The 2023 Paradox
A Small Year, with a Big Agenda
C. D. Michel
“THE YEAR HAS GONE SO QUICKLY”. A quote almost everyone resonates with, annually around this time of year. The same feeling of disbelief, as we realise that another year has just slipped out of our hands without even noticing. Somehow we are only one month away from 2024, however, the year feels only half full. So, I’m going to try and make this year feel much more complete by fittingly ending the Term on a 2023 review to remind ourselves of how much has really happened this 2023.
January. Despite only having one day of actual school in January, a lot happened just a mere 11 months ago. The year started with Novak Djokovic winning his 10th Australian Open. Then, on the 20th of January, Ice Spice played an instrumental role in changing everyone’s TikTok FYP’s (For you page) to her new album Like…? followed by Lil Yachty’s 2023 album Let’s start here. However, most monumentally, Shore finally adopted the school laptops and incorporated them into every year group by the end of the month.
February. Most notable in February was the Turkey-Syria earthquakes, with a magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter scale. This natural disaster resulted in the death of over 50,000 people, and another fifteen million people were displaced. At School, the summer season of Sport continued successfully after the summer holiday hiatus; the 4th XI Toadies had gathered the support of the whole school, and Shore SLS won the Sir Adrian Curlew Cup by a landslide for another consecutive year.
March. Now this was one of the most unforgettable times of the year for Shore Sport. In March the whole school watched on as our crews did us proud, five of the Shore crews finished on the podium, and the Year 10 4th XIII, coming first at the Head of the River. Not only that, but there were successful House rivalries at the annual athletics carnival in which I presume Burns won for the 50th time in a row (It’s definitely rigged). The month also held the 115th anniversary of the Shore Cadet Unit, in which cadets from Year 9 to Year 11 took part in another successful ceremonial parade. On the international scale, China went viral for banning TikTok and saving their population from wasting hours procrastinating.
2023 Ceremonial Parade
April. Even after doing research, I can’t lie; April seemed like a filler month. Nothing too much happened. Most of the month was during school holidays as boys continued to pursue individual hobbies. Furthermore, the month was nothing groundbreaking for movies, games, TV shows, or music album releases either.
May. The month started with the King’s coronation, the first coronation since 1953. Then, on the 19th of May, the Year 8s took the stage with their rendition of Treasure Island. This month also marked the start of the Winter Sport season as all boys trialled and tried to achieve greatness by being selected for the mighty A’s, or the Firsts. To put the cherry on top, Jeremy Garelick released Murder Mystery 2, starring Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston.
June. An absolute month of disasters globally. As peak Summer temperatures swept over the Northern Hemisphere bush fires ravaged uncontrollably, especially in North America and Europe. To further the destructive nature of June, the infamous Oceangate Submarine went missing, only to have been found too late, after the submarine had imploded at 4,000 metres below sea level. Not only did chaos ensue in North America, but in India, catastrophe struck as a “triple-train collision” caused the death of almost 300 people. While only lasting for a week or so, the Grimace Shake was extremely hazardous, sweeping across America, and causing insanity and insomnia for all who encountered it.
July. To lighten the mood, July came with its highlights. Barbie and Oppenheimer, or “Barbenheimer” swarmed the internet while also dominating the box office, grossing just under AU$2 billion in tandem. Furthermore, Instagram’s side hustle, Threads was released. To be honest, nobody really knows what it is used for but it was something new. On the music scene, both Travis Scott and Post Malone successfully dropped their new albums Utopia, and Austin, respectively.
August. Shore was very busy with co-curricular activities this month. The senior committee was re-established with new leaders (M Kwak, and B Dent), who have made this year’s Shore Weekly Record some of the best. Most importantly, in August, it was Science Week. The annual egg drop, paper plane competitions and the most anticipated event of the year, the science comp was held. The month raised levels of excitement as the Women’s FIFA World Cup had the most nail-biting penalties the world has ever seen, in the Australia vs France quarter-final [0-0] (7-6 penalties).
The Matildas celebrating after reaching the semi-finals
September. Despite quitting economics as of recently, I still find the moment to be mentionable when walking into class as Mr Wells solemnly told us the devastating news that Phillip Lowe would not be reappointed as the governor of the RBA. The school Term finished with the strong man competition, and another successful BIVOUAC camp. The last day of the month was the exhilarating AFL Grand Final, between the Brisbane Lions and Collingwood, in which Collingwood took the win [90-86].
October. Despite the AFL Grand Final being intense, nothing beats this year’s NRL Grand Final; In which the Penrith Panthers managed to come back from a score of [8-24], to [26-24] against the Broncos. The month also involved the start of the Rugby World Cup, and the Cricket World Cup, making the Term 3 and 4 holidays an intense time for Sport. Furthermore, the Israeli-Hamas conflict turned Gaza into a warzone, leaving many displaced.
While the rest of the year awaits, I hope this article makes your year feel much more complete. However, what’s the point of looking at the past if we can only go forward? Get excited for an extremely hot summer, the Meg 2, Christmas, and more. 2023 is just starting!