As we are nearing the end of 2019, many are just now waking up to the realization that a new decade is nearly upon us, and that, whether they like it or not, they’re old. To be completely frank, it can be quite hard with our aging memory to remember some of the things that have defined us this decade. Many of us here at DCHS simply did not care about the events happening while we learned primitive skills in elementary school, and many still don’t care about events happening around us now. However, in a half-hearted effort to seem sentimental, we decided to provide this recap for those who slept through the decade, as well as the future generations. (And yes, we are ignoring the fact that they’ll probably just have computers implanted into their brains, so they most certainly won’t need this.)

2010: The Year of Apps

The dawn of a new decade saw an advance of technology. Apple unveiled its all new iPad which would go on to further disconnect Americans from reality. This new tablet allowed for hundreds of news apps to be released, but one rose king above them all, as Angry Birds cemented itself as America’s new obsession. In the INCREDIBLY complicated gameplay, players tried their hardest to fling the birds from slingshots to kill pigs. (Certainly whoever made this HAD to be on crack…) 

Toward the end of the year, TIME announced their Person of the Year to be none other than Mark “Alien in Disguise” Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg’s invention of Facebook launched many in the world to post online about details of their life that we all pretended to care about. This new “social media” would go on to accomplish momentous tasks, including supposedly electing the 45th president, serve as a breeding ground for fake news, and personally raise the number of teens comparing themselves to others.

2011: The Year of The Kardashians

Ahh . . . No one loves attention more than the Kardashians, and they certainly got a lot of it this year. When Kim Kardashian announced she was getting married to NBA player Kris Humphries, the world immediately took notice. In a two-part special, 4.4 million people tuned in to watch the ceremony. (Because they have nothing better to do with their lives…) However, after making $18 million in profit, the couple divorced 72 days later. The year also heralded the entry of one of the best songs in the books—Friday by Rebecca Black. The melodious music soothed many people’s ear, and became one of the most liked songs of the decade! (In case you aren’t aware, this is entirely false.)

The year also brought with it one of the worst tsunamis ever seen in a first world country. In March, a massive tsunami hit the coast of Japan, killing more than 15,000 people. 9/11 was also avenged this year, with Osama bin Laden being killed by U.S. Special Forces.

2012: The Year of Gangnam Style

You Only Live Once was the phrase that populated 2012. In an effort to live up to this, people tried to be cool and learn the dance moves to the popular Korean song, whether you wanted them to or not. Snapchat was released in 2012, which was probably a mistake since people could send videos of themselves doing the Gangnam Style dance now as well. 

One of the most popular movies of the year was The Hunger Games, because people love destressing while watching children fight each other to the death. At least we could get behind Team Gale or Team Peeta. After watching all the scenes of children dying gruesome deaths, Americans went to the polls to vote Obama or Romney in the 2012 election. Obama won both the popular vote and the electoral vote, marking his second term in office—however, the only noticeable difference with him was how much grayer his hair was. Topping off 2012 with some good news: the world kept on spinning after December 21, thus making a fool out of everyone who freaked out about the Mayan calendar ending that day.

2013: The Year of Frozen

Let It Go! Seriously, the movie came out six years ago, and we are STILL hearing those children belt out this song incredibly off tune. Millions of parents simultaneously cursed the House of Mouse when Frozen came out, and Disney pretended to care as they counted the green bills. However, there was a bit of positive in this situation, as the new songs from Frozen totally ICED over the hit song, What Does the Fox Say? All jokes aside, nobody really cared what the fox said, and many of us wanted to murder our peers anytime that song was brought up.

One dance routine that we didn’t grow tired of was the Harlem Shake. People everywhere who had no observable dance talent were delighted that they could finally join in on a viral challenge. However, sadness was also to be had in 2013, as the finale of season 9 ended the fan favorite show, The Office. 

2014: The Year of the Ice Bucket

In yet another viral challenge, people took to pouring ice cold water on their heads. (Hey, there are WAY worse things, right?) The challenge went to raise awareness of ALS, and encouraged many donations made toward researching the disease. The ice bucket challenge wasn’t just a passing phase, but lasted the entire year, which was very unfortunate news for those participating in the challenge in December. One other contender for the 2014 title was “The Year of Ebola.” The disease ravaged the continent of Africa, causing fear in thousands of half-brained Americans who believed the disease would hop the border and come to America. (Because apparently the Atlantic Ocean isn’t a thing?)

Conspiracy theories abound during this year, as Malaysian Airlines Flight 747 disappeared from the face of the earth. With no debris ever being found from the plane, many were left to wonder, did these people go into hiding just to avoid their taxes? Late night TV changed as well, with Jay Leno and David Letterman retiring. Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert took on the new mantles of late night television, making Jimmy Kimmel become the second funniest Jimmy on TV, though many people never saw him as funny in the first place.

2015: The Year of Refugees

2015 was a year that eclipsed the news feed with pictures of the European refugee crisis. Many governments in Europe took to creating new laws designed to restrict the flow of refugees coming into their countries, and a massive relocation of refugees went underway. On another more serious note, the United States legalized same-sex marriage. Millions of LGBT activists celebrated not only for the rights gained, but also for the fact that those in same-sex marriages could also get tax benefits. (And who doesn’t want that?)

2015 also saw the revamping of two film sagas—Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Jurassic World, exciting middle aged men everywhere. As children faced their parents obsession over these two new films, they learned just how annoying they had been back when Frozen came out. On Broadway, Hamilton made its appearance, causing history teachers to celebrate, and hope that more rap-infested history musicals were in the works. Though all of these things brought the world together, one thing nearly threatened to shatter it all. #TheDress split families and ruined friendships as everyone argued whether the dress was actually white and gold or blue and black.

2016: The Year of Harambe

In perhaps the biggest murder of the decade, a gorilla was savagely slaughtered at a zoo. Try explaining that one to your kids. The news of the unjust act sparked an anger in many around the globe, and even ended up on the DCHS Class of ‘17’s Powderpuff shirt. While Harambe was certainly the most notable death, 2016 seemed to take aim directly at celebrities, as we lost greats among the likes of Prince, Carrie Fisher, Alan Rickman, and Muhammad Ali.

In the summer of 2016, a craze spread across anyone who owned a smartphone, and PokemonGo was downloaded at LEAST 7 times. Of course, no one was able to catch the wild Donald Trump or the elusive Hillary Clinton in a Pokeball, and havoc was wreaked in the 2016 election. With Trump winning the electoral vote, politics further divided America, but PokemonGo tried its best to keep us together.

2017: The Year of Battle Royale

In one of the most popular games of the decade, Fortnite gained immense popularity, and everyone who chose not to play it hated their lives as everyone who played the game would ONLY talk about that. Seriously. They. Talked. About. Nothing. Else. However, one topic that did manage to surface, at least for a bit, was whether or not you were pro-old T-Swizzle or pro-new Swiftie. Taylor Swift emerged this year with her new album, and fans couldn’t get enough of it. 

The NFL, and specifically Colin Kaepernick, came under fire because Kaepernick kneeled during the National Anthem. Kaepernick was let go from his team, and he was listed as a free agent. (Which was okay, because he has more than enough money to last himself a few lifetimes or so.) The #MeToo movement made news, and eventually it was discovered that probably only two people in Hollywood were free from accusation—Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse, though in this day and age, who knows, anything could happen. To wrap the year up, Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico were the three men in a tub as they basically drowned in the onslaught of hurricanes this year.

2018: The Year of Marvel

2018 entered with a bang, in an entirely unfunny statement. On February 14, the world watched as 17 students and teachers were shot in Parkland, FL. In the aftermath, many teens stood up, and held walkouts in the March for Our Lives movement. However, on a more positive note, 2018 brought us Mason Ramsey, the OG Walmart Yodeling Kid. The Walmart Yodeling Kid brought us all back our innocence, and in case we lost it quickly, the Royal Wedding happened, with an American marrying into the royal family. This historic wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle further confirmed that the U.S. is trying to infiltrate Britain, and one-up them by taking THEM as a colony.

However, the biggest winner of 2018 wasn’t a yodeling kid or any royal, but was in fact Marvel. With a stellar start to the year, Black Panther came out, showing many Americans that Africa may actually just be punking us and keeping their vibranium supply secret. A couple of months after that home-run film, the ultimate crossover event was revealed, with Infinity War being released. Fans cried as Thanos snapped half the population, and then unceremoniously spoiled the ending for those who hadn’t seen it yet. 

2019: The Year of the Boomer

OK Boomer, but we have to concede, this truly was your year. Whether for good or bad purposes many members of the baby boomers circulated the news cycles. The song “Old Town Road” dominated the charts this year, staying at #1 in the Billboard top 100 for 17 weeks, partially in part due to Billy Ray Cyrus, who just happens to be a boomer. In the summer, the public was shocked to learn that Jeffrey Epstein, a boomer, was accused of sexual misconduct with many girls. A couple months later, he was found murdered—I mean “dead” in his jail cell. 

However, though the boomers were a topic of contention this year, there was so much more that happened as well. In April, the French mourned the loss of one of their most iconic buildings, as Notre Dame burned to the ground. Another thing that burnt to the ground was Thanos’ army (if you haven’t seen it yet, you can only blame yourself) as Avengers: Endgame came out, breaking box office records with nearly $2.8 billion in sales. To bring the summer to full completion, the public planned to raid Area 51, in a viral meme gone rogue.

And that, folks, was the 2010s. Whether good or bad, it happened. It was memorable, and that’s what counts. Here’s to the 2020s; let’s make it one of the best decades yet.