As we bid adieu to a turbulent 2021 and say hello yet again to a new beginning, we may have mixed feelings.

I love this photo (above) of French college pals enjoying a champagne holiday. They beam with the carefree abandon of youth. Many things changed in the world they’ve inherited five years hence. Older and wiser now, we share along with them a pandemic-shadowed world that is curbing some celebrations. And dampening hopes.

Still others, young or seasoned, are nevertheless popping the bubbly with a no-holds-barred approach to embracing 2022.