I think it would be safe to say that 2021 wasn’t much better than 2020. The recurring surges of COVID-19(and the spread of it’s various demon spawns)has hindered improvement, and more importantly, bringing people together again. Thankfully the various vaccinations being administered across the globe certainly have been doing its job in trying to help keep the surges from reaching more horrific peak. But I’m sure you all already know everything I’ve said up until this point.
We’ve reached an era in which reading the news is a task that takes a considerable toll on our mental health and adds onto the stress already existing because of the pandemic and worrying about our family, friends, and other factors in our individual lives. So I went on a hunt to collect numerous stories from throughout 2021 describing events that had shaped the year-for the better. So here is our 2021 recap. But a little nicer.
The Great Barrier Reef and its steady recovery:
It’s common knowledge that climate change has been affecting our planet in more ways than one. And the plant starting to heat up bit by bit isn’t only causing glaciers to melt. Warming oceans had caused corals to start bleaching, leading to them losing color, and life. Coral bleaching had caused significant damage to the majority of the Great Barrier Reef, but this year, scientists found hope when the corals started to spawn and gaining life once again. This is a good sign for moving towards improving the status of our planet into a better state of health.
NASA’s Perseverance rover successfully made oxygen on mars:
NASA’s Perseverance is equipped with an adorable device(the size of a toaster to be exact)the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment, MOXIE for short. With Mars’ lack of breathable oxygen, water, and other necessities for human life, this device is the first step for a future involving human research and possible civilization on Mars. According to an article written by NASA in April, Mars’ atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide, therefore MOXIE’s job is to take these molecules and break them apart in order to isolate oxygen atoms. Although the amount initially produced by MOXIE was fairly small, this is still a major achievement in the process of helping human beings survive on Mars.
Giant pandas are no longer endangered:
In July, China had announced that giant pandas were no longer being classified as “endangered,” an incredible improvement after years of decline of this majestic species. Along with these pandas, rises in various other endangered species populations have been found.
A species of giant tortoise was found in the Galapagos:
What was previously thought to be extinct was uncovered again on Fernandina Island after a lone female was found. Scientists ran tests, confirming that it was indeed the member of a species of tortoise thought to have gone extinct 100 years ago. Scientists are now scouring the island to find more of these turtles as they take the female to be bred. This discovery was crucial in attempting to preserve a species thought to be lost forever.
The 2020 Olympics in Tokyo brought us some very young medal recipients, who dominated the games:
The 2020 Olympics held a number of contenders that made it difficult to choose who we rooting for, each competition shone with the hard work and dedication of each and every person who was competing, no matter if they walked away with a medal or not. One event in particular that made me feel incredibly proud was the women’s street skateboarding event that included 13 year olds Momiji Nishiya and Rayssa Leal. Nishiya gold, Leal silver, and Nakayma bronze. Nishiya and Nakayma, both of Japanese descent, helped push the country towards winning the skateboarding event overall with their respective wins. But that’s not what I loved the most.
I loved seeing the sheer power they held even when competing against people much older and showed so much swagger and grace in everything they did, even when they weren’t on their boards. It made me incredibly proud to see people close to my age bringing so much for their countries and our youth. Their drive, power, and achievements were a spectacle to see and I couldn’t be more happy to see our generation being represented at such a level.
Disney and Pixar had a fantastic lineup of movies that proceeded to make me bawl:
A tradition we’ve had since before I was born was sharing our love for film, one of the many ways we bonded together. The movie could be absolutely incredible, or downright horrendous, but all that really mattered was that we were together and happy.
Being avid Disney fans, my family and I always make it a point to sit and watch the latest animated movies together. But really, anything categorized under Disney or Pixar is always a must-watch in our book, and this past year animations have been being pumped out of studios left and right, and a number of them were bangers. Some my favorites were:
Raya and the Last Dragon – Taking place in a fictional location inspired by south-east Asian culture and geography, our heroine Raya finds herself trying to fight against the forces of a dark evil that had taken over the lands of her beloved home, and those of others, into it’s clutches.
Luca – Set in 1950’s Italy, Luca illustrates the journey of our little, anthropomorphic main, Luca. A little fish/lizard creature who lives with his family in the sea. But, Luca starts to get curious about what lies above the surface of the clear waters. His curiosity is what ultimately leads him to befriend another boy just like him and learning what it means to truly live.
Encanto – Set in what appears to be early 20th-century Colombia, Mirabel Madrigal navigates her life as a member of the mystical Madrigal family in their enchanted house. Almost all of the members of the family holds a unique power, except her. But when the fate of her and her family’s future is at stake, Mirabel takes it upon herself to prove herself to uncover the mysteries of their past, and her own future. as an essential part of the family.
Studios like Disney, Pixar, and Ghibli have become a source of comfort for me no matter how much I grow up. There always seems to be a film I can watch that will bring me pure joy no matter what I’m feeling.
The James Webb Space Telescope was finally launched on Christmas Day after several periods of delay.
The highly anticipated James Webb Space Telescope was launched into space on Christmas Day, the telescope, originally set to launch in 2007, was delayed due to technical difficulties and other factors that could’ve effected the mission in a negative manner. The telescope will be flying roughly a million miles away from Earth while simultaneously changing to its final form.
The telescope itself is the largest and most powerful telescope ever built and will be serving a purpose never given to any other device made to be sent to space. This telescope will be traveling in order to gain information regarding the formation of early galaxies(about 100 to 200 million year olds to be exact). As well as look for information that could help us understand various other things about various galaxies and their formation.
The telescope features a massive mirror coated in gold in order to have as much infrared light as possible. (Infrared light makes it easier for the device to be able to see what source is emitting light from within big clouds of dust.
What makes this mission so sensitive is the fact that anything could happen to the telescope, but no one can go out there to fix it like with Hubble; due to the sheer distance the telescope will be traveling away from our planet. If all goes well, the telescope is predicted to last more than ten years.
(I’ll be making another post about this telescope that will dive deeper into its mechanics, purpose, and history.)
Nearly half of the global population is vaccinated against COVID-19
– In late 2019, there was a number of infections found in Wuhan, China, which were later identified as SARS-CoV-2.
– After the rapid spread of infections across the globe, COVID-19 was officially declared as a global pandemic by WHO on March 11, 2020.
– Summer of 2020 brought the first approval from the FDA for the first COVID-19 vaccine.
As of today, December 29th, 2021, more than 8 billion doses of the vaccine have been distributed worldwide, and 48.3 percent of our entire population has been fully vaccinated. I’d say, we as a society need to applaud the work of our healthcare workers, scientists, and social workers. I want to take the opportunity now to thank everyone in the workforce. Doctor, nurse, teacher, student, salesperson, mail carrier, garbage collector, engineer, writer, artist, everyone. We all managed to pull through nearly two years of something that could only be described as pure torture.
We’ve hit some of our darkest moments these past two years, and yet we continued to fight for the good of humanity, the good of every creature, and the good of our planet. Because this is our home, the people in it included. And protecting what we love in our hearts is an innate behavior that has existed since the beginning.
Before the pandemic, I never would’ve been able to fathom that this could’ve happened in so suddenly in our lives, and to such a frightening degree. Thinking back to early 2020, my mindset was completely different and I held none of the knowledge I have now. Before, I didn’t realize just how sensitive human life really is, and how it can be shortened at any given moment. It pains me to say this but the past two years have helped me realize how precious and beautiful life is.
I have no idea what the future is going to hold, but I’m entering the year with no expectations except to keep my health as it is now.
I hope you all celebrated the coming year with those you love, let’s all walk into this new era together as one.