We can all agree that 2016 has been a year for the books, and not necessarily in a good way. There has been a lot that has happened in 2016 that has made me question the direction in which we are headed with this world. There was Brexit, the whole Syria situation that is still nowhere close to be fixed, the American Election, the rising tensions between Russia and the USA rising again, we lost some great actors and actresses as well as singers and entertainers. The list could go on and on, but it’s not healthy to focus on the negatives.

Yes, they are still very real, and I’m not saying to ignore them completely, but they happened and there is nothing that we can do to change it. What we can do, and what gives me hope for 2017, is what we can do about these situations and how we can deal with them.

If there is one thing I have noticed throughout the terrible happenings in 2016, is that it brought people together. Throughout any disaster, it showed what can happen when people come together and work as one. Just one example is the North Dakota Pipeline issue. No it’s not completely resolved, but people put their differences aside – race, gender, religion, title, everything – and they came together to battle something and there was a significant win for the people, and it was a win for the better.

We are always so caught up in our own issues and our own problems, but we hardly ever take the time to take a step back and look at what we can do about it, or how it’s affecting someone else. We all have our own problems, and no one is saying your problem is less important than someone else’s’, but sometimes we need to put our own personal issues on hold, and come together to fight a battle together.

Even if you were not happy with the results of the election in the United States, there was unity. People were coming together on either side and really fighting for what they believed in. Yes there are still many problems, and I am not saying things are perfect by any means, but the unity that came with people fighting for their beliefs is something beautiful. You might not agree, but it’s almost impossible to ignore.

Whenever there is a disaster is when people seem to come together the easiest and the most. Which is both beautiful and sad. It’s sad because it takes a disaster – whether it be political, natural, military, or what have you – for us to see our commonalities, and to see that regardless of gender, race, nationality, age, or anything, we can come together and that we’re not actually all that different. But when it happens, and you can see it with your own eyes, it’s absolutely mesmerizing.

So this is my hope for 2017. I hope that we can come together more. We are in the middle of writing a new chapter in history, and we are the authors. We can decide what happens, and we have the power to see that what we want happens in real time. I’m not hoping for a world-wide miracle such as to end world hunger, or completely rid the world of AIDS, but by us as a world coming together and realizing we are not as different as media portrays us all to be, we can really start to make a difference.

We are the new generation, and we are finally at the age where we can start to make a difference. So don’t just complain about what you don’t like happening, take a stand against it. Don’t just wish for a better world, take part in the change and maybe we can start to see the changes we want in the world. 2017 is a new year, and we are the only ones who can shape it. So let’s make it better than 2016. Let’s make it a better year, and one we will be proud to have written in the history books.