I can’t help but remember the collective feeling of hope that the world shared in the beginning of 2021.

COVID-19 took center stage as 2020, the year that the world hoped would never repeat itself, drew to a close. Classes at NDB were online at the time, and the global pandemic situation after the holidays was near its worst. Still, the most abundant feeling was hope, especially hope that the world was nearing the end of the pandemic.

There was also a great deal of hope surrounding the new president. Many looked forward to and were pleased with the serious handling of the virus from the administration. From President Biden’s creation of the Coronavirus Task Force to working with the World Health Organization, Biden showed he was serious about stopping COVID-19. Still, the virus that many had thought would be gone in a matter of weeks controlled every aspect of life for 10 months.

Make that 22 months. 2021 was not quite the year of re-opening we thought it would be. Still, much progress was made especially in the summer. In June, the weekly average of cases hit an all-time low since February of 2020. International travel resumed and California even lifted its indoor mask mandate for a few weeks. It was put back in place when the Delta variant spread throughout California.

NDB opened up to campus learning in August. Although still masked, the student population was together again, and the Monarchs experienced their Freshman year like the Dragons never got to.

Omicron has become a household word. The variant that first entered the United states in November has been found to be highly infectious, to both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. Although its symptoms are generally regarded as less serious than those of Delta or the original COVID-19 virus.

It has been 22 months of COVID-19, and 22 months of COVID-19 news. Forgive me for putting another story centered around the virus in front of you. 2021 taught us an unfortunate but very important lesson: COVID-19 was in it for the long run. The term “years” is used now when talking about the pandemic, a concept that would have scared individuals everywhere when the lockdown began.

Although NDB has gone back in person and things are looking up in many ways, the pandemic is not over, and COVID-19 is still very present. Last year, I made the mistake of believing that we were done, or at least nearing the end of the pandemic. As 2022 begins, I won’t make that mistake again. I know that this is going to be a long battle, and the best that can be done is to keep fighting. The world will heal, but for now, staying safe and encouraging others to do the same is the best thing to do.