2009 was a year to remember. Also, the first decade of the 2000s was a decade to remember. Since 2000, the internet has been used more than ever and has become a major source of information, the greatest country in the world (the U.S) was attacked, the world has seen numerous natural disasters, several wars (religious and war on terrorism), three summer Olympic games, two winter Olympic games, numerous sports stars admitting to using performance enhancing drugs, one of the biggest ponzi schemes ever (Bernie Maddoff), one of the worst recessions ever, and two different U.S Presidents. Don’t forget that this has also been ten years of our lives that have been very interesting.
December 31, 1999: do you remember your parents and relatives going to the local grocery store and buying bulk food and water because of the Y2K scare? What a great way to not only start the new millennium but start off the decade. People were seriously afraid everything was going to stop working! Countless people believed that the computers would not be able to handle the change to the year 2000 and technology as we know it was no longer going to work. Mass panic. Obviously, we were all very ignorant because nothing happened and we have now made it to the year 2010. I mean, we do have another big fear coming in the year 2012. However, I will write about that on December 31, 2011.
In November 2000, there was a general election for the Presidency of the United States. The big contenders: George W. Bush and Al Gore. This was an election to remember. The state of Florida had some problems keeping track of the votes and after several times being re-counted, George W. Bush had won the election. To this day, there is still debate over the Florida votes; however, I believe they got it right. Shortly after Bush was sworn in, one of the worst days in American history happened. September 11, 2001 the U.S was attacked by Islamic terrorists and we retaliated by going to war in Iraq and Afghanistan. The war in Iraq and Afghanistan is also another debatable subject but I will not be getting into that subject (however, where are you anti-war people now that Obama has sent 30,000 more troops!?!). Regardless what your opinions of President Bush, we should respect the office of the President and he did all he could during this time.
Some natural disasters that have struck that we will never forget will be Hurricane Katrina (August 28, 2005) and one of the worst tsunamis to ever hit Indonesia (December 26, 2004). Hurricane Katrina affected the U.S, more specifically the southern states like Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama (however, we only heard about the effects in Louisiana). After Katrina hit Louisiana was devastated (and many people believe this is what really hurt President Bush’s ratings) and FEMA virtually collapsed. This was a virtual collapse between local, state, and Federal levels of government which made the situation in Louisiana worse than it should have been. Most people blame Bush but the real blame should be put on the Governor of Louisiana and the Mayor of New Orleans for their refusal to communicate with the Federal government and make sure what was needed to be done. Once again, I will not be getting into the politics of this.
The last couple of Olympic Games have also been ones to remember. Numerous athletes have been caught cheating (Marion Jones, Maurice Green and countless others). However, the best summer Olympic Games of this decade were in 2008. We learned in 2008 that it is possible for one person to win eight gold medals (Michael Phelps). We also met the world’s fastest man Usain Bolt who smashed the 100 meter and 200 meter world records. It is also debated that Bolt has saved the sport of track and field. A few months after the Olympics, in the World Championships, Bolt continued to dominate as he ran an incredible 9.69 second 100 meter (a new world record). Obviously, 2008-2009 for track was a very impressive year! Even for American distance running this past decade has been special. We lost an incredible runner, Ryan Shay as he collapsed with a heart attack in the Chicago marathon in 2007. However, we had two runners break 13 minutes for a 5k (which has not been accomplished for an American runner in a really long time): Dathan Ritzenhine and Matt Tekenkamp. Ritz had an incredible year and so did Tek. Better yet, in the NYC marathon this year (2009) an American won it and that was the first time since 1985 when Alberto Salazar won: the winner this year was Meb Keflezighi. Many people thought Ryan Hall, another American was going to win, however Meb ran an incredible race. All in all, American distance running is back on the global scene and I am really looking forward to the next decade!
In these past ten years I have grown up. I have gone from middle school all the way up to now, my junior year of undergrad. This past year, 2009, was a really good year. A lot of sweet things have happened to me and I have grown up in one of the best possible times in history. Granted, a lot of things politically and economically are going bad, but it is still a great time to live. 2009, my 20th year of living, I would rate as one of the best years ever.
Here is what I am looking forward to in the next decade:
-The Republicans doing well in the 2010 elections and the 2012 elections
-Either go to grad school to attempt a PhD in political science/history or get a job
- The Kansas City Royals making the playoffs (hopefully, but highly unlikely)
-The Oakland Raiders making the playoffs again
-The Carolina Hurricanes winning another Stanley Cup
-American Distance running hopes of winning a gold medal at the Olympic Games
- The world ending in 2012! (Oh wait, that won’t happen)
Anyways, I hope that everyone reading this had a fantastic Christmas and they have a great New Year. Thanks to everyone who read this all year and a thank you to all who will continue to read this next year!
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