21 FROM 21

2021 huh? It came, it went, we grumbled. But in between homeschool headaches and relentless jostle over jabs, it wasn’t all bad. Here’s our take, 21 from 21 - the big stuff, small stuff, people stuff and more from the year that was. 

THE BIG STUFF

The bug got real. If 2020 was the year of Covid, 2021 was the sequel no one wanted. We started good, hit a road bump at KFC and kidded ourselves that we’d crushed it before slipping into quiet complacency. Turns out we were wrong.

The jab-a-thon. After forming an orderly queue in reverse age order, we lurched from zero to vax-a-hero in a few short months when it mattered. Some say 90% jabbed is one of the best things NZ has done. No one says that of the telethon.

Work just worked. Last year’s struggle into bubbles was an instant switch in August. We knew what to do and we got on and did it. We Zoomed, Slacked, Teamed and Miro’d-a-plenty and even learned to switch ourselves off mute.

The ‘hug of five million’. Mental Health came bouncing out of HR handbooks and Government manifestos into something we actually acted on. We checked in, shared feelings and genuinely remembered that everyone’s human.

We redefined freedom. For some, freedom is the opportunity to hang out together, go to the pub and catch up with people we like. For others it’s about personal choice on jabs and not being told what to do. Both are fair. Some of us are back at the pub.

THE SMALL STUFF

That first flat white. It’s funny how small stuff feels big when you miss it. While Level 3 was just Level 4 with takeaways, those takeaways were a symbol of hope and that Allpress from the guys down the road never tasted better.

The crazy game shows. When you need to make telly with fewer people, stuff gets weird. But we loved celebrities spinning in The Wheel, and the earnest circle-nudgery of Five Gold Rings. Escapism, schadenfreude and easy questions. What’s not to like?

Back to board games. Usually reserved for family fights at Christmas, those board games, card games, even dice games were dusted off for something to do. And who can forget the 64-square pile on when Queen’s Gambit made chess cool?

We learned to count. As work/life balance was tipped a new challenge with homeschool, most of us thought the learning would be easy. But what the hell happened to primary math? More confusing than traffic lights and harder than the Final Chase, it sucked.

The Roblox roadblock. As teachers/parents everywhere rewarded effort with screen time, even that got hard when Roblox went dark. It was only three days but felt longer than Lockdown. “Why is Roblox down?” leapt to #1 in Google Search.

THE MOMENTS

The Suez U-Turn. Over a million people picked up a spade to dig the ditch from the Med to the Red Seas. It only took one dodgy driver to stuff it up. While the Suez was only blocked for six days, Amazon still blame the Ever Given for slow delivery of books.

#FreeBritney worked. After 13-years, countless documentaries and more Hollywood lawyers than OJ, Britney was finally granted the right to make decisions as Britney. Exactly what she’ll do next has tweeters on the edge of their seats.

RIP Prince Phillip. On 9 April, HRH ‘Phil the Greek’ turned in his stripes at 99. Quite a lot changed in that century. But somehow Prince Phillip never really did. He knew his place, loved his family and did a helluva lot for a lot of people. Good innings.

Friends Reunited. Twenty years after everyone’s favourite flatmates hung up their keys, Friends still makes a billion dollars a year in re-runs. So, because they’re short of cash, they got together to celebrate the moment. It sucked. But we still cried.

THE PEOPLE

Politicians. While the Government played whack-a-mole with metrics and pondered what to put in a picnic, the Opposition fell so far up their own arse that somehow David Seymour sounded like the voice of common sense.

Protestors. Previously engaged with climate change and social justice, 2021 gave a new set of protesters something to shout about. While it was hard to tell the news from the noise and fluttering of Trump flags, their right to fight was clearly heard.

Professors. World-famous at 6pm, the year saw a parade of pious professors popping up to put a pin in hope. More irritating than a scratchy mask, these contemporary doomsday soothsayers may be right, but that doesn’t mean we want to hear it.

People. That’s the rest of us. The 90%. Quietly heading home, carefully edging out again and nauseously squirming at the five billionth mention of the ‘team of five million’. We followed the rules, got our jabs and earned ourselves a Summer. Boom.

AND THE WIN

Quote of the year. Little known quote from a little known show that really wasn’t great. “To our monsters, we’re the monsters”. It’s worth a pause. In a year where stuff wasn’t easy, we’ve made it harder by poking at each other. Maybe they have valid feelings too.  

Family came first. Regardless of the stress and struggle of change, we did it with the people who matter. In between the beeps of Teams and calls of “you’re on mute”, more families stopped to eat around the table more often than any time since the 60s*.

And we got there. The traffic lights are up, the pubs are open and Aucklanders can finally pack up the Holden and head for the hills. This was the year Covid grew up and even as we lurch through the Greek alphabet, we know how to nail this for 2022.

*Made up fact. But feels likely.