2008: A Retrospective

Intro
This is a really long post so to make it easier to read I’m breaking it up into parts. It was obviously written as one piece but if you read all of these individual posts from top to bottom it should still make sense – I hope. Enjoy.

I know this is late to be doing a year in review thing but I’ve been meaning to write this for a few weeks now and due to work, the holidays, etc. I haven’t been able to get it done. It’s Jan. 8 – no more excuses so I’m just going to write this and hopefully you don’t mind reading about everything that made this year so interesting for the umpteenth time.

Without a doubt, this year lived up to the hype as being one which will reshape the lives of everyone in our generations. The positive and negative events (and there were many of both) will have far-reaching effects for years to come. Rather than write about how I think I’ll feel about 2008 20 years from now, I’m going to write about what I feel right now; since I obviously have no way of knowing how I’ll feel 20 – or two for that matter – years from now.

The best comparison I’ve come up with for this year (and the one that I’m confident everyone reading this will get) is that 2008 was like a really stereotypical college party. Think about it for a minute and I think you’ll agree. Like any decent party, there were some great moments during the past 12 months. I mean really, really great fucking moments. Like winning a beer-pong game in triple overtime. Or watching some dumb freshman girl try and make it to the bathroom after doing a 30-second keg-stand. Or like starting a spontaneous game of flip cup at 3 a.m. Or rocking out to your favorite classic rock ballad. You get the point. 2008 had some awesome moments to remember.

But, also like any (or most) parties I can remember there were plenty of bad memories as well. And I’m not talking about the meaningless drama that accompanies a fun party like when the room goes silent as a couple gets into an awkward screaming match as their mutual friends stare at the floor. I mean this year had some all-out holy shit moments. Like “Guys, the cops are outside and they want to talk to you.” Or like on a morning-after when you realize that you filled the basin of your bathroom sink with some puke even though the toilet was one foot away.

Okay enough with the dumb analogies. Below, I’ll try and briefly list why I feel 08 was a party to remember.