Through the explosively popular survey with a groundbreaking response of two students, we received a plentiful amount of answers regarding the student body’s ideas about the year. As many things have closed, opened, and changed this year, we all feel the love for 2021. However, there were more challenges to this year than we remember. There have been new variants introduced to the world, people invading Capitol Hill, stock market downfalls, and constant conflicts between indigenous groups and countries. But, because and despite this, we can look at 2021 as a year of new change and of new hope. We finally got to go back to a somewhat normal lifestyle, as places like restaurants, the movies, museums, and even live music started to open up. 

Fresh hits and new music have also blown up this past year with the assistance of social media apps like TikTok, where new artists have had their claim to fame. In addition to artists, we have all found some of our favorite users on TikTok, even if we may be (a little bit) addicted. As social media vamped up this year, so did our styles. According to various articles in KTR, and bigger publications like the New York Times and Forbes, fashion has been at one of its highest peaks in more than a decade. Teens are starting to explore their own style more as the world freshly opens its eyes to new aesthetics that may have not been “acceptable” or “normal” in society before the pandemic. To find more about fashion at CHS, look at the KTR website where you can find various articles, and image galleries, of what you and your friends are wearing this year.

Closings sucked this year though. Many stores in Charlottesville have closed for good, and we hate to see them go. Some of our favorites included Zinburger, Prime 109, Fashion Square, Red Pump Kitchen, Hot Cakes, Burger King, Brixx, Shebeen, Downtown Grill, and many more. As some of these places were where we as kids grew up, it’s even more depressing to see them go. However, despite all this sadness, we had many openings this year. The new Starbucks, Chickfila at Barracks, Lampo moving, Porchie’s Tacos, First Watch, Siren, Brazos moving, Dairy Market, and again, many many more. 

Even Dr. I, one of our favorite principals of the year, enjoyed “coming back together as a whole school seven days a week.” As Dr.I said, it has been a blast coming back to school. To agree with Dr.I, another student said “getting to come back to school in-person and having life feel a little more normal” was their favorite part of the year. Yes, there may be more work, but it’s amazing to see friends and meet new people every day in your classes and at afterschool activities that really were just not happening last year. Because of this, I think students have been doing much better in school than they have been, which shows how great this year has been on our mental health instead of staying at home in our beds looking at screens all day.

As this year still may have been pretty hard and forced us to face new challenges, it has been a good, solid year. We had our ups and downs like every year, but, compared to last year, it has been wondrous. Hopefully, you thought so too. But, if you really didn’t, then next year might be the year for you. Bye 2021!