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A Funny Thing Happened on the Way Out of the Year


We like to compartmentalize things. It's easier for us to group together a series of events under convenient umbrellas of designation, often times related to time. You see it done a lot when it comes to decades. People of a certain age will often get dreamy-eyed when referring to "the '80s" -- something I admit to doing -- though, if we're being honest, we've simply taken a disparate clump of years and made a connection to them because of a happenstance of calendar. Does it make sense? Sure, maybe, I don't know, why not?

I'm talking about years and time and how we view them because 365 days have gone by, and we've ticked over into another year. 2022. I suppose that holds significance because of the aforementioned calendar that we're on, though one could argue that 365 days pass every day (except, maybe, on a leap year, though that's debatable), and so January 1st is really no different than August 1st, weather patterns notwithstanding. But yeah, by the way we measure time, 2021 is over, and while I wasn't going to say anything about it, some stuff I've read online recently has changed that.

Judging by commentary on various social media sites, 2021 sucked. It was an awful year. People were remarking how they couldn't wait to see the back of it, and hoped that 2022 was better. When beloved entertainment icon Betty White died yesterday, aged 99, I saw so many people write something along the lines of, "As if this year couldn't get any worse! F U 2021. RIP Betty." I'm almost hesitant to say that such sentiments startled me. Not the sadness at White's passing (though no one can argue that living to almost 100 years of age is some pretty good innings). No, what surprised me was the attitude that 2021 had, apparently, been pretty awful.

The negative point of view was not limited only to social media pages. I was watching the latest, Christmastime video of one of my favorite YouTubers, and he stated, quite matter-of-factly, how 2021 had been a bad year for everyone. I raised an eyebrow. Had it? Such a broad brushstroke statement is perhaps ill-advised, at least for the past year. I mean, you could probably get away with saying that 2020 sucked for most people, given the circumstances of the global pandemic. But 2021 seemed different, at least through my eyes.

Last year, the scientific and medical communities brought forward vaccines that allowed for a semi-return to normalcy, at least for some. Plans and events, cancelled or postponed during 2020, returned in some form or fashion in 2021. Concerts and weddings occurred, friends gathered and were able to safely socialize, people started going back to the movies, the holidays were a thing again, life began to hold more joy than it had for many in the preceding year. And, I don't know about you, but being able to do those things again, when there had been a time when it wasn't possible to do so, gave them an edge. It made them seem more precious and special than their previous ubiquity had often allowed.

2021 wasn't all roses, of course. The chunks of time we divide-up into years rarely are. And their happiness and sorrow varies from person-to-person. For some, they lost loved ones, and their absence, or perhaps the circumstances of their deaths, will sting for a long time to come. Others may have had to deal with a chronic or terminal disease, either with themselves or someone they love and care about. For some, 2021 will have been engulfed by tragedy. So, yeah, it makes sense for them to view the year as a write-off, better seen in the rearview mirror.

But, was 2021 terrible? I guess the only way to answer that is situational, and with perspective. And it's not something anyone can answer for anyone else. If you and/or your family had a trying time of it, then that is your truth. Full stop. Conversely, if you experienced a greater sense of freedom, relief and joy compared to the previous year, then 2021 may not have been so bad. I realize that sounds like damning with faint praise, and perhaps it is, but a lot of how we look at things is relative.

I'd take 2021 over 2020 any day. And I'll understand if you see it differently. Whatever the case, here's hoping 2022 is better for all of us.



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