2022 was a crazy year that came with its fair share of highs and lows. Here are the major events (at least in America) for every month, January to November. The good, bad, and ugly.

2022 kicked off with the new covid variant Omicron, and a new surge of cases to go with it. America got a record million new cases, with 95 percent of them a result of Omicron. The UK passed 150,000 Covid deaths. It wasn’t all bad however, as new quarters commemorating black poet Maya Angelou began to mint on the 10th. 

February 4th brought the Winter Olympics in Beijing, though many countries boycotted this year due to evidence of human rights issues and censorship in China. The biggest February headline however, was the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24th, displacing 18 million Ukrainian citizens.

March started with U.S President Biden condemning Putin’s invasion in his state of the union address, and announcing a ban on Russian imports. 

Amid rising civilian casualties in Ukraine, tornadoes hitting New Orleans suburbs, and fires raging throughout the southwest, we got a brief distraction from doom and gloom in the form of the 2021 Oscars. The heartwarming film, CODA, won best picture, and actor Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock on stage for a joke about Smith’s wife.

April was more positive, with the 64th Grammys crowning Olivia Rodrigo the best new artist and band Silk Sonic’s “Leave the Door Open” best song. Later that week, Ketanji Brown Jackson was appointed to the Supreme Court, becoming the first ever black woman to do so. 

May kicked off with a nationwide shortage of baby formula, affecting thousands of mothers across the country. With continuing war in Ukraine, the EU blocked ⅔ of Russian oil imports. The month ended with a man disguised as an elderly woman hurling a cake at the Mona Lisa, which survived undamaged. 

In June, we had the Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard court cases, in which the former couple both sued each other for defamation. When the dust had settled, Johnny Depp had claimed 15 million from his ex-wife. Roe V. Wade, the law legalizing abortion in America, was overturned. Ketanji Brown Jackson was officially sworn into the Supreme Court. 

July came with the assassination of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, during a speech. 25 year old Olympic gymnast Simone Biles became the youngest person to ever receive a presidential medal of freedom, and Monkeypox was declared a public health emergency by the WHO (World Health Organization). 

On to August, in which conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was ordered to pay 4.1 million dollars to the families of students killed in the Sandy Hook shooting in compensation for damaging misinformation he spread regarding the students’ deaths. Later in the month, British author Salman Rushdie was stabbed repeatedly on stage during a reading. The month also brought president Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and tax cuts in an attempt to halt the falling price of the U.S dollar. 

September came with the death of Queen Elizabeth II, 96, on the 8th. She had served as Queen for 70 years, as the UKs longest serving monarch and only to receive a Platinum Jubilee award earlier in the year. It wasn’t all bad however, with President Biden declaring an end to the Covid Pandemic though “we still have problems with Covid,” and the Cuban legalization of same sex mairage. 

Already October, and what an eventful month. Elon musk buys twitter for 44 billion dollars, and singer-songwriter Taylor Swift became the first ever artist to claim all 10 slots on the U.S billboard hot 100 chart. Acclaimed rapper Kanye West made a dramatic slew of anti-semetic comments both on social media and during live interviews, but retribution was swift. Companies partnered with West including Balenciaga and Adidas cut their ties. 

November, as always in America, brought politics. This year’s share came in the form of the midterms, with Democrats winning the senate in a tight race. Nancy Pelosi, speaker for the U.S house of representatives, announced she is stepping down, former president Donald Trump announced he is running for re-election in 2024, and current president Joe Biden became the first octogenarian to ever serve in the oval office when he turned 80 on the 20th. 

Though 2022 is not over yet, quite a bit has happened in these past 11 months. With luck, our new year will bring a few more highs and a few less lows.