2018 has been an eventful year to say the least, everyday there has been noteworthy news come out about different national, local, and worldwide events.

However, as the year comes to a close, here is a recap of the important events of the year.

Early this year in February, the Winter Olympics took place in Pyeongchang, South Korea, against the backdrop of tensions with North Korea over its nuclear missile program.

Norway ruled, dominating the rest of the world in the final Olympic medal count.

Ester Ledecka of the Czech Republic drew mainstream attention by becoming the first woman to win an Olympic gold medal in two different sports at the same Winter Olympic Games.

Although the United States fell short, the country did manage to pull off many medals and recognition through its athletes.

The United States ended with 9 gold, 8 silver, and 6 bronze medals.

Closer to home, the Superbowl LII this year proved to be an exciting event, with the New England Patriots playing the underdog Philadelphia Eagles.

The Eagles proved victorious, the final score was 41-33.

Also in February, the end of the Castro Era happened in Cuba with Raul Castro stepping aside as president.

This ended nearly six decades of Castro leadership in Cuba.

In March, for the first time, the youth rose up to protest gun violence in school.

The movement, known as March for Our Lives, was organized by students throughout the country to share their anger against the many young lives lost at  the hands of firearms.

In April, Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg testified against the US Senate about the use of Facebook data in targeting American voters during the 2016 election.

The trial sprung up a lot of debate about the internet and privacy online.

In

May, Prince Harry of the UK married US actress Meghan Markle at Windsor castle, giving the couple the official title of Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

The royal wedding was a worldwide phenomenon bringing in 1.9 billion viewers.

During the summer, the 2018 FIFA World Cup took place, with France pulling the title of winner.

In June, the North Korea-United States summit took place, the meeting was considered historic as Trump and Kim Jon Un signed an agreement to “work towards the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula”.

Throughout the early parts of the year, the tensions between the two countries had been escalating, so the meeting proved to be a step towards peace for the two nations.

In September, President Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy on the United States Supreme Court.

The confirmation of Kavanaugh proved to be a whirlwind of events, as he faced sexual misconduct accusations.

The confirmation demonstrated again the division in American politics and sparked debate about how to handle sexual misconduct accusations.

In November, the midterm elections took place, the first serious electoral test for President Trump, resulted in a bipartisan Congress, with the Democrats taking the House, and the Republicans taking the Senate.

The Midterm election held record breaking voter turnout, including that of youth voter turnout, proving that Americans are beginning to see politics differently.

In December, the COP24 environmental summit in Katowice, Poland is expected to make key decisions concerning the implementation of the Paris climate accords.

The issue of climate change has been growing ever more present this year, research has found that immediate action must be taken in order to preserve the way of life as we know it. 

The meeting proved successful, the Paris Climate Accords are living on.

 With this year coming to a close, it’s important to look back and reflect on the year’s biggest events in order to decide as a nation, and as a human race, how we can work to improve ourselves for the future years to come.