2014 seems to have flown right by! In case you forgot everything that went down, here are 20 GIFs to recap the year.
1. Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” and his hat
How could we forget the humorously gigantic hat that Pharrell donned at 2014 Grammys? No wonder he’s so happy; he’s got room for snacks up there.
2. The Sochi Olympic Games
While we were busy heading back to campus for second semester, trying to survive dreaded things such as winter and Valentine’s Day, Russia was hosting the 2014 Winter Olympics. Here we see Vladimir Putin show a rare expression of celebration.
3. Lupita Nyong’o’s Oscar win for 12 Years a Slave
If you took a night off of studying to curl up watching the Oscars with your roomies, then you’ll remember Lupita, the shining star of the 2014 red carpet. Her acceptance speech for Best Supporting Actress and her breathtaking blue gown made viewers fall in love.
4. John Travolta mispronouncing “Idina Menzel” at the Oscars
On a more hilarious note, who could forget John Travolta absolutely butchering the pronounciation of Idina Menzel? Where did “Adele Dazim” even come from, John? Weren’t you reading from a teleprompter? Haven’t you seen Wicked, Rent, or Glee?! C’mon, man. But we guess we’ll have to let it go…
5. Ellen’s celebrity selfie at the Oscars, leading to the most retweeted tweet in history
If pizza at the Oscars wasn’t awesome enough, Ellen’s celebrity selfie took the cake. Anything with Meryl is already retweet-worthy, but how could viewers resist the chance to post this star-studded selfie on their timelines?
6. The series finale of How I Met Your Mother
Nine whole seasons of adventures with the gang all led up to one episode that answered the question: How did Ted meet the mother? SPOILER ALERT: It doesn’t even matter, because she died, and he gets together with Robin in the end. America was (for the most part) left disappointed, and the finale was anything but legendary.
7. Kimye making the cover of Vogue and tying the knot in Italy
Kim and Kanye stunned on the cover of Vogue and finally got married, sealing the deal in romantic Italy. The Kardashian-Jenner gang flew out to celebrate her marriage, and would you look at that! She’s even made it past 72 days. Looks promising.
8. The World Cup
Soccer (or “football”) fans across the world tuned in this June to watch the World Cup. Turns out some of the feistiest fans are soccer fans. Case in point: this young soccer enthusiast.
9. The Fault in Our Stars movie release
We all anxiously awaited our favorite sob-worthy young adult novel’s debut on the silver screen, and Ansel Elgort did not disappoint. If you didn’t leave the theater with tears in your eyes, are you sure you saw the right movie?
10. Jay-Z and Beyonce’s On The Run Tour
“Drunk In Love” was an anthem this year. Don’t pretend like you didn’t try to learn the dance moves from the music video (and fail horrendously, because, let’s face it, only Bey can master those moves).
11. The Ice Bucket Challenge
Nothing says “I support disease awareness” like dumping ice-cold water on your head for attention! However, many stars took the plunge and really did donate, and it raised lots of money for The ALS Association.
12. Robin Williams’ death
It was a shock to hear of Robin Williams’ suicide this August. Our generation grew up watching him shine in his roles in Mrs. Doubtfire, Jumanji, Dead Poets Society and Good Will Hunting.
13. Brangelina finally get married
Mr. and Mrs. Smith finally (secretly) tied the knot. They released photos later on, and we saw that Angelina wore a dress with her children’s drawings all over it.
14. Release of the iPhone 6
We’ll never understand the need for a phone as large as the 6 Plus, but that’s technology for ya, we suppose (seriously, you can barely hold it with one hand).
15. Fear of Ebola in the U.S.
Americans were terrified of catching Ebola after a few cases popped up in the U.S. this fall. In reality, more people have married Kim Kardashian than have died from Ebola in the U.S.
16. Release of Taylor Swift’s “1989” and Taylor pulling her music from Spotify
Taylor Swift dominated the 2014 music industry with the release of “Shake It Off” and her new album, “1989.” She made waves with her “Blank Space” video, as well as by taking her music off of Spotify. It sparked a conversation about the worth of music and musicians’ ownership of their work. You go, Tay.
17. #AlexFromTarget going viral
Overnight, Twitter accounts turned a random, hunky, teenage Target employee into an Internet meme. Can we blame them, though? Look at this guy.
18. Kim Kardashian trying to “break the Internet”
Since we hadn’t seen enough of Kim K’s butt already, she bared herself again for Paper Magazine this November in an attempt to “break the Internet.” Looks like North’s baby oil was used for other purposes at the shoot…
19. Ferguson
Riots throughout the country and social media outrage occurred after Darren Wilson, the police officer who killed black teenager Michael Brown, was not indicted. Protests for justice sparked throughout the world.
20. The Interview controversy
James Franco and Seth Rogen’s comedy about assassinating North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un was almost not released after North Korean officials condemned the movie and hackers broke into Sony’s email system with threats, demanding that the movie be pulled. We guess they should stick to lighter topics, like Pineapple Express?
Well 2014, you were a hot mess. We can’t say we’ll miss you, but thanks for the memories. Bring on 2015!