Well. We've made it. If you're reading this, there's only one week of 2016 left to survive before the new year is upon us. This year has been filled with heartache, adjustment and reevaluation-- every single emotion possible has been felt. As this is my last article of 2016, I wanted to share some of the lessons that I've learned in hopes that they will inspire you to have a loving and successful 2017.

1. It's important to advocate for the issues that you're passionate about.

Big or small, put everything you have into the things that you care about. If you care about a person in your life, make sure you let them know as often as you can. If there's an issue that sparks your interest, educate yourself and others about it. Caring about something doesn't make you a vulnerable person, even if the same care and passions aren't returned to you.

2. Education is incredibly vital.

Ultimately, lack of education is the downfall to most situations. Going into this year's election, there were so many uneducated voters and countless people spewing false information. Whether it's eavesdropping on a group of friends in the hallway at school or false articles with millions of shares on social media platforms, it has gotten to the point where ignorance is not bliss but is destructive. With proper education (from resources other than social media and fake news outlets), we can make sure that history doesn't repeat itself any further than it already has. The last thing we need right now is to move backward.

3. Allow yourself to be open to new possibilities.

Throughout this year, there have been so many unexpected situations thrown my way. Change was an unfortunate but crucial part of 2016, and because of this, I had to reevaluate the way that I had looked at change throughout my entire life. Often times, I had suppressed the idea of change; I would push it aside and act as though it wasn't a big deal. The changes that I had to combat this year, though, were unavoidable. Quite honestly, it was initially a challenge adapting different methods so quickly, but, for the most part, everything ended up okay and, dare I say, better in some aspects. From the looks of things, 2017 is going to come along with just as much, if not more, change on a more significant scale.

4. Communicate. Communicate. Communicate.

Along with a lack of education, communication is key. I've watched the lack of communication tear apart too many relationships and cause so much unnecessary frustration. If we stopped being passive aggressive with our peers, actually said what was on our minds, and didn't leave things up for interpretation, everyone would be much better off.

5. Just because something is different, doesn't mean that it's bad.

Disclaimer: this only applies to ideas that don't negatively impact other people. Our society is becoming more diverse every single day, and it's important to be accepting of things that you may not be used to. So many problems have arisen in this country as a result of intolerance of differences, and all of them would go away if we just accepted the fact that just because we don't identify or agree with something, doesn't mean that thing is a bad thing. And no, this doesn't mean that you have to become a full-fledged supporter of something that you don't agree with, but the least that you can do is respect someone for who they are.