The good stuff: Axios D.C.'s 2021 highlights

The District's second pandemic year has been rocky. It started with an insurrection in our backyard and is ending with another COVID surge, but there's been some good stuff in there too, including:

• The Washington Spirit won their first national championship.
• The Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge, D.C.'s largest infrastructure project, opened ahead of schedule.
• In-person events resumed, and we were able to get together for summer festivals such as the H Street Fest, sporting events, and concerts.
• Black Lives Matter Plaza, which was replicated across the country, officially became a permanent fixture in D.C.

Plus, our readers had some bright spots this year:

• "Taking my son to a Nats game for the first time in nearly six years and topping it off by watching him play catch with Juan Soto." - George K.
• "I reached 4 continuous yrs. of sobriety." - David R.
• "Taking the Coursera/Yale course "The Science of Well-Being"... What I learned... was that doing simple things, or extending courtesies, that made random people (i.e. strangers) smile is quite satisfying. The course enabled me to find a lot of brightness in what otherwise seems like a bleak year." - Frank B.

• "We continue to enjoy our Stoop Family and adopted grandchildren that we attained amid Covid. Just before the very beginning of lockdown - March 15, 2020 - we made a point to know our neighbors. We put notes on all 8 houses on our side of the street inviting them to a socially distanced outdoor barbecue. Everyone came and they've since become very dear friends to us and with each other. It's made the pandemic not only bearable but has been the silver lining of an otherwise challenging time. We had a painting done of all the houses and had prints made for the neighbors who have been dubbed “The Stoop Group 2020.” - Michelle T.
• "The best thing for me was surviving a leukemia diagnosis and bone marrow transplant 12/1/20. After spending last Christmas at Johns Hopkins, this Christmas, I am home with family. I just celebrated my first 'Re-birthday' on 12/1/21." - Catherine B.

• "This year, I landed my first, full-time job in public relations after graduating college in 2020!" Julia H.
• "Proposing to my fiancée (in DC)." - Jesse R.

On a personal note, launching our newsletter was a huge highlight for our team. Here are some others:

• Cuneyt's personal highlight was returning to D.C. and the local journalism beat.
• Chelsea's personal highlight was adopting her cat Tiger and teaching journalism at the University of Maryland.
• Paige's favorite moment of the year was getting engaged in Paris and moving back to the D.C. area with her fiancé, Jeremy.
• Our editor Kayla really loved spending 2021 training her Australian Shepherd puppy Kirby and sharing his adventures with the Axios D.C. fam.