Another strange year has reached its natural end, and to be honest, we're not too sure where all that time has gone.
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It feels like we've been locked down since Christmas 2019, and now suddenly, it's 2022. How did that happen?
Surely it comes as no surprise to anyone on the planet to be told that this year, COVID-19 was our biggest story.
Firstly, it was the Delta strain that caused a panic, and then Omicron emerged to round out the year.
The daily updates and unfolding dramas as the nation and the world came to grips with its second pandemic year kept us in the newsroom very busy.
As lockdowns kept our streets congestion free, however, the wildlife took over.
There were sightings of native animals getting about on busy highways, and even some prehistoric creatures out and about in Cowra, NSW!
Lockdowns, of course, sparked protests across the country and, apparently, the world.
In October, rally cries of 'save Australia' were heard outside the Australian Consulate in New York City.
Back home, in November, 'free Victoria' chants rang out from the state's parliament as protesters drove a gallows through the streets.
The assembly was in defiance of the proposed 'pandemic bill' which would give the state's premier sweeping controls to sanction lockdowns.
As the vaccination rate climbed though, we managed to see some freedoms emerge by the time we reached October.
The weather this year opted for destruction as we welcomed La Nina again.
Parts of the country witnessed several tornadoes and earthquakes within a matter of weeks.
One half of the continent faced extensive flooding and rain.
There was even a moment when a house started floating down the Manning River near Taree.
Meanwhile, the other half saw bushfires and heatwaves return.
We also saw snow falling around the nation... in November!
Straight up blizzard conditions in the middle of spring. Madness!
Globally, geopolitics turned dramatic with the growing feud over submarines with the French prime minister.
And remember that time US President Joe Biden forgot our prime minister's name?!
This year marked 20 years since New York's Twin Towers came crashing down in the terror attack on September 11.
Canberra Times reporter Steve Evans told us the harrowing tale of how a coffee stop saved his life on that fateful morning.
As history repeated, the fall of Kabul to the Taliban left us with heartbreaking scenes of destruction and families torn apart across Afghanistan.
It was certainly hard to find hope in the midst of all that was churning this year.
But, this was also a Census and Olympic year if you can remember back to July-August. It feels like an eternity ago.
Olympian Sam Ficker became an unexpected highlight of our year as we watched his ascension on the world stage, and on the TikTok stratosphere.
Who would have thought that could be the antidote to some of our troubles?
The world went just a little wild for the break-out Korean Netflix drama Squid Games in November.
Australian TikToker Alistair Fawcus re-imagined what the show would look like if it was set on Aussie shores.
Through all the COVID news, in August, we were accidentally introduced to the nation's new best friend: Ken Behrens.
Chief Minister of the ACT, Andrew Barr even went so far as to "thank Ken Behrens for doing the right thing", as the Delta strain continued to spread across the nation.
And so, from the unfortunate auto-captioning error was birthed the year's best meme.
This year, we at Australian Community Media embarked on our most ambitious multimedia projects with the release of the Forgotten River podcast and documentay.
The large-scale cinematic experience involved a team of reporters, editors, filmographers and podcasters and culminated in a half-hour documentary about the Murray Darling River politics.
Following on from the documentary's success, in November, the team came together again to create an exclusive day-in-the-life look at cricketer Chris Cairn's recovery from an aortic dissection.
The Canberra-based retired allrounder and wife Melanie opened up to The Canberra Times in a wide-ranging interview after being told his heart "looked like a grenade had gone off in his chest".
The resignation of NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian amid ICAC investigations sparked something of an exodus from the state's parliament.
In October, several long-standing politicians declared they would leave Macquarie Street, including Deputy Premier John Barilaro and transport minister Andrew Constance.
In November, the nation breathed a collective sigh of relief as police rescued missing four-year-old Cleo Smith after nearly three weeks missing in Western Australia.
The search for missing child William Tyrrell took an unfortunate turn for the worst in November. Police revealed they no longer held hope for him to be found alive.
The boy was last seen in 2014 near Kendall, NSW. Large scale searches took place again throughout November and December.
Climate change and the race to 'net zero' became hotly debated issues this year.
In November, one of NSW's oldest power stations was partially demolished to make way for a new, greener refurbishment.
There's something so mesmerising about watching smoke stacks tumble to the ground in plumes of dust!
No doubt next year will deliver memorable moments at the same velocity as this year.
It is, after all, an election year.
Queue the foghorns!