Good Things About 2021
2021 might seem a bad year; what with Covid, rising cost of EVERYTHING, an inept Tory government and, of course, the beloved Betty White not making it to 2022. However, as with any year, there are also plenty of positives to take from it. Here are just a few that I remembered/found in no particular order.
#10 - Vaccinations could lead to population immunity
Dr Anthony Fauci (President Biden's chief medical advisor) said we could reach a level of population immunity where the virus is no longer dominating peoples lives.
#9 - Canada bans single use plastics
Canada is planning on completely banning the use of single use plastics in 2022. This could hopefully set a precedent for other countries to follow and another way that we can help the planet.
#8 - Four day work weeks
Anybody who has experienced excessive work loads will know the damage that working every evening and weekend can have on your mental and physical health. This is why the successful trials of a four day work week in Iceland and plans for other countries to also trial a four day work week could mean great things for workers around the world.
#7 - Donald Trump is no longer president
Bad news for Trump supporters but fantastic news for everyone else and also for the planet.
#6 - Ghislaine Maxwell goes to prison
Ghislaine Maxwell was sentenced and could spend the rest of her life in prison. This is a small amount of justice for the many victims who suffered at the hands of her, Epstein and possibly others.
#5 - England played in a Euro Cup final
Long suffering England fans (me included) finally got to see their team play in the final of a major tournament. People would have seen this as a positive and not abused the players on social media...right? Well, some idiots did but most England fans (including every single England fan that I know personally) was incredibly proud to see a young, diverse team of England players take us further than most of us have seen in our lifetime.
#4 - Cop26
Cop26 might not have been perfect (just ask Greta) but it still saw many of the rich and powerful of the world make agreements to help slow climate change and hopefully keep 1.5 degrees alive. This included accelerating the move to electric vehicles which I would be even more excited about if I could afford a Tesla.
#3 - Lockdown ended
And everyone has tried to remember the excuses they used to use to avoid going to that racist uncle's birthday party. You know, the one who hates Lewis Hamilton, gets triggered by anyone suggesting Brexit isn't going smoothly and has the 'grabby hands'.
#2 - Malaria Vaccine
A Malaria vaccine, known as Mosquirix, became the only approved vaccine of its type. A disease that killed 627,000 people last year, imagine how many people could be saved! How much do you reckon the scientists who invented the Malaria vaccine resent the smugness of the scientists getting all the attention for inventing Covid vaccines at the moment?
#1 - Tampon Tax abolished
Women, quite obviously, require female sanitary products. The UK abolishing the 'tampon tax' means that they will now be able to access these completely necessary products cheaper and easier. A long overdue win for the women of this country.
Thanks for reading my list, I know there are loads of things I missed out but feel free to point out any of the really important (or funny) ones that I missed. As for me, I had a great year that included marrying an amazing woman who makes my life better in every way, buying a beautiful house and getting a cat who does her best to destroy said house. However, I also had struggles, particularly with stress that caused me lots of anxiety and restless nights. Despite this, I am so grateful for 2021 and all the amazing people in it. Make sure you look back and celebrate your wins but also allow yourself to appreciate the strength it took to overcome your struggles. I hope that 2022 brings you pizza, decent Netflix series and the courage to share your Spotify end of year stats even if it means admitting Backstreet Boys were your most listened to artist.
