Dear 2016,

You've earned yourself a relatively poor repuation with the rest of the world. You stole David Bowie, and Princess Leia, as well as Harper Lee and Prince. We watched in horror as the largest mass shooting in American history occurred and as the European economy descended into chaos. Donald Trump is going to be the next president of the United States. The city of Chicago surpassed 700 murders and genocide massacred Aleppo. No one likes you, 2016, and you're not going to get any sympathy from me, either. With you, I lost my dog and my uncle, and I lost my chance to go to the college I wanted. It's been a miserable experience with you, 2016, but...it hasn't all been bad.

This year, the Ice Bucket Challenge actually succeeded in helping to discover more about the gene that causes Parkinson's disease. The wild tiger population has increased for the first time in decades. Ten states voted to legalize marijuana in this last election, and while there are plenty of people who would disagree that this is a positive thing, legalization not only has the potential to stimulate local economies but to combat the drug epidemic as well. Leonardo DiCaprio won an Oscar. With you, I was able to attend an amazing university and my family got a new puppy, and what I have gathered from you, 2016, is that the world needs to learn to appreciate what it has, rather than fixate on what it doesn't, and that second chances come for a reason.

Our world is populated by people whose eyes are forever fixed upon the horizon - they're always waiting for the next best thing, attempting to satiate an unquenchable greed. With all that was lost, and all that was won, it seems to me that we need to understand how temporary the reality around us truly is, and how we have to make the best of that reality while its there, 2016 was a miserable teacher, unyielding and unbearable, the kind you pray you don't get, but we got it. It would be advisable that we not forget its lesson.