I think we can all agree that 2020 has not been the year we were expecting. While the media has been full of negative news, I wanted to bring you the better, more cheerful side of 2020 with some good news! Some you may have heard about and some may be new to you. I hope this can help you see the positive side of a bad situation and know that 2020 is almost over! Haha. 

SpaceX Successful Launch
In May 2020, Elon Musk launched the first private space shuttle, changing the future of space travel as we know it. Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley launched on the shuttle called the Crew Dragon, on a trip to the international space station. The idea of the Crew Dragon is to take people to and from the International Space Station in hopes to start regular space travel missions and eventually colonization on Mars in the probably far future. On August 2nd, the Crew Dragon capsule successfully returned the two astronauts home.  

Ryan Reynolds to the Rescue
On July 24th, 2020, Mara Soriano lost a teddy bear that was in her backpack when it was stolen in Vancouver, Canada. The teddy bear contained a recording of her late mothers voice, and meant the world to her. This story caught the attention of Canadian born Ryan Reynolds, who shared the story with all of his twitter followers and urged people to pass it on to help this girl find her missing bear. Reynolds even personally offered a reward of $5k to whoever finds the bear, no questions asked. This prompted more people to want to pitch in reward money, but the owner of the bear asked for them to instead donate it to the palliative care center that treated her mother. This story has a happy ending though, with the bear being safely returned home without a scratch, only a missing pair of glasses. 

Virtual Museums
With many places under lockdown and schools closed, parents looked to online to help teach and occupy their kids. Museums around the world took this as a great opportunity and introduced more virtual tours you can take from the comfort of your own home. Varying from local smaller museums to larger museums around the world, there are topics and pieces that everyone can enjoy, including ancient Egypt, various art exhibits, and even Dinosaurs. You can even virtually visit the Louvre without going to Paris, though I personally wouldn't mind going to both anyway. HERE is a link to some museums around the world that offer the in-home adventure!  

Diversity around the World
Though 2020 has been rough in many ways when it comes to diversity, there have been many positive things as well! Here are a few of the positive changes in diversity so far for 2020:
First woman pilot in the Indian Navy- Sub Lieutenant Shivangi is the first woman pilot to join the navy in Indian history. Up until 1992, India's Naval forces only allowed women to join in the medical fields. Shivangi wanted to become a pilot since she was a little girl, and has shown that if you put your mind to it, dreams can come true.
Chicago elected first African-American openly gay female mayor- What a mouthful, but an impressive one at that. Lori Lightfoot wasn't just the first African-American woman to become mayor, but also the first openly gay person as well. It's great to hear some positive news from America when the News now a days seems to be filled with negativity, 
Taking Over the Pageant World- Four current titleholders in major pageants have been woman of colour. Did you know black woman were not allowed to compete in Miss America pageants until the 1940's, and didn't actually hit the stage until 30 years later! This year, Miss Universe, Miss World, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA were all woman of colour.

There are many other examples of Diversity in the world, I just chose a couple to talk about. Please feel free to look round and let me know of any more examples you have found or know of personally!

Music, Music and MUSIC
Music can be so important to people, and 2020 has not stopped the music industry from releasing some major albums! From Lady Gaga's Chromatica, to BTS' Map of the Soul: 7, there's something for everyone to listen to. There was even a song here in Canada performed by Canadian artists to raise awareness of how important essential workers are. If you are interested, HERE is a list of all the albums that have been released in 2020 so far, and it's a long list! 

I hope that you can see that 2020 isn't all bad, and hey, it's almost over!! I wish you all the best for the remainder of the year and hope that 2021 is a better year for all of us! Stay Positive!