I have been contemplating what to write about for the best event to have happened to me in 2016 for several days now. I have caught myself pondering for a few moments about all of the good things and how blessed I have been this year. It may seem like a brag letter, but even through the bad times, good things have emerged. I suppose it is more of a "glass half full" year rather than a "glass half empty" one. Think of all of the things you have to be thankful for this year while you read mine!

So, truth is...we are supposed to write this article for my boyfriend's family Christmas. Whoever has the best article wins bragging rights. Now, I have a TON of competition, so my article needs to be super stellar. There may be some references to Brent's family and mine as well, but I will try to explain as best as I can. I guess part of being a writer is to let readers into the "skinny" of our lives. So, here goes nothing! (Wish me luck everyone!)

2016; a year full of laughter, tears, ups, downs, and many in between moments. If I had a word to describe 2016 it would be: "hope". This year, I found myself looking forward to many life events! Therefore, making myself "hopeful" of the future. It is so hard to narrow one moment that defines what made 2016 a great year for me! (As I may have mentioned before.) I'll take a stab at summing up my "year of hope".

First off, junior year of college has been a little stressful on me. From class work, to my work load at my job, to balancing friends and family, my life seemed to be one crazy mess. I think one thing that made me "hopeful" to get through the days without losing my head was to offer it up to God. There were days when I was fervent in doing so, and there were days where I was lax about it. God woke me up for every day and gave me a chance to live another wonderful day on Earth. It was important for me to remember to give it up to God and have Him take care of my worries. There were days where stress put tears into my eyes, but at that moment I took a step back and said a little prayer to God to get me through it. Looking back on it now, it seemed so minute to worry about whatever I was worrying about. That is because God got me through the good and bad days and made me "hopeful" of the future to come. I am constantly thinking about where to apply for grad school or dreaming of the day when I finally make it in the world, I am "hopeful" of the many years to come.

Amongst the craziness of life, this year Brent's family welcomed two little ones into the world. They are the most precious children and I may be biased, but they are the cutest children ever (along with the two older pre-existing children). So, now at Christmas time we have four children around to keep the mood light and full of laughter/smiles. Don't worry, all of the adults turn into idiots to get a smile out of the babies. They are three months apart, but they both stole part of my heart. I was always eager and excited to see them and steal some cuddle-time with them (I still am)! This was a huge part of 2016. We felt like we waited forever for those things to come out! It was well worth the wait because they are more than we could ever have imagined! They are healthy, beautiful babies that bless us daily with their smiles and giggles. We can't help but love the peanuts dearly. God blessed us with two new additions to the Gorter family.

With my family, we had good and bad times with 2016. Sadly, my grandma has been slowing down this year and it has been hard on us. She is such a wonderful lady that it is really tough to watch her struggle with daily tasks. She always says that she is thankful for the extra time God has given her to spend with us. It puts a tear in my eye to hear that she wants to meet her maker soon, but for her to live a life of pain is not a great way to live. She has good days and bad days, but thankfully we are there for her through it all. We love her dearly and couldn't imagine a life without her. As for a positive note, my sister has been so successful with her life in the past year! She has completed grad school while teaching full-time throughout the process! I am so proud of her because I know how hard and strenuous it was for her. She passed with flying colors and I will be so proud to watch her walk in May! For our immediate family, she is the first to graduate college and to graduate grad school! That is HUGE! I know she was "hopeful" to see the light at the end for when grad school was finished, but now that she is I know she is glad she took the journey. I am thankful for another year to put memories in the books with my family. They may be small moments, but they are important and special nonetheless. My parents are so hardworking and it just shows how much they love their daughters. I am so appreciative of this and "hope" that they know how much we love them and thank them for this! Another year with my family is another year to be proud of! I "hope" for many more years of laughter, smiles, and jokes to come.

Another thing that I am super thankful for in 2016 was my growth in my faith. I was shown a new and refreshing way to praise God and have never turned back! With this, another exciting thing we did this year was start up a bible study. I have always wanted to have a bible study group get together and grow closer with God and each other. It seemed like a safe environment to explore different thoughts and ideas about who our Creator is. Even though, none of us can fully wrap our minds around it, it is still enlightening to hear everyone's thoughts! This group is made up of all different denominations and we respect each other with their beliefs. Even though we don't get together often, we try to stay connected with one another. I am so glad that my friends were open to taking a step with me to become closer with God. I am "hopeful" that our bible studies will still happen after 2016, and that they will grow to welcome others in to show the greatness of God

Speaking of relationships, this year, I have roomed with different girls than my previous years at Augustana. I'm not going to lie, my first two years of roommates were not the most ideal situations and posed to put a lot of stress and sadness on me. So, this year I took a step in the right direction and was placed in an apartment with three other girls. We have been getting along great! I am so thankful that this is the case. Along with these roomies, we have friends that live right next to us. It is such a beautiful relationship when you can be 100% comfortable with walking into each other's apartments with no reservations. These girls and truly genuine and have beautiful hearts! I am so glad to have taken this step to get to know these girls. I had "hoped" for years that I would find my people (aka my group of close friends) and I think that this could be it! So, thank you, ladies. (if you are reading this!)

Here's to a sappy relationship part of this article. My freshman year of college I met this boy that I always thought was super cute. I figured he never even recognized me or knew I existed because he hung with the popular crowd. I was that "girl-next-door" or I suppose you could say "girl-down-the-hall". As we lived on the same floor. Anyway, this year I got to spend another year with my best friend. Who knew that a guy that I thought was out of my league would ever want to date me! I totally fell for him and I still am. Thank you, Brent. Thank you for another year of putting up with me. You are always there for me no matter what. You are the person I can tell anything to. You are someone I can be 100% silly around and utterly and completely myself. I was so "hopeful" that you would notice me someday. Thankfully, that day happened and I wouldn't change it for the world. That speech class will always be a story for us to laugh over and reminisce together. I know this is super cheesy, but you are my other half and I am so glad I found you. Thank you for 2016, I can't wait for what is to come!

Health has been another part of 2016 that has changed my life. I have become more aware of bettering myself and becoming healthy. Before, I was so used to eating whatever I wanted and not really working out, but realizing that the "Freshman 15" was so real...I knew I had to change my lifestyle somehow. I am thankful that in 2016, I decided to take a step to better myself and to try to lose weight. It has been a struggle and I still have a loooonnnnggg ways to go, but I am thankful for my breaking point and my realization. I am "hopeful" that this health step isn't just a health kick. I "hope" it is something that sticks and something that ultimately makes me happy!

These are some of the top highlights of 2016. Of course, me being a rambler and a detailed person, I can't stand to leave something out! I apologize for that. 2016 has been memorable and I ring in the new year with hopes that 2017 has just as many blessings or more! I hope the same for you as well! I hope you have happiness and love to fill your days! Happy New Year! "You can get excited about the future. The past won’t mind.” ~ Hillary DePiano

Happy 2017 and many blessings to come! Make it a "half glass full" kind of a year!