S. and begin to offer services to Americans at a fraction of the cost of U.S. insurers. Imagine a European healthcare company opening shop in the U.S. They could afford to charge less for top notch services because of the massive increase in subscribers that they would see. It just makes sense. If American insurers won’t heed the call, others will.

This recession has forced the world to re-evaluate its financial priorities and people have had to scale back on everything. Frivolous spending has been abandoned in favor of necessity-based spending, but people still want to escape the reality. And what better way to do this than with entertainment. We are still seeing sold out entertainment venues with people opting to drown their sorrows in football, basketball, and the movies. They are also satisfying their guilty reality TV pleasure. Reality TV is just the opposite of its genre. There is nothing realistic about a man choosing among 26 women to marry. Many of us are desperate for the reality bubble to burst and I think it might just happen. We have seen so many of these fictitious and often-degrading shows. We witnessed the horror of reality TV as John and Kate Plus 8 was a family no more. This reality show was once one of the highest-rated programs on TV and people tuned in only to see them self-destruct in public. These reality shows would make perfect subjects for actual scripted TV programs.People are growing tired of these shows and they are dummying down the public.

2010 is the year in which we will all increase our level of expectation for ourselves and others. We are learning that it’s ok to be the squeaky wheel and will make our voices heard on many fronts. Be on the lookout for more self-advocacy as it relates to each of the topics I have addressed.

-Daphane is a blogger for The Sorbate. Check out her bio to see where her view comes from.