2022 in Review: Looking Back

We've come to the end of my week-long 2022 in Review series of post. In case you're just joining in, the festivities began on Monday with a reveal of my Top 10 video games for 2022. This was followed by a rundown of my Top 10 TV shows on Tuesday. On Wednesday, I highlighted my favorite songs released during the year, and yesterday, I went over my Top 10 movies. Today, we'll be taking a look back at the things and events that helped define 2022 as a whole.

To say that 2022 has flown by in a flash would be an understatement. I still remember the early days of January like it was yesterday, a time when the news cycle was still dominated by COVID-19 and the latest variant of concern. And now here we are at the tail end of the year, with countries like Nigeria having now lifted most restrictions nearly three years after they were put in place.

This is not to say that the pandemic is officially over as scientists have already predicted that some variants could very well remain with us well into the foreseeable future. But the hope is that the worst of it is now behind us as we continue to push forward as a species. All that said, there were still quite a few other developments that took place during the year that are also worth touching upon.

On February 24th, Russian forces invaded Ukraine following an escalation of ongoing tensions between both countries. This was immediately condemned by several international governments and organizations, with many even electing to impose immediate sanctions on Russia for its actions. This was no doubt in a bid to try and dissuade their government from carrying on with the invasion, except it quickly became clear that the Russian government already had its mind set.

There are of course those who felt such sanctions were a little too reactionary or nothing more than virtue signaling, primarily because there were a lot of innocent Russians that want no part in the ongoing conflict being affected. But I confess that I know nothing about how best such a conflict can be deescalated. I can only hope, like most, that the war comes to an end soon and that peace prevails.

I'm sure you already knew we couldn't possibly talk about things that happened in 2022 without at least mentioning the Oscar slap, right? I mean, no other singular moment had grown in virality on social media this past year as quickly as that one. The Academy Awards were held on March 27th and what was supposed to be a celebration of the very best movies ended up birthing one of 2022's biggest internet memes; Will Smith had walked on stage during the presentation of an award to slap Chris Rock across the face for a joke the latter had just made about his wife, Jada Pinkett.

Will Smith (who went on to win Best Actor for his role in King Richard that night) has since issued multiple apologies for the outburst and is currently serving a 10-year ban from all Academy events and ceremonies. He is still eligible for nominations and awards during that period, although judging from the critical reception of his most recent film, Emancipation, it might take a while before he receives any further love from the Academy. Chris Rock had opted not to press any charges and many people had in fact applauded him for staying level-headed during the televised assault.

The United Kingdom lost its monarch when Queen Elizabeth II died on September 8th. This was one of those news stories that took some days to fully sink in as she had been the Queen of England pretty much since the day I was born. She was in fact already Queen when Nigeria gained its independence in 1960 which shows how much a part of our collective history she was. So coming to terms with the fact that she was no longer there was admittedly somewhat difficult to process.

I've never been one to keep up with the day-to-day goings-on of the various members of the British royal family but I've always held a certain level of respect for what they represented as an institution. I still remember watching Princess Diana's funeral all those years ago as a kid, as well as her children's weddings more recently, and how the Queen had always been a central figure in those ceremonies. There is no doubt that her memory will continue to live on in the heart's of the millions she'd touched.

I won't even pretend to know anything about the current state of football at this point (or soccer as our American friends call it) since it is a sport I stopped watching nearly three decades ago. But still, the FIFA World Cup is one of the biggest sporting events so it is certainly worth touching upon. This year the tournament was held in Qatar, which necessitated a November kick-off since the weather over there would have been unbearably hot during the summer. 

Nigeria hadn't qualified for the competition this time around but there were other African nations like Morocco who made the cut representing the continent. Argentina had gone on to win the cup in what I learned was a tense final game against defending champions, France. This would mark their third World Cup trophy, or more significantly, their first one with Lionel Messi on the winning team, a player who is generally considered one of the greatest footballers of all time.

There isn't much to report on the home front this year. The YouTube channel has been chugging along as we just crossed the 2,000 subscribers milestone a few days ago. While that might not look like much in the grand scheme of things, it's still 2,000 more than I'd ever imagined getting when I'd clicked upload on my first video. I guess that means my random videos must be resonating with someone. There are a few changes and strategies I plan on implementing next year though, so watch this space.

 

I've also been seriously considering getting back to writing fiction. I haven't really written anything new since 2015 and it's starting to look like I might have lost sight of one of the things I love doing the most. I mean, that was one of the reasons why I'd started this blog in the first place, to document my journey as a writer, and it's high time I get back on track by churning out new work. But come what may, you can be sure that you'll hear about it first right here.

As usual, thanks for indulging me in my scattershot review of the year that was. I look forward to doing this again next year. Until then, stay safe out there.