Dear 2016,

I probably speak for many when I say, you’ve brought us a year of rollercoaster emotions. You’ve giving us hope and ripped our hearts out. You’ve showed us that people under one nation can be split in many different roles. You’ve also proved once again that sports can bring us together. You’ve shattered our hearts by taking away legends we have fallen in love with. Many of us are ready for the new year to come after this whirlwind you have put us through.

2016, you have proved that a lot can happen in one year. You have shown that the world can go crazy over a death of gorilla (rest in peace Harambe). You showed us that an election can split a nation more than ever and then lead to the most controversial election of history with the election of Donald Trump. You made us question the love in our country as we watched riots, shootings, and hatred. You made us realize more than ever that acceptance of difference is what is needed for us to move on.

You have taken away legends of entertainment, sports, and history. We became heart broken as we learned music may never be the same as we lost Prince, George Michael, David Bowie, Merle Haggard, and Maurice White. We will now listen to songs like “Purple Rain”, “Faith”, “September”, “Let’s Dance”, and “Mama Tried” with heavy hearts. We will forever miss the actors and actresses that changed our lives with movies forever as we mourn the loss of Debbie Reynolds, Carrie Fisher, Gene Wilder, and Alan Rickman. We will watch Halloweentown, Star Wars, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and Harry Potter in awe to remember the legends of Hollywood. We will watch the Brady Bunch and Growing Pains on reruns with heavy hearts as we remember Florence Henderson and Alan Thicke. We lose the people who have been a part of history and continue to be years to come from losing Muhammad Ali, Arnold Palmer, Nancy Reagan, Fidel Castro, and Elie Wiesel.

You have definitely been the year of sports. You brought the world together in Rio for the Summer Olympics and gave the United States the leader in gold medals. You showed us that the underdogs of sports can win America’s hearts. After 52 years, you gave the Cleveland Cavaliers the title of NBA Champions on June 19th. On November 2nd you showed the world that after 108 years, a team can be winners and break a curse with the Chicago Cubs becoming World Series Champions after an extra inning and a rain delay.

2016, you have been a handful, that’s for sure. We have learned a lot from you and hope only for the better here on out. Hopefully you will keep slang words like “lit” with you. And you can also keep dabbing, ju ju, and all of that Kimye drama with you. We hope that you can give 2017 a chance and give us back our favorite celebrity couples back (I’m talking about you mostly Brangelina). Please do us all a favor and do not pass on your hatred and heartbreak to 2017. Our hearts can only take so many legends leaving us. We thank you for showing us new perspectives and giving very deserving sports teams titles they have been waiting for. We thank you for reviving our favorite shows like Full House and Gilmore Girls and hope you can pass that on to 2017 as well. We say goodbye to you 2016 with mixed emotions. Let the force be with your neighbor, 2017.

Thankfully we say goodbye,