Tonight, we say goodbye and farewell to yet another year. Every year has its highs and lows and 2024 was no different. When I think about highs and lows in 2024, a lot of things come to mind, including many global issues and crises. But, frankly, if I were to think of a couple of images that sum up both crushing defeat and our ability to rise up and out of the ashes, I think about buildings. Yeah, that’s right. In April of 2024, the iconic and historic Danish building and tourist attraction Børsen (which translates to ‘the stock exchange’) burned down. I was in Copenhagen on the day that it happened, and I remember how I and everyone around me lost focus and just started looking out of the window at smoke rising, as a building that’s always been a part of our lives was suddenly gone before you knew it. There is hope that it can be rebuilt, and it is that hope that I want to highlight here because, as a symbol, I am immediately reminded of the reopening of the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris following its own tragic and fiery catastrophe. When we fall, we can rise again. If we do it together, we can rebuild what we hold dear. And even though the state of the world can look scary, we can unite around worthy causes to keep culture and history alive for generations to come. We need that hope.
We need it because, as I said, there are a lot of scary things going on in the world. The Israel-Hamas war is still ongoing. The war between Russia and Ukraine, following the former’s cruel and unjust invasion of the latter, is not slowing down and it appears that it could be escalating. It’s really scary. At the same time, the United States crushed a lot of hope this year including in its presidential election. I think a lot of people, myself included, held onto hope that on election day people would show up and prove that Donald Trump is not as frighteningly popular as his supporters would have us believe. It didn’t happen. Trump has been reelected with a result so emphatic that it shocked democratic nations everywhere. I fear for the effects of his second term as POTUS, as he symbolizes a dangerous challenge to historic and democratic American values. Maybe those of us that worry will be wrong in the end. Maybe there is hope. We need it. But his statements even before he has taken office are concerning, as he continues to threaten age-old traditions of American responsibility, as well as threaten his allies, Denmark included.
On a personal note, it’s been up and down. Career-wise, I can’t really say that anything significantly positive has happened, unfortunately. I hope that my dream job is still waiting for me. On the plus side, my sister gave birth to twins, is now a happy mother of three, and I am so happy for her and her little family. Also, I am grateful for the fact that my family and I are in good health. As I always say, all I want is for my family and my friends to be healthy, to be happy, and to live long and fulfilling lives. As we say goodbye to another year and welcome 2025, my hope and wish, on a personal note, is for that good health, good fortune, love, and strength to continue forever. When it comes to my hopes and wishes for the world, I hope that the armed conflicts and wars will have happy endings. I hope for justice. I hope for the safety and strength of civilians. I hope that our brightest and best dreams for the world can become reality, despite the despair that filled a lot of people in moments this year, including on, but not limited to, election night in America.
Hope is a powerful thing and it is never foolish. We have to hope that those in power will take the preventive steps needed to combat climate change. Sometimes it feels like, with all the scary things going on in the world, climate change is being forgotten or ignored by people in power. That is unacceptable. We have a responsibility to our world, our climate, and the animals that walk, swim, or fly among us. Hopefully, in 2025, we can take positive steps in the right direction.
If you’re reading this and are good-hearted, then I am also thankful for you, and I wish you the best in the coming year. Let’s hope, fight, and speak up for what is right. Let’s try to make 2025 the best year that it can be.
Sending love, kind thoughts, and positive energy your way.
Happy New Year!
– Article Written by Jeffrey Rex Bertelsen.
I'm Jeffrey Rex 