In 2021, over 534,000 writers published 2.3 million stories on Medium — about everything from personal growth to programming to data science and beyond. You shared honest, personal points of view. You started conversations and asked important questions. You made sense of the unexpected.

2021 brought surprises — an ever-evolving virus, a historic vaccination campaign, the end of Trump tweets — along with more of the same: masks, Zoom filters, and Taylor Swift albums. Together, we learned that pandemics don’t really care what year it is. Maybe this year’s takeaway is exactly that: No matter what phase of the pandemic we’re in, we can always learn from it.

To celebrate all those who shared their perspectives on Medium this year, we thought we’d revisit a few of the stories and moments that got us talking (and thinking). If we’ve missed one of your favorites, we hope you’ll share it in the responses.

Together, we looked back on a year of pandemic life

So many of us turn to Medium to improve our lives — to become better friends, co-workers, human beings. And this year was a time to reflect on where we’ve come from and where we’re going. In May, thousands of you applauded

The most obvious milestone to reflect on: the first anniversary of what many thought would be a weird blip, a couple strange weeks of quarantine life. In March, ER doctor

Vaccines promised to end the lockdowns and change all our lives… maybe. You crashed the booking websites, got the jab, unpacked “vaccine hesitancy.” And throughout the year, hundreds of you shared (and continue to share!) how the pandemic has been for you, using the tag “PandemicReflections.”

We redefined work and play

In 2021, many of us asked ourselves some version of this question: How do I really want to spend my time? (“Time”… who is she?) You rallied around

The lesson was simple, though it took a pandemic to really sink in: Our spreadsheets and deadlines and check-ins will never love us back (no matter how close we are to burning out).

But work doesn’t have to be draining — especially when it’s done on our own terms. This year, many of you rediscovered the joy of making things, even if there was no business model attached. You painted, sketched, invented things no one asked for. Writer

You also minted some NFTs — and let us know they’re probably not great for our planet.

After work, we escaped to the distant past or the far future.

We came together to have meaningful (and difficult) conversations

Any American who thought “at least this year can’t be as crazy as last year” was swiftly rebutted by a literal insurrection, on January 6th, at the U.S. Capitol. Photographer

So much for leaving our problems in 2020…

In the spring, after a tragic string of shootings targeting Asian Americans in Atlanta and elsewhere, you shared your perspectives under the “StopAsianHate” tag on Medium. Your essays made us think, laugh, and cry — and we gathered many in the #StopAsianHate Blog. Among them:

And the headlines kept coming: After 20 years at war, the U.S. pulled its troops out of Afghanistan, leading many veterans — including

It was a lot to process… especially because we’re still coming to terms with whatever happened over a year ago. On the anniversary of George Floyd’s murder,

So no, 2021 did not solve the problems of 2020. But it did help us get some distance (just some), and that’s a place to start.

We shared our perspectives and experiences with the world

This year, like every year, Medium was a home for authentic, personal stories worth telling (and reading). You processed life as it was happening:

You honored the legends we lost.

Over the summer, we invited you to participate in our open writing challenge and almost 10,000 of you submitted your stories. Our in-house team along with a panel of judges — including

And we’re continuing to help even more of you tell your stories. This year, we led free Creator Workshops which over 5,000 of you attended (!) and more are in the works. Our publication Creators Hub is regularly updated with advice and inspiration for all writers. Some of our favorite posts?

From the beginning, Medium has been a place for you to share your ideas and stories with the world. We’re grateful to those of you who did that this year, and for the way readers and writers show up for each other and this community every day. Your perspectives helped us understand one another a little (or a lot) better in 2021. We can’t predict what 2022 has in store, but we know there will be much more to learn.

— Medium Staff

More stories we couldn’t stop thinking about…