There are a lot of reasons to look back on the year 2015 with pride. We saw our Supreme Court rule that no one would be denied the right to marriage based on who they chose to love. The United Nations developed the Sustainable Development Goals, after the majority of it's former Millennium Development Goals were met by the 2015 deadline.

But as with any year, it's important to note the mistakes we've made and learn from them so that they aren't repeated in future years. Here are a few blunders of 2015 that would be best left there.

The response of Donald Trump to the Paris attacks and the Islamic State

This is a mistake we need to learn here and now. The alienation of an entire population of people based on the actions of a few is not only wrong but dangerous. The existence of such terror groups is in fact evidence of the power of hate in this world. The fact that such a prominent political figure has resorted to such comments is a horrible reflection on the U.S. Let's make our 2016 response as a nation one of love and respect.

The Starbucks red cup controversy

National attention was drawn to the decision of one company to make their holiday menu cups just plain red. No designs. This somehow managed to offend. What has this world come to if a coffee cup makes national headlines for weeks on end? Let's avoid this in 2016 please.

Kim Davis becoming a national figure

The Kentucky clerk, who overtly rejected law by refusing to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples, became a nationally known figure. In 2016, let's try to avoid having someone who disregarded the law become a respected figure, gaining fame and support from people across the country.

The Rolling Stone article on sexual assault

The article was originally published in 2014, but was officially retracted by the magazine in 2015. The article which initially brought to national attention to sexual assault on college campuses, was eventually proved to be a false account. The retraction of the article, though the only right decision on the part of the magazine, was potentially damaging to the credibility of future victims, and shed a negative light on the reporting of sexual assault.

The death of 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi

In 2015, we were faced with a huge humanitarian crisis as hundreds of thousands of refugees fled civil war in their homeland to Europe. The crisis made international news when the body of 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi washed up on the shore after he and his brother had drowned on the dangerous voyage across the Mediterranean. If we don't want a repeat of this event, the international community needs to work together in 2016 to come up with a long-term effective plan for the refugees that continue to flood into Europe.