by Mimi M. and Dilay A.
It’s safe to say that us students are struggling to grasp the fact that the 2010s are coming to a close; for many of us, it feels like just yesterday that we were anxiously awaiting the latest episode of Wizards of Waverly Place or talking to our friends on Kik. And I think we have all felt the nostalgia beginning to kick in these last few months.
The 2010s truly was a formative decade for current high school students. It was the decade in which we transitioned from cute little kids, to middle-school-aged adolescents, to confused teenagers, and finally, for the 11th and 12th-grade students, to preparing ourselves for adult life. The 2020s are bound to take us on a terrifyingly exciting journey of adulthood, and it’s hard not to feel overwhelmed by this notion, but for now, in the last month of the decade, it’s important to take some time to reflect on the events that shaped the 2010s!
Below, we’ve listed some of the key events from this decade, varying from pop-culture to historical, that all of us are sure to remember!
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Winter Olympics: Us Vancouverites all remember 2010, for it was the year that the Winter Olympics were held right here in Vancouver! Some of us may have been too young to remember the pride that was felt when Canada took home the most gold medals, but it’s not too late to be proud of our great country!
Formation of One Direction: Maybe not the most sophisticated of 2010s events, but when you’re discussing this decade, it’s almost impossible not to mention the (still iconic) band, One Direction, that was formed almost ten years ago. Whether you went through that phase or not, the 1D guys really did take pop music by storm.
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The assassination of Osama bin Laden: 2011 was an exceptional year for twisted politics/world events, all of which far too complicated to be briefly mentioned. But this event speaks for itself; in 2011, the ten-year-long manhunt for al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden finally came to a close.
The Royal Wedding: We all tuned in to the Royal Wedding between Kate Middleton and Prince William in April of 2011, and to be honest, most of us were young at the time and probably had no clue why it was such a big deal. But, admittedly, it was still pretty cool to see fancy British people dressed up in fancy clothes on TV.
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Reelection of Barack Obama: The presidential race of 2012 was intense, and extremely close. But Democratic candidate Barack Obama came out on top with 51.6% of the popular vote, and led the United States for the next four years.
The End of the World!: The final date that could be seen on the Mayan Calendar was December 21st, 2012, and this meant that the world was ending, obviously. Spoiler alert: it didn’t. But it was a fun panic, nonetheless.
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The Rise of our Nostalgic Pop Music: 2013 really was the year in which a significant number of those songs that we associate with our childhood were released; to name a few, Counting Stars (OneRepublic), Get Lucky (Daft Punk) and Roar (Katy Perry) all came out in 2013. I think I can speak for most of our generation when I say that these quintessential pop songs still hold a nostalgic place in our hearts.
Boston Marathon Bombings: While we remember 2013 as a key year for popular culture, it was also the year of the tragic attacks at the Boston Marathon, where three people were killed and at least 264 were injured. These attacks sparked an intense investigation, followed by a lengthy case that still remains relevant today.
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Malaysia Flight 370 Vanishes: To this day, there are no definitive answers for what happened to Malaysia Flight 370. The plane lost contact with air traffic control mid-flight, and though countless nations across the globe contributed to the search effort, the incident still remains a mystery.
Ellen’s Oscars Selfie: It’s kind of bizarre, but this blurry photo of Ellen DeGeneres posing with a bunch of huge Hollywood stars became the most retweeted photo in history during the Academy Awards Ceremony of 2014. The nominees/winners of the ceremony became almost irrelevant as this image took the entire Internet by storm. Was it really that big of a deal? That’s debatable. But looking back now, it was a pretty key moment for the Internet/pop culture.
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The legalisation of same-sex marriage: This year was an immensely impactful year for thousands of people in the United States. June 26, 2015, marks the date that the Supreme Court ruled against all state bans on same-sex marriage, and it became legalized on 50 states! Additionally, it is now required for all states to honour out-of-state same-sex marriage licenses.
Our new princess, Charlotte: Those who keep up with the royal-family received a second dose of cuteness on May 2nd, 2015. Princess Charlotte, the second child of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. Weighing in at 8lbs 3oz at her birth, Princess Charlotte is fourth in line to the throne.
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Damn Daniel: This was the year where we all became obsessed with the commentary of a California teen, and the white vans of “Daniel”. This was the moment of spontaneous viral media of the year. Josh Holx compiled a series of Snapchat stories, spotlighting his friend Daniel Lara. For some reason, the snaps grew in immense popularity, gaining 40 million views within days!
Donald Trump wins the U.S presidency: Although political experts dismissed his chances of winning back in 2015 when he announced his long-shot presidential bid, on November 8th, 2016, Donald Trump was elected the 45th President of the United States. A large majority of the American population and global population were shocked at this turn of events. Also, Donald Trump is the first president with no prior experience either in the government or the U.S Military.
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NFL Anthem protest: During this year’s football season, several NFL players stayed kneeling during the national anthem. The reasoning behind this started a year back; it is done as a silent protest of racial bias, violence and profiling by police forces around the country. President Trump attacked the player on Twitter, but it only sparked a bigger wave of protest from NFL players.
Solar Eclipse: Leading up to August 21st, many people were gathering in-demand eclipse glasses, and planning how they were gonna camp out in the middle of the day to catch optimal viewing. The Great American solar eclipse created a huge buzz, and a united front of excitement was spilling over the internet and social media. Notably, this was also the day where a new meme was born, as the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump, was seen peering up at the eclipse without any protective eyewear.
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Warnings about Climate Change increase drastically: This was the year when the urgency of acting against climate change caught the attention of many people. The frightening report released by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stated that we may have as few as twelve years left to act until our climate reaches the point of no return. Unfortunately, neither the release of the IPCC report, nor the UN inquiry, nor the unexplainable weather events of 2018 were enough to turn President Trump into a climate-change believer. His contribution to the National Climate Assessment Report was simple: “I don’t believe it” stated the President of the U.S.
We welcomed baby Stormi Webster!: To lighten up the mood a little bit, let’s not forget in February of 2018, how shocked we all were when we found out Kylie Jenner had been hiding her pregnancy from the world for nine months! This 21-year-old mom at the time believed she had to prepare for this role of a lifetime in the most “positive, stress-free, and healthy” way she knew how - which included disconnecting from her staggering 141 million followers on Instagram.
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Fridays for Future: 2019 was the year that Swedish teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg began her Fridays for Future movement. She skipped school to protest climate inaction every Friday, and throughout the year, the rest of the world caught on, taking to the streets to demand climate justice! Her efforts also led her to be named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year!
Black Hole Image: This year truly was a historic year for astronomy - the first ever image of a real black hole was released by scientists in April of this year. The black hole is located in the galaxy of Messier 87, which is around 55 million light years away from Earth!
Work Cited:
“Boston Marathon Terror Attack Fast Facts.” CNN, Cable News Network, 10 Apr. 2019, https://www.cnn.com/2013/06/03/us/boston-marathon-terror-attack-fast-facts/index.html.
Duck, Charlotte. “The Biggest Headlines of 2015.” Glamour, Glamour UK, 17 Nov. 2016, https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/gallery/2015-headlines-biggest-celebrity-stories.
History.com Editors. “2017 Events.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 21 Aug. 2018, https://www.history.com/topics/21st-century/2017-events.
Keneally, Meghan. “Year in Review: 13 Biggest News Stories of 2015.” ABC News, ABC News Network, 29 Dec. 2015, https://abcnews.go.com/US/year-review-13-biggest-news-stories-2015/story?id=35852690.
Scaramella, Nicole M., and Rebecca Mercier. “Long Acting Reversible Contraception Uptake and Presidential Election Survey [2F].” Obstetrics & Gynecology, vol. 131, 2018, doi:10.1097/01.aog.0000533312.09679.55.
“Vancouver 2010.” International Olympic Committee, 19 June 2019, https://www.olympic.org/vancouver
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