Charles Dickens was talking about the French Revolution in "The Tale of Two Cities," but he may as well have been talking about 2016.

So many people are saying "Thank God 2016 is over," "I hope 2017 will be SO much better," or "This was the year from hell!" And sure, lots of terrible, horrible, no good, very bad things happened this year, especially on the world stage. The presidential election, Aleppo, the countless shootings and killings all across the world. But these big bad things that we all heard so much about were a drop in the ocean compared to the positive little things that happened in 2016.

Especially in my personal experience, it really was the best and worst of times.

2016 was plagued by conflict and tears, overwhelming emotions and endless stress, sleepless nights and exhausted days. By group projects from hell and confusing professors. It was plagued by the most difficult decisions I've faced to this point in my life, and by people who would try to distract me from forming new dreams. 2016 was pretty rough for me, in many ways.

But in spite of all these seemingly negative things that have happened this year, looking back I realized how much I didn't notice them. Sure, there were times when life, in general, got pretty bad. Like laying face down on the floor for hours, not wanting to move, that kind of bad. Overall, however, they were so completely overshadowed by all the beautiful things that happened to me, that I forgot about them. Until I looked back on the year just this last week, I hadn't noticed the bad in my personal life, and here's why.

Because this year was even more full of beautiful, wonderful, amazing people that made it the best year of my life to date. It was a year full of brand new adventures and crazy fun new challenges. Full of new friends and old that changed my life for the better. Friends that challenged me to become a better version of myself, and friends that simply came into my life at the exact right time. Old friends who have accepted a new me, and new friends that have created a new me.

Hell, 2016 was great. It sounds weird to say it, but it really was. I am so thankful for everything that happened to me this year, good and bad, because it brought me to where I am today.

So goodbye, 2016. Thanks for the memories.

And hello, 2017. My sincere hope is that I can be optimistic about the year ahead. I hope that I can find new adventures, that I can make the right life decisions, especially as the future of a real adult life looms ever closer. I hope that I can build on my current friendships and make sure they last. I hope 2017 is full of laughter, fun, and clarity of mind. I hope that life will continue to get better as it gets more complicated, because that how 2016 was, and I hope that 2017 can be exactly like that. But better.