Everything should end on a positive note, even the last online article of this editorial staff. When I applied to be the editor-in-chief of this academic year, I was aware that it would be different than any other year. However, I think none of us were prepared for the wild rollercoaster it was going to be. 

Throughout this academic year, the committee has reported on plenty of terrible or dangerous events that happened around the globe. However, as I am also a firm believer in happy endings, I feel like it is my responsibility to inform you for one last time about the good news that has happened in the first half-year of 2021.

First and foremost, we started with our way out of this pandemic. At the beginning of this year (actually, it started in December of 2020), the world started with vaccinating. Especially in the Western states, the ball started rolling with most of those states now having vaccinated at least half of their adult population. Even though a lot needs to be done for countries that cannot afford or simply do not have the vaccine, it is a new beginning of change.

Secondly, Reddit Investors Use GameStop Proceeds To Help Protect Gorillas. We all heard the news about how Reddit users came together and invested in GameStop stocks. Not focusing on the drama that came with it, some good has come of it. Investors are putting their revenue from the investment towards wildlife conservation and gorillas are the big beneficiary. Over $350,000 has been contributed to a fund that will help protect gorillas. 

Thirdly, an astrophysicist from Edinburgh University is the first woman to be named Astronomer Royal for Scotland. Prof Catherine Heymans was recommended to the Queen for the role by an international panel, convened by the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Her research seeks to shed light on the mysteries of dark energy and dark matter – entities that together account for more than 95% of the universe.

Finally, the famous Zoo in Amsterdam, Artis, declared during the pandemic that it was not possible for the lions to stay in Zoo as their habitat would take too much money to renovate that simply was not there. Despite the outcry and the raising of money by the public, the original plan was to move the animals to France but this got cancelled in the end due to a lack of space in the French zoo. Only recently, Artis announced that the lions could stay as there are two anonymous donors who are willing to pay for the renovation costs. 

I have written it in all my editorials and in this article, but this academic year has been a wild one. We have seen the most inhumane news come by and have experienced things we wished we never had to witness. However, all bad things come eventually to an end, creating a happy ending that we all deserve. 

For further reading:
– https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-56438230#:~:text=Reddit%20users%20have%20been%20symbolically,in%20less%20than%20a%20week.
– https://physicsworld.com/a/catherine-heymans-appointed-first-female-astronomer-royal-for-scotland/

Picture by Reuters