As 2018 comes to a close, we start to reminisce on the year. What first comes to mind are the political changes such as the 2018 midterms and Kavanaugh case. However, there are also some events that people are shocked to hear happened in 2018. After a long year, it has become almost impossible to believe that all of these notable events occurred in the span of just one year.
Many people forget about the way the year kicked off on January 13. On this day, Hawaii sent out a message to its citizens saying that there was an incoming missile. According to Hawaiian authorities, one of their workers did not understand how to operate the test alert system and hit the wrong button. Only after 38 minutes of fearing for their lives, and one man having a heart attack due to stress from the alert, did the Hawaiians find out that this was only a mistake.
February was full of other important events which seem to have escaped people’s memories. This is especially true for the Winter Olympics, which were held in PyeongChang, South Korea. During the games, Norwegian athlete Marin Bjørgen became the first ever woman to win 15 Olympic medals.
On March 24, protestors were out in full force both in Washington, D.C., and across the nation in a student-led protest called The March For Our Lives. This march specifically highlighted the effects of the shooting in Parkland, Florida and thousands of people across the nation went to rallies to advocate for the need for immediate gun control.
Coachella takes over the whole month of April, and this year was no exception. On April 14, Beyoncé became the first ever black woman to headline the festival. After several renditions of her most popular songs and her showstopping outfits, her performance wowed the world, becoming the most watched performance in the history of Youtube. Another star which appeared at Coachella was everyone’s favorite: the yodeling boy from Walmart, professionally known as Mason Ramsey. He went on to produce his first song not long after his appearance.
May was perhaps one of the most talked about months of the year when Thirty Mile Zone (TMZ) took over headlines after Kanye West said that “slavery was a choice” during one of his interviews. Especially after his public support of President Donald Trump, many did not believe his apology, which was issued on Twitter. The controversial rapper attempted to cover up the implications behind his ignorant comment by saying he meant people were mentally imprisoned, and believes that people should choose to have free thought nowadays.
While June was full of highs and lows, Kim Kardashian made it her goal to stop the harm that the legal system has done to many, Alice Johnson in particular. On June 6, Kardashian brought this case into the limelight; Johnson was serving a life sentence for a non-violent drug offense and had no chance of getting parole. However, Kardashian was determined to free her. She eventually met with Trump, who granted clemency to Johnson.
On July 25, Sacha Baron Cohen, the star of the satirical comedy, Borat, made appearances in headlines once again. He had recently debuted his new show Who is America. The show features Cohen in disguise as he tries to get major politicians to support unthinkable things, such as providing preschoolers with guns to protect their classroom. One episode stood out in particular and featured James Spencer, a representative from the state of Georgia. He claims that during filming he was tricked into saying racial slurs, and after much kickback from American people, he chose to resign.
In August, there were many people going out to the cinema as the movie Crazy Rich Asians appeared on the 7 of the month. This movie was the first of its kind to feature an all Asian cast, drawing out people from all walks of life to support the message of the film.
Returning to school was not the only topic of discussion in early September. On September 4, Colin Kaepernick, the ex-NFL player who kneeled during the national anthem, became the face of Nike’s 30th Anniversary Campaign. His portrait was featured on Nike memorabilia commemorating that day, with the slogan “Believe in something. Even if it means having to sacrifice everything.”
Brett Kavanaugh was sworn in to the U.S. Supreme Court on October 6. This came only after several accusations against Kavanaugh for sexual assault. Christine Blasey Ford’s accusation, in particular, made headlines for months. However after an FBI investigation, Kavanaugh was proved not guilty and was able to join the other Supreme Court judges in making decisions for the American people.
Another major political event occurred in November, when several people broke records in the 2018 Midterms. The first Native Americans, openly-gay man, first muslim women, and many other minorities won, showing the American people that there is no reason to question their abilities to lead while simultaneously taking a large step forward in gaining equality for the entire country.
So far, the entire month of December has been taken over by female icon, Ariana Grande. She released her “Thank You, Next” video on Youtube on December 1. This video shattered records by being the first video to reach almost 50 million views in less than 24 hours.
With the year coming to a close, we all begin to think about what we can do better in the next year, and what we hope will happen. Although there will certainly be highs and lows of 2019, it is good to know that we can all count on our New Year’s resolutions to keep us centered.
