This past weekend, the hashtag #2016inthreewords was trending on Twitter. I scrolled through a handful of tweets, some of which were a bit surprising to me. Although we are only 6.5 months into the year, a lot has happened and I found it interesting what people thought was important in their tweets.
2016 has been jam-packed with lots of newsworthy stories - most of which have not been positive. There was a major theme as I scrolled through the tweets.
I think we can all agree that 2016 has been full of deaths, from celebrities to police shootings to freak accidents. It has been a difficult year to cope being surrounded by so much death and destruction.
We also will not soon forget about the child falling in to the gorilla exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo. In an effort to get the boy to safety, the zoo officials shot and killed Harambe, the gorilla interacting with the boy. It was controversial whether Harambe was an actual threat to the boy or if Harambe was actually protecting him. Because of the controversy, there was an outcry in support of Harambe and the unnecessary force used in the name of protecting the child.
The Presidential election. This tweet, in my opinion, is spot-on. It has been, and continues to be, a giant mess with no real promise of getting better. We'll see what happens come November. But at this point, I am rooting for the idea of a strong third-party candidate - we just haven't found one yet.
Talk about controversy. #BlackLivesMatter, #BlueLivesMatter, #AllLivesMatter. I get it - all lives do matter. But right now, Black lives are hurting and we need to honor them and provide the space for them to heal. There will be no healing as long as there is violence.
Too much terrorism and hurt. Pray for France, Pray for Orlando, Pray for Brussels, Pray for Nice. It's so overwhelming and feels like there have been acts of mass violence and terrorism on a weekly basis (if not more). I wish we didn't have to have those filters for our Facebook profiles and these social media campaigns to stop the violence. Let's actually stop it.
There's nothing more that needs to be said about this one.
This one either.
Pokemon Go. This app has taken on a life of its own over the past two weeks. It seems like everyone with a smartphone is playing and loving it. Some businesses have embraced their shops and restaurants as Pokestops and it has helped their business. It is also encouraging people who play to get out and walk - especially to Pokestops and Gyms. Whatever it takes to bring people together, right?
Ultimately, it is time for kindness. 2016 has been full of devastating news and tragic stories. If we can practice what Ellen says every day, being kind to one another, maybe the rest of 2016 can be a different story. Practice kindness and leave your impact on the world. Because based on the beginning of this year, the world needs it.