As 2021 comes to an end it's easy to write this year off with all the doom and gloom. 107 days of lockdown, yet another new strain of COVID, vaccination mandates and possible WW3 over Taiwan.
However apocalyptic the world feels right now if you look hard enough there is always a sparkle of light. So for the last article of 2021 I'd like to focus on all the amazing things that has happened over the last 12 months.
We're beating the bugs: This year we've managed to wipe out one of the biggest strains of influenza - the Yamagata virus which used to kill around half a million people a year. Malarias days are also numbered thanks to a life saving vaccine (the first ever for a parasitic disease) and drones spreading anti mosquito spray in Africa. While we are still fighting COVID in it's various forms 2021 saw the first lot of vaccines approved for New Zealand and 90% of our eligible population is now vaccinated meaning we will hopefully have less lockdowns and serious complications in future.
Nature is blossoming: 2021 has seen a host of species come off the endangered species list including the much beloved panda. Enforced fishing quotas has meant that the Atlantic Tuna is on it's way back. Bison and Wolves are back in Europe and Tigers in China.
Reddit adopted gorillas: In just 6 days 3,600 gorillas were adopted by an online Reddit community wallstreetbets. Why? It's a long complicated story involving shorting stocks, corrupt hedge funds and a little company called GameStop. But really all we care about is an enormous amount of money and awareness was given to some pretty special apes.
The world is celebrating indigenous culture: Juneeth (the date of African Americans were emancipated from slavery) has finally become a federal holiday in the USA and our very own Maori New Year Matariki will become a public holiday in 2022.
New Zealand was COVID free; sort of: It's easy to forget but while the rest of the world was in lockdowns New Zealand managed to live a fairly COVID free existence until August this year.
Americas Cup: Not only did we have an epic summer of festivals and gatherings but we got to host and WIN the cup again! While the rest of the world was locked up in their homes they watched as New Zealanders gathered in the thousands in the sunshine all across Auckland to watch the races.
Paul Rudd sexiest man: 2021 has seen the world embrace the kind, funny and all round good human that is Paul Rudd. Showing that nice guys don't finish last.
As for us? Even with all the obstacles The Little Beautique has managed to grow. We bought in our Skin Journeys, our Dermalux LED, several new retail ranges as well as our first collab and our very own line of reusable face masks. We've even managed to give back to the community through our candle line which donated to The Mums Clique, our pop up clinic at Kia Ora Kids community house and various donations to local raffles, charities and individuals. We've sadly lost some staff to the overseas pull and the vaccine mandate but that just means that 2022 will bring more amazing individuals to our team and community helping us grow as people and as a business.
While 2021 certainly has challenged us all I remain positive that our future looks bright and we can expect even more amazing things for 2022.