A look back at 2011

The holiday season is upon us, as they say, and that means a time to reflect and be thankful.

Personally, 2011 has brought it's own adventures and difficulties.  I packed my things and moved away from home for the first (real) time.  I have struggled with making friends, being away from family and those who love me, and finding where I fit in at graduate school.  But I am blessed with some amazing new friends, an increased confidence in myself, and the ability to scrape by in a meager studio apartment and lots of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

I try to use this blog to reflect on the world from my own perspectives, to bring attention to injustices and examine the decisions we blindly make every day.  We're just going through the motions, more often than not.  I wake up and switch on my little green coffee maker from my friend Christine.  I go to classes, churn out papers with moments to spare, and wave to familiar faces at the corner of University and Park.

That behind me, I'm going to use this space to look back not just on my life, but on what 2011 meant to the now 7 billion humans that call our Earth home.  What did this year mean?  What have we accomplished?  Where have we fallen...

The first event I really recall in 2011 was the Tuscon shooting on January 8, which killed six and severely injured Rep. Gabby Giffords.  The event was not only a huge shock to our government, but to the United States.  The shooting took place outside of a grocery store.

Amid this shooting, the Arab Spring was gaining momentum from it's start in December of 2010.  The Arab Spring, the name for the series of protests in the Middle East and Northern Africa, has taken hold of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Jordan...the list goes on.  On January 14, the Tunisian government fell.

These protests seemed to fall like beautiful snowflakes in our midst - each one independent and unique, but part of the same inevitable storm.  They have been violent, with the estimated death toll so far at over 30,000 people.  They have been successful, with many leaders stepping down, and Muammar Gaddafi being killed in October.

These uprisings have been a constant hum throughout 2011.  We have turned a deaf ear, only to listen when it affects us, or something "interesting" happens.  It is the petulant toddler tugging on our legs saying "mommy, mommy..."  Eventually, we tune it out.  That is, until the child truly needs our attention.

These protests hold a special place in my life, having been quite involved in protests myself.  I like to think that other people feel the same, as Time Magazine named "The Protestor" as the person of the year.

 

Indeed, this has been the year of the protestor. In February and March, hundreds of thousands of protestors showed up in Madison, Wisconsin to protest Governor Walker's collective bargaining bill. In September, protestors began camping out in New York City and across the United States in the "Occupy Together" movement.  Never in my lifetime have I seen such an outpouring of people around the world working for change.  I'm sure it says something about the world we live in today.  I'm just not quite sure I have the words yet to say what that is.

On March 19, disaster struck Japan.  A tower of water cascaded over the island nation, killing over 15,000 and leaving countless others missing.  What seems like forever ago, this tragedy had people all over the world anticipating the worst from the collapsing nuclear facilities.

And two days after two billion people watched Prince William and Kate Middleton share the most awkward wedding kiss I've seen in my life (not counting this one), Obama announced that the United States successfully found and killed Osama Bin Laden. (insert "USA!" cheer here).

We've launched our last space shuttle, New York allowed same sex marriage, Casey Anthony dominated our summer.  We've had sex scandals, a debt ceiling crisis, and natural disasters.  We've stumbled towards the 2012 presidential election with little grace, but much hope.  Amanda Knox, Steve Jobs, Andy Rooney, Rod Blagojevich...

And let's not forget about the wide world of sports.  The Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup, the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series, Japan won the Women's World Cup, and the All Blacks won the Rugby World Cup, which was also held in New Zealand.

It seems like this year has been especially tumultuous.  Perhaps that's what we needed.  They say that change doesn't come easy.  Maybe 2011 will serve as the year that opened the way for some extraordinary change.  Not right now, but maybe this time next year I will be able to say "wow, 2012 was really great."  I like to think that 2011 gave its life for our sake, so that we might have a brighter future...as cliche as that might be.

Or...you know...2012 will be the end of the world.  I guess we'll just have to wait and see.