2021: the review edition
12 months have gone by once again and we sit on the cusp of a new year: 2022. But first, let’s see what actually happened in 2021…
This year has been a long one and yet gone by quickly. Whilst COVID continued to dominate the headlines, we also had the US Capitol attack, the Taliban invading Afghanistan and Donald Trump becoming the first American president to be impeached twice. But then we had more positive news like the Euros, a malaria vaccine being introduced and Beyoncé becoming the most awarded female Grammy winner of all time (long overdue).
2021 has had it rough because the pandemic has spilled over into it, kicking off with a lockdown. Everyone saw the year as a fresh start understandably, but we learnt the hard way about the virus not suddenly disappearing just because we wanted it to.
It’s easy to look back on this year and only see the bad things: COVID still exists, we have had to still wear masks and test regularly before attending events. Despite all this, when looking into what good things actually happened this year, there were so many I had forgotten. 2021 will long be remembered as an extension of COVID, but it was a year that tried to make up for 2020, and admirably gave its all. Personally, the Euros were such an emotive time; despite all the odds, England had made it to the final. I will never forget how I felt watching that game, feeling so nervous for the team but so proud that we had even made it that far, the feeling of the entire country in this together, supporting the team. That’s something that I’ll remember for years to come, the sense of community and hope we had. It may not have ‘come home’ but we as a country believed in it, and that hope is something that kept many people going.
2021’s legacy will forever be tied to the pandemic, being the year of the vaccine development and rollout. The booster campaign is the NHS’ biggest once in its history. But for me, for us, 2021 is what we remember. That doesn’t have to be all about the lateral flow kits and social distancing, but instead about the little things that got us through it. The new opportunities we explored, the people we met, the stories we exchanged over the shared experience of this pandemic.
I refuse to look at this year and see everything that went wrong, but in fact everything I did in spite of the circumstances. I did some amazing things with amazing people, and even got to take opportunities I have always dreamed of doing.
What I’m saying is, the year is what you make of it. How you choose to reflect on it, what you want to learn from it, it’s all in your hands. This year has been a mixed bag and will mean different things to different people. To me, 2021 was a year of trying to understand what 2020 was about and how I could start getting my life back on track. I now know this won’t take days, but as much time necessary to understand what I want to do going forward. 2021 - thank you, for everything you gave us despite the odds.
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