I’m glad 2016 happened.

I really am. Now, before you get in a huff, let’s review some of the stuff that we’ve suffered in 2016.

Deaths include:

• Alan Rickman (Snape)
• Kenny Baker (R2-D2)
• David Bowie
• Prince
• Muhammad Ali
• Gene Wilder
• Arnold Palmer
• Carrie Fisher
• Etc, etc, etc.

We saw "Hamilton" break the record for most Tony nominations (16) and win 11 of those. We got new movies from our favorite franchises such as "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them "and "Rogue One". We finally witnessed Leonardo DiCaprio get his Oscar. We also saw the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, FL attacked. We saw Britain vote to leave the EU, and we witnessed the 2016 Presidential Election, which was just….a lot. We saw memes about frogs, memes about gorillas, and memes about Vice-Presidents. Throughout the past 365 days, we’ve been through a lot. And I’m happy to say that I made it through.

Think of 2016 as an obstacle course. Every day seemed to bring us something new, and it was rarely good. If you’re reading this, you should be VERY proud of yourself. You made it through what most people can describe as a really crappy year. While it had a few good moments, it mostly sucked and was enough to drive us mad. We turned to entertainment to escape. But even more so we turned to each other. Often during this past year, we’ve seen crowds of people coming out and, regardless of what they were fighting for, it proved that we are truly one human race.

We saw protests against Trump, protests against Hillary, Protests against the Oil line at Standing Rock. We saw solidarity against terrorists when the Pulse nightclub was attacked and after every terrorist attack that happened this year. We saw, more than anytime that I can remember, humans standing together as one.

Yes, in the past we’ve come together for disasters. We heard artists sing “We are the World” for Africa, we’ve seen candlelight vigils. But for some reason 2016 has seen more of these moments than ever and it’s awesome. The fact that we can come together for whatever cause it may be is awe-inspiring. We’ve proven that we can do things that previously would be impossible to do. And the best part is that it wasn’t a giant undertaking.

Remember when there were rumors about police tracking activists through Facebook so everybody posted that they were at Standing Rock? Remember when we got temporary Profile photos to support the Pulse nightclub? Our showings of support are no longer just a rally or a march on Washington. It is now on Social Media. We have evolved to branch out and make it so even the simplest person can help.

Now, the thing about being awesome is that it doesn’t stop. Yes, 2016 sucked and kicked our butt at every turn. But we stuck together. We evolved and came out on top. If we can make 2017 half as unifying as 2016, we are in for a powerful year. It’s possible that 2017 could be worse than 2016, but if we stick together, I have faith that we can do whatever we want to. So go and make a difference. Prove that you are part of this awesome race that we call Homo Sapiens.

So congratulations, you survived 2016. You proved that we can survive whatever is thrown at us, and let's hope that 2017 goes a bit smoother...