The 2010s. What a decade they have been! I was nine at the start of the decade, and now I am nineteen and fast approaching twenty. They say so much can change in a year and I guess they are right in that respect. However, I believe that so much more can change in a decade. Today I am going to give you a year-by-year account of some of the key things that have happened over the course of the 2010s just so you can see how much has changed over the course of this decade, how much I have changed and to give you time to reflect on how much things have changed in your life over this decade.
2010:
At the beginning of this year I was nine and turned ten in March. I can remember thinking that when I was sixteen I would be able to buy my own house, somehow without a job, and that I would be living with my boyfriend (you will find out later in this post whether this does happen, although if you are a regular reader you will already know the answer to that).
An Icelandic volcano erupted, causing volcanic ash to spread throughout the atmosphere. I remember this story as I was panicking over inhaling the volcanic ash and what would happen if it did come over where I live. Thirty three miners became trapped in the Chilean mine collapse and I can remember sitting in school and watching them being rescued after being trapped in there for sixty-nine days and the relief I felt over it (as well as panicking that the same would happen to me, despite not having any intention to ever go down a mine). There was also the Haiti earthquake in January, which was quite possibly one of the worst natural disasters to grace the planet, with the images still stuck in my mind to this day and no doubt in the minds of those who were affected by it.
Some of the songs released in 2010 include Baby (Justin Bieber), Firework (Katy Perry) and Love the Way you Lie (Eminem and Rihanna). It was also the start of some great TV shows, including: Tracy Beaker Returns (CBBC); Luther (BBC One); and Sherlock (BBC One). There was also plenty of great film releases, including: Toy Story 3 (directed by Lee Unkrich); The King's Speech (directed by Tom Hooper); and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (directed by David Yates). 2010 also saw the introduction of 3D television, xbox 360 kinect, and the introduction of the first iPad.
2011:
This was the year that I finished primary school and started secondary school. I can very clearly remember counting down the hours and the minutes of my last day of primary school and as soon as we were getting ready to go into the hall at the end of the day for a final assembly, for some reason I started crying. I guess I was upset at the fact something that had been a part of my life for so long had come to an end and I was not going to see some of the friends I had made on a regular basis like I was once able to.
2011 was the year Kate and Will got married (who else can remember getting a day off school for this) and I can vividly remember my mum putting the footage of the wedding on the TV and me getting all emotional over how pretty Kate was and me realising that I would never get to marry a member of the royal family (not that I would really want to now knowing what I know) like I thought I would four years earlier. It was also the year that Osama Bin Laden was killed and even though I did not know much about this at the time (I was only eleven, why should I know lots of information about a terrorist?) but I knew that it was a good thing he had been killed. Sadly, there was another death and this was the death of Amy Winehouse. For those of you who do not know, she was a British singer who was very much loved and sadly died due to alcohol poisoning. I can remember hearing the news of her death in my local corner shop and it was not the death that hit me the most but I was very aware on how much of a loss this was.
Some of the songs released in 2011 include: We Found Love (Rihanna); Someone Like You (Adele); and A Thousand Years (Christina Perri). Some of the TV shows that first came out this year were: Mrs Brown's Boys (BBC One); Long Last Family (ITV); and Friday Night Dinner (Channel 4). Films release in this year include: Bridesmaids (directed by Paul Feig); Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (directed by David Yates); and Arthur Christmas (directed by Sarah Smith). In terms of technology, there was the launch of Google+, the launch of the Kindle Fire, and the release of the iPhone 4s.
2012:
This year was a big year for me as my baby brother was born. At first I really did not like him as I have another younger brother and when he was born I felt like I was kind of pushed out and that there was less attention on me so I thought the same would happen again, only it would be worse as I now had two younger brothers to compete with. Luckily I could not be more wrong about how I really felt (and still feel) about him and he is honestly one of my favourite people. I also met the Queen (sort of) this year as I took part in a Girl Guides and Scouts parade in front of the Queen and Prince Philip at a local RAF base and I can still remember exactly what she was wearing and the whole day was just amazing.
This year was also quite a big year for the UK as well. One of the things that happened was the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, which if you are not from the UK or are not familiar with our monarchy, it was sixty years from when the Queen was coronated (when she officially became Queen) in February 1952. London also hosted the Olympics in July/August of this year and this was probably the first Olympics I can properly remember as I was only eight when the previous Olympics were held and as these were held in my home country it was a much more memorable experience. However, it was also a sad year as Neil Armstrong sadly died. If you did not know, he was the first man to set foot on the moon all the way back in 1969.
In the world of music, some of the songs out at that time included Gangnam Style (PSY), Diamonds (Rihanna), and Boyfriend (Justin Bieber). TV shows that came out in this year were Call the Midwife (BBC One), Line of Duty (was BBC Two, now BBC One), and The Undateables (Channel 4). Some of the films released this year were Skyfall (directed by Sam Mendes), The Hunger Games (directed by Gary Ross), and The Woman in Black (directed by James Watkins). Some of the technology released in this year included the launch of the third generation iPad, the release of the iPhone 5, and Netflix arrived in the UK as being able to watch TV and movies on demand.
2013:
I feel that 2013 was a year where nothing in particular happened to me. It was almost the calm before the storm, as you will see in what happened over the next few years. My baby brother turned one but that was pretty much the only thing that actually happened. It was also the year where I started my GCSEs (yes, my school made us start our GCSE's at the end of year 8 - please tell me someone else experienced this to).
In the news, scientists discovered the remains of Richard III's skeleton underneath a car park in Leicester. For those of you who do not know, he was an English King and reigned from 1483 to 1485 and was killed at the Battle of Bosworth, ending the Wars of the Roses. There was also the death of Margaret Thatcher, who was the first female Prime Minister in Britain and I think it is fair to say she was not the most liked Prime Minister we have ever had. There was also another death, and that was the death of Paul Walker who sadly died in a car crash in Los Angeles. He was an actor, possibly most notably known for the Fast and Furious film franchise.
Some of the songs released in 2013 were: Blurred Lines (Robin Thicke); Wrecking Ball (Miley Cyrus); and Mirrors (Justin Timberlake). Some of the TV shows that first aired during this year were: Mr Selfridge (ITV); Gogglebox (Channel 4); and The Call Centre (BBC3). Films that were released this year included: Frozen (directed by Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck); The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (directed by Francis Lawrence); and We're the Millers (directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber). On the technology side of things, some of the things that were released included: the launch of xbox one; the launch of the iPhone 5c and 5s; and that video was released of Amazon's proposals for drone-based prime delivery service.
2014:
This was the year that it all started to kick off for me. At the end of the year my parents split up and we moved in with my Uncle (although they never actually told me they had split up at the time). This was where a downward spiral in my life started, but more on that later. I also sat my first GCSE exam this year, but luckily it was only art and I had some Spanish coursework that was kind of like an exam but luckily we were allowed a sheet with some prompts on it to help us.
Some of the things that happened during this year included the death of Robin Williams, who when I first heard of this I remember not really knowing who he was until I realised he played the title role in Mrs Doubtfire and I am still in shock to this day over it. I think the whole world learnt something from this, that just because someone always seems smiley and happy on the outside does not mean they feel the same on the inside. If you are not from the UK, you may not be aware but this was the year that Scotland held an independence referendum, with the decision to remain in the UK with a 55% vote to stay. There was also the death of Peaches Geldof, who is the daughter of Bob Geldof who is behind Band Aid and the song 'Do They Know It's Christmas' . She sadly died of a heroin overdose and left behind two beautiful children and her husband Thomas Cohen. I can remember hearing of her death on the news and I was quite shocked and saddened by it because I used to read Hello! magazine once my Grandma had finished reading it and I always used to read about her in this magazine, but also because her children were so young at the time and would not ever really be able to remember their mum other than being shown photos of her.
Some of the music released in this year was: Uptown Funk (Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars); Thinking Out Loud (Ed Sheeran); and Shake It Off (Taylor Swift). There was many TV shows that debuted this year, including: Happy Valley (BBC One); Catherine Tate's Nan (BBC One); and Educating Joey Essex (ITV2). Films that were released in 2014 were: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - part 1 (directed by Francis Lawrence); The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (directed by Marc Webb); and The Lego Movie (directed by Chris Miller and Phil Lord). Finally, some of the technology that was released in this year included: selfie sticks becoming very prominent; virtual reality also became more widely known; and hoverboards seemed to become some what of a thing.
2015:
2015 was quite possibly the worst year of my life. At the beginning of the year my lovely Grandad sadly passed away after a short illness, which is something I am still to this day trying to get over. My parents also told me that they had indeed split up and that they were getting divorced. However, I did manage to get away and went on a school trip to DisneyLand Paris as part of a netball tournament. I also took my second lot of GCSEs in this year, which were core science, ancient history and my second lot of Spanish coursework.
In the news in this year there was the Paris terrorist attack that took place on the 13 November. This event was probably the first terrorist incident I can ever remember happening and the fact it had taken place somewhere that I had been in a few months earlier really hit home to me as if it had happened when I was there, it could have easily been me that was caught up in it. My deepest condolences go out to anyone reading this who was affected by this incident. There was also the BLUE AND GOLD dress (why people thought it was white and gold I do not know), that completely divided everyone everywhere (and little did we know something else would occur in the next year that would divide us even more). We also had to say goodbye to Zayn Malik, who left One Direction in March and caused me to sit on my sofa when I got home from school and saw the news and cry because I had no idea what this would mean for the future of the group (which we now know).
Some of the songs released in this year include: Hello (Adele); Sorry (Justin Bieber); and Drag Me Down (One Direction). We also had a number of different TV shows starting in this year: Peter Kay's Car Share (BBC One); Doctor Foster (BBC One); and Love Island (ITV2). There was also plenty of films released, including: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (directed by J.J. Abrams); Fifty Shades of Grey (directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson); and Pitch Perfect 2 (directed by Elizabeth Banks). We also had plenty of new technology released, including: the launch of windows 10; the launch of iPhone 6s and 6s plus; and the launch of the Amazon Echo.
2016:
This was another big year for me. I found someone who I thought was the perfect man for me, but given I was only sixteen at the time this was not to be and he played me quite badly. I did a few things I regret to this day and those things will always live with me, but I guess I should not really talk too much about that. I also finished by GCSEs and left school, only to return a few months later to start hell, I mean A-Levels. This year did have its fair share of lows, but this was probably one of the best years of my teenage life.
A pretty big headline in the news this year, and I hate to bring it up but I am going to have to do it anyway, was Brexit. I do not want to make this post political and do not wish to start voicing my views on Brexit and how I think the vote should have gone, but this is still a problem that our nation is having to live with to this day. This year also seemed to be the year of celebrity deaths, one of which was David Bowie, who was an amazing singer and sadly died at the age of 69. This also created possibly one of the best bits of TV of all time, when on Celebrity Big Brother David's ex-wife Angie told another housemate that David was dead, causing the other housemate to cause a stir as David Gest was also in the house at the time and she mistook him for being dead, not realising Angie was referring to David Bowie. There was also the death of Alan Rickman, who was an actor known for playing Snape in Harry Potter and Harry in Love Actually. He was much loved and incredibly talented and will forever be sorely missed.
In music, some of the songs released in this year were: One Dance (Drake, Wizkid and Kyla); Shout Out to My Ex (Little Mix); and Rockabye (Clean Bandit, Sean Paul and Anne-Marie). A few of the TV shows that debuted this year included: Fleabag (BBC Three); The Durrells (ITV); and Naked Attraction (Channel 4). Some of the films released this year were: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (directed by Gareth Edwards); Finding Dory (directed by Andrew Stanton); and Suicide Squad (directed by David Ayer). Finally, some of the technology released this year included: the Google Pixel; the iPhone SE; and Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge.
2017:
This was another big year for me. One thing that happened was I got my very first boyfriend and later on that year we broke up. Luckily it was not on bad terms, however we had been friends before we were together and we have never reignited that friendship which I am kind of gutted about as he was a really good friend but we had too many inside jokes that happened in our relationship and when we tried to be friends these kept on coming up so it was just best that we stayed apart. I guess this shows you should never date your friends. Another thing that happened was my parents divorce was finally finalised, which was super sad as this gave me the realisation that things would never be the same again and that I would be constantly finding myself being forced to take sides with one of my parents. However, a positive outcome of this was that I moved house, which was great because my childhood home did not have that many happy memories and its location was in the middle of nowhere and made it very difficult for me to be able to go out and spend time with my friends without having to make plans months in advance.
One thing that was in the news this year was the Manchester arena attack. There were 22 victims of this attack, with the youngest being an eight year old girl. My heart still goes out to the family and friends of those who lost their life in this attack, as well as to anyone who was injured or present at the concert. Ariana Grande held the 'One Love Manchester' concert two weeks later and the Oasis song 'Don't Look Back in Anger' really captivated the mood surrounding these attacks and how Manchester as a city and as a country we are all going to remain strong in the face of terrorist attacks. Just a matter of weeks later there was the London Bridge attack, which involved a vehicle driving into pedestrians and people being stabbed. Eight people were killed and 48 were injured. Again, my heart goes out to the victims and their families. There was also the Grenfell tower fire, which started due to a malfunctioning fridge-freezer, however only escalated to the extent that it did due to illegal cladding on the outside of the building. 72 people died and a further 70 were injured, with the youngest being a child who was stillborn as a result of his parents being injured in the fire. As with the other incidents, my thoughts and love go out to the victims, their family and friends.
Some of the music released this year included: Shape of You (Ed Sheeran); Despacito (Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber); and New Rules (Dua Lipa). There was many TV shows that debuted this year, including: This Country (BBC Three); First Dates Hotel (Channel 4); and The Handmaid's Tale (Channel 4). Films released this year included: Star Wars: The Last Jedi (directed by Rian Johnson); Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (directed by Jake Kasdan); and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (directed by James Gunn). Finally, some of the technology released this year was: the Nintendo Switch; the Apple Watch 3; and snapchat spectacles.
2018:
I cannot really remember a lot of what happened this year as I was under so much stress that I have genuinely forgotten everything that happened. What I can remember was that I went on a school trip to France and Belgium as part of Remembrance for World War I to look at the graves and memorial sites to find out more about it. I also finished my A-Levels and did much better than expected, which led me on to going to university. I also lost a few friends, but I have learnt to know that does not matter to lose people who were not bringing you any joy to your life.
A whole manner of things happened in the news this year. One of these was the death of Avicii, who was a DJ who sadly committed suicide. This really resonated with me as it really made me realise that just because someone is successful and appears to be happy, it does not mean that they are actually happy. There was also the Thai cave rescue, where twelve boys and their football coach became trapped in a cave in Thailand. Against the odds, they were rescued after two weeks of being trapped in there, despite the cave continuing to flood and there being very narrow tunnels which made it difficult for rescue divers to reach them. Luckily they all survived, however one of the rescue divers, Saman Gunan, died whilst trying to rescue them. We also sadly lost Stephen Hawking, who was an absolutely incredible man who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease at the age of 22 and defied the odds of living way past the three years he had been given to live. He was an amazing scientist and even though I have never really shown that much of an interest in science, I was always captivated by what he had to say on all things science related.
Some of the music that was released this year included: Freaky Friday (Lil Dicky and Chris Brown); One Kiss (Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa); and Thank U, Next (Ariana Grande). TV shows that debuted this year were: Bodyguard (BBC One); Vanity Fair (ITV); and Derry Girls (Channel 4). There was also plenty of films released throughout the year, including: Avengers: Infinity War (directed by Anthony Russo); Bohemian Rhapsody (directed by Bryan Singer); and Incredibles 2 (directed by Brad Bird). We also had plenty of technology that was released, with some of these being: the Dyson Airwrap; the Google Home Hub; and the Apple Watch Series 4.
2019:
Finally we are onto the final year of the decade and even though it was only this year, I really cannot remember anything that happened, but that is probably because nothing really that significant happened. My lovely Nan had a stroke, which came as quite a shock and she is still recovering from it but luckily she is doing okay and is probably even fitter than me. I also lost a few friends and managed to finished my first year of university with a 2:1 and am now onto my second year but that is pretty much it.
Luckily in the news a whole lot more happened than what happened in my life. Vegan sausage rolls hit the shelves in Greggs, as well as receiving a whole lot of criticism as apparently vegans do not exist and everyone should be made to eat meat. If you are not interested in trying something or do not like something, that is fine but you do not need to demand they get removed just because you do not like them. I personally have not tried one of these as I never really go into Greggs but I would really like to try one at some point. Students went on strike in protest for climate change and as part of the extension rebellion campaign. I think this is really important and it upsets me that many of the older generation just do not seem to care about something that is going to, and is currently, affecting all of us. I was happy to see these students on strike and I really regret not being able to be one of those involved in the protests, but I never really knew when one was happening until the actual day where I could not change my plans or until after it had happened. Britain also had probably one of its biggest and most important general elections to date. The Conservatives did get an overwhelming majority and it seems that many peoples plans for a tactical vote did not work, but why this happened I do not know.
In music, some of the songs released included: Someone You Loved (Lewis Capaldi); Senorita (Shawn Mendes and Camilla Caballo); and Dance Monkey (Tones and I). TV shows that debuted in this year were: Years and Years (BBC One); Gentleman Jack (BBC One); and RuPaul's Drag Race UK (BBC Three). There was also plenty of films released in this year, including: Toy Story 4 (directed by Josh Cooley); Rocketman (directed by Dexter Fletcher); and Cats (directed by Tom Hooper). Finally, some of the technology that was released this year was: the iPhone 11; Apple Airpods Pro; and the Nintendo Switch Lite.
So that is it for the 2010s. I spent my teenage years in this decade, and now we are going into the 2020s I am going to be entering my twenties and the beginning of my adult years. I started my blog in this decade and now I am entering a completely new phase of life. I do not think at the beginning of the decade I expected my life to be how it is now, but it is definitely where I am supposed to be. If I could speak to my nine year old self, I would tell her to put herself out there more and to speak up for herself when she feels the need to. I would tell her to stop worrying about what other people think and to just live life for herself. I am not going to lie but I am worried about what the next decade is going to bring. I think because, different from this decade, I actually have to make my own decisions on what to do with my life and go into the world of work. I also think because people kind of expect you to settle down in your 20s, get married and have children, I have the pressure of doing all of this when I do not know if any of this is actually going to happen.
If this has been a bad decade, or even year, for any of you, I can only hope that the next year and decade is a happier one for you. If it has been a good year and decade for you, I can only hope it remains the same or even better. So, happy new year and happy new decade to you all and I hope it is the start of the best that is yet to come.
Love Beth xx