The countdown is on. Now that Christmas is over, it is just days before the start of a new year.

I find myself always excited to usher in this new beginning with hopes and desires of making it my best year ever.

This year, I feel the same way except, not only will I be celebrating the start of a new year, but also a new decade.

Years ago, when I lived on Summerhill Drive, one of my neighborhood friends said she made a point of learning something new when she reached these milestones in her life.

I thought that was a wonderful way to look at life. Every 10 years, instead of groaning about getting older, she found something that would allow her to look forward to aging.

What an awesome concept about life.

Unfortunately, while I admired her endeavors, I have never had the fortitude to follow suit.

I have, however, contemplated what I would like to accomplish in the next 10 years of my life.

Of course, many of those dreams and goals did not come to fruition, but then there were some unforeseen and unplanned accomplishments that did.

On Wednesday at midnight, I, along with the rest of the world, will celebrate the birth of 2020.

Who knows what this new decade might have in store for us.

Certainly, there will be breakthroughs in science, new presidents will be elected, the evolution of technology will continue and yes, there will also be times of tragedy and loss.

At the conclusion of each year, The Vicksburg Post pulls together what we feel are the top stories of the year.

For me, this offers a time to reflect and remember some of Vicksburg’s most significant happenings — positive and not so positive.

In the same manner, I wondered what has been some of this decade’s most notable events.

While there were many, a variety of websites included the Haiti earthquake, the debut of the Apple iPad and Lady Gaga wearing a “meat dress” to the MTV Video Music Awards, all in 2010.

In 2011, millions tuned in to watch Prince William and Catherine Middleton’s royal wedding, the final installment in the Harry Potter film series hit theatres and the founder and first leader, Osama bin Laden, of the Islamist terrorist group Al-Qaeda, was killed by Navy Seals.

The Mars Science Laboratory explored the Red Planet in 2012, the “Gangnam Style” became the most-watched video and the Mayan calendar had predicted the world would come to an end.

In 2013, the first creation of human embryonic stem cells by cloning occurred as well as the launch of the PS4 and Xbox One.

The biggest aviation mystery occurred in 2014 when the Malaysia Airline passenger jet disappeared without a trace. The new World Trade Center was completed, smartwatches became the latest must-have gadget and the Ice Bucket Challenge became the most popular internet trend raising a total of $115 million for ALS awareness and research.

In 2015, same-sex marriage became legal in the United States, and in 2017 millions attended the Women’s March in Washington, making it the largest single-day demonstration in U.S. history.

Also, in 2017, the first time a solar eclipse was visible across the entire United States since 1918 and the #MeeToo movement took off.

Another royal wedding occurred in 2018 when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were married, and polio was declared to have been eradicated.

And this year, astronomers were able to capture the first image of a black hole.

In 10 years so much has happened and there is no telling what the 20s will hold. But one thing is for sure, we are about to find out since it’s just around the corner.

Happy New Year!

Terri Cowart Frazier is a staff writer for The Vicksburg Post. She can be reached at terri.frazier@vicksburgpost.com.