Trip Down Memory Lane

Nothing really huge happened in the world up until 2nd grade, and we're off to a more somber start unfortunately. But, I thought this was important because whether or not we remember it, the Sandy Hook School Shooting heavily impacted the world around us. On December 14, 2012, the shooter opened fire in the Elementary school, killing 26 people. This school shooting reignited the forever ongoing conversation on gun control and mental health accessibility issues.

On April 15th, 2013, two brothers planted two bombs near the finish of the Boston Marathon race. Being only in 2nd grade, it can be difficult to realize how big of an impact events like these left on society, imaginably so. It's kind of crazy to think how this terrorist attack would affect us and our thoughts if it happened today.

For whatever reason, seeing this selfie taken by Ellen on TV was really iconic for me. Other people may not remember it as well but watching the award show then this happening was memorable for me. Anyway, the tweeted selfie got thousands of retweets almost instantaneously.

On June 26, 2015, same sex marriage was finally legalized in all 50 of the Untied States. This event was a huge step for the country in providing equal opportunities for every citizen in the United States.

I don't think this photo really has a lot of explaining to do. Although the dance move has been around in the hip-hop scene for many years, the dab became a part of mainstream pop culture in August of 2015, the summer going into our 5th grade year. The move was just about everywhere, you could not escape it. 

In January of 2016, the band said they were going on a hiatus, so that all band members could pursue personal projects. Many 5th graders at the time were obsessed with One Direction, so after hearing about the break, it left a lot of girls upset. Little did they know, the hiatus was more so a breakup between the band, as they have not gotten back together since 2016.

On May 28th, 2016, the summer going into 6th grade, Harambe the Gorilla was shot and killed after a child slipped into the enclosure and Harambe grabbed the child. Researchers say the gorilla was trying to protect the child, but many people assumed he was trying to hurt the child. Ultimately, the child was hospitalized for a short period of time, whereas Harambe was shot and killed. Angry people took to social media to express their frustrations about why the gorilla should have lived. However, for our generation Harambe became more so a meme. 

Colin Kaepernick was a trendsetter when he kneeled during the national anthem in the NFL preseason of 2016. His peaceful protest actually went unnoticed for two weeks before people began to question it. Kaepernick said he could not stand to show pride in the flag of a country that oppressed black people. His movement spread throughout the NFL, along with other professional sports, and ultimately to schools around the United States. We can even still see the impact of this protest in the walls of MHS today with people not standing during the Pledge of Allegiance every morning.

Another big event social media clang onto. Donald Trump won the Presidential Election on November 8th, 2016. The Presidential campaign came with a lot of different false information spread from both parties, mostly because of social media. It's difficult to say as 6th graders we were able to form our own opinions about politics, but people sure did argue about it at school. 

On August 21st, 2017 going into our 7th grade year there was a solar eclipse. This day was a huge event for people around the country. I think the glasses were the most memorable part of the day. Stores lined the shelves with the glasses, everyone and their mom had them for the day.

The #MeToo Movement was started by Alyssa Milano in response to Harvey Weinstien's allegations toward him. This tweet was followed with over 2 million tweets from other women across the globe sharing their story, letting other women know they were not alone. 

The game Fortnite became popular in September of 2017. I remember staying up late on the weekends in middle school playing this game with my friends, and it's all some people would talk about at school. Kids randomly doing the emote dances. People still play the game today, but it's not really the same anymore.

When you bring up Fergie to anyone, they will most likely think of the time she sang the National Anthem (very poorly) at the NBA All-Star game in February 2019. The performance instantly went viral on the internet with many memes and people mocking her singing alone. Here's the link to the video if you need a laugh at all.

Selfishly, this one was a big deal for me personally. If you do not know, I am a big soccer fan and playing it is one of my passions. However, the 2019 World Cup was an especially big deal because the USA team had won the tournament for the fourth time. This was prime US Women's Soccer, and it was amazing as a freshman getting to watch these women play, and having them as role models to look up to.

This was one of the first celebrity deaths that really struck a lot of our generation as a whole. Even if you didn't watch basketball you still knew Kobe Bryant. On January 26, 2020, Kobe Bryant and his Daughter, Gianna were killed in a helicopter accident. 

Probably the biggest event throughout our schooling, Kindergarten through 12th grade. In March 2020, the pandemic shut down the entire world. Education came to a halt, as did work, and many other things. Millions of lives were lost, it was a depressing time for so many people. After things started to pick back up again, life looked very different, especially within the halls of MHS.

After the fatal death of George Floyd, people took to social media along with the streets to speak against it. A lot of misinformation was spread during these times, but it was really eye opening for our generation to see the inequalities that still take place in The Untied States today.

Up until this point, the world came to a complete stop because of COVID-19. Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24th, 2022. This was a scary time as the United States was debating whether to get involved or not, many were afraid it would start a war with the U.S. Russia is still in Ukraine to this day, bringing despair to Ukranian citizens.

This was another death that heavily impacted not only our generation, but the world. I don't think anyone really thought the queen was ever going to pass away. However, on September 8th, 2022, the Queen of England passed away at the age of 96.