Looking back at 2022
To look back at this year, I need to go back further, starting with 2007. I have a tainted memory of a late night wrestling with my thoughts, I seem to remember thinking to myself that I was insulated from the worlds problems because I live in the UK. A few months later, I witnessed a global financial meltdown and the beginning of austerity politics.
Fast forward to the end of 2019, a novel coronavirus was spreading rapidly through China bringing death. “China will take care of it” I thought to myself. By the end of 2020, the UK had one of the highest covid death tolls in the world and we would continue to struggle with the virus and all the socio-economic issues that came with it.
As this year began, covid was at its most virulent but this would fade into the background in the light of a war in Europe and a economic crisis like none before in my lifetime. I can sum up this year in a moment- the moment I came across the news that Vladimir Putin was making threats of nuclear strikes. The anxiety i felt in that split second is etched into my memory. The last two decades or so have been continuous chaos but 2022 brought it closer to home than ever.
Sounds gloomy right? Well, I don’t consciously live in constant anxiety. I laugh and smile, I appreciate life and I remind myself of my blessings but somewhere in the back of my mind, the ghost of the last two years lives on and never lets me forget. Can you relate?