So 2020 happened; I honestly had to do a decent amount of research for this article, considering the amount of random stuff that happened that barely had me bat an eye.

It all began on December 31st, 2019, we all raised glasses to a year of “2020 vision”, Halloween on a Saturday, Christmas on a Friday, and then…we blinked. Suddenly, resolutions disappeared, and January merged into March. We all remember the dreadful email on outlook telling us we would not be returning to school, and I felt pretty left out of the zoom memes because St. Andrew’s just HAD to use teams. Nonetheless, 2020 went downhill faster than you could say coronavirus. So here is a list of the weirdest things that happened in 2020 that have either been burned into your memory or you just completely forgot about as a trauma response:

  1. To start off the year, even before the virus, we really thought we were going into WW3. The memes flooded the internet; I honestly forgot that even happened but there was a time where opening the Twitter app was like diving into a war movie. Leave it to gen z to make a joke out of a possible war, but little did we know the chaos that would follow, outside of our feeds this time.
  2. Corona hit, and everyone thought that toilet paper would save them from the virus; of all the things globally, disinfectant spray, clothes, and food, people fought over toilet paper. My favorite tweet had to have been “newsflash people; coronavirus does NOT cause diarrhea.”
  3. TikTok went insane, the app that saved the year, in my opinion. Everyone who was “too cool” for it in 2019 most certainly downloaded it, and if you didn’t, you are out of the loop, my friend. At the start, it had everyone tidying their sweatshirts with bleach, making whipped coffee, cutting up old jeans, and bleaching them so literally, everyone was wearing the half and half jeans. Also, never forget the TikTok trend that made the news; people buying out Trump’s rallies and not showing up, infuriating the president so much he almost banned it and then one day just decided not to.
  4. Speaking of Trump, he got impeached, bragged about passing a basic cognitive test, and had by far his best idea yet; seriously inquiring about whether injecting oneself with Lysol would kill corona. He was wrong, very wrong, but Lysol did have to put out a statement telling people they really should not inject themselves with their product.
  5. Online shopping SKYROCKETED, and designer brands took advantage of covid to bring us the most necessary products. PrettyLittleThing released a turtle neck dress with, get this…the neck turned into a mask. Levy, the cofounder of Yvel, an Israeli luxury designer brand, created the most expensive mask you can purchase for the low cost of $1.5 million. It’s made of 250 grams of 18k gold and is set with 3,608 natural black and white diamonds; truly a necessity.
  6. Everyone became obsessed with Tiger King. Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin became overnight sensations, and their feud almost resulted in a murder, and Ecotic’s incarceration was worldwide news. Trump then hinted at pardoning him. Also, if you want a good laugh, you can watch Carole Baskin on “Dancing with the Stars.”
  7. The pentagon released UFO videos, and nobody cared, nobody. Any other year this would probably have been the biggest story in the world, but this year, just another weird thing to happen.
  8. Elon Musk named his child numbers, (X AE A-Xii), but no one really expected anything less. And then a few months later, he endorsed Kanye West for President, yeah that happened. One morning, we just woke up, and Kanye announced his running, a short-lived moment, but he did tweet “KANYE 2024,”  so I guess we shall wait and see.
  9. Anyone remember “the naked philanthropist?'” many judged her methods. Still, Kaylen Ward raised millions of dollars as a result of selling explicit images of herself to donate to the Australian wildfires. Flashforward and Tana Mongueo basically committed election fraud in which she exchanged her explicit photos for proof of a vote for Biden.
  10. Our beloved home alone star, Macaulay Culkin, turned 40, yes 40. He tweeted, “Hey guys, wanna feel old,” and then broke the news.

Despite this year’s craziness, we also saw a rise in global comradery visible through Black Lives Matter protests and appreciation for our healthcare workers. Many influencers and celebrities advocated for mental health awareness and ways of seeking help. Social media gave us a platform to take a break from the craziness of the world and to connect with others who were struggling. Despite the chaos of this year, I believe 2021 will bring us at least a little sanity and a greater appreciation for our health and the people around us. From all of us at the Record, happy new year and celebrate how far you’ve come this year; there are silver linings all around.