Whenever I see articles like “Top Songs of The Year” or “Most Important Events of 2015,” I’m always surprised at everything that happened. I can never believe some of them were actually from this year; they seem like they happened so long ago. It’s weird to look back on the year you’ve had, and it’s even weirder to compare the person you were in January to the person you are now. You forget about where you were and everything you went through to get to today. So much happens in a year that there’s really no way to sum it all up. I did a little brainstorming and came up with a few different ways you can measure a year.

1. Good Times

How many days did you have this year that you could argue were some of the best days of your life? And I don’t mean the day you got an appetizer and a dessert at the Red Lobster. I’m talking about the days you couldn’t believe how amazing life could be. You only have a few of those in a year, and they’re the reason for being alive. You just look around and the sun shines a bit brighter, colors seem more radiant, and your soul is at peace. It doesn’t even have to be a full day -- it could be a moment or something you did that put you in a better mood just thinking about it. The best days I had this year were dancing with my sisters in DDD-Dance Off, my trip to Spain, and Halloween night in Atlanta.

2. Bad Times

The worst times can be as memorable as the best times. Whether it’s a failure, a loss, or a depressing realization, sometimes the feeling of helplessness is the worst feeling you can possibly have. It’s sad to think about all the things you wanted that didn’t come true, but it’s also a way to realize that life doesn’t end when something bad happens. The world will keep turning and you’ll have to wake up every morning and keep living. Some of the worst times for me this year were not doing well at the Nationals meet, my last day in Madrid when I saw my friend Talia for the last time, and the loss of a friend’s father.

3. Netflix Series

Binge-watching TV shows on Netflix has become a super common thing. It’s a unique experience. Have you ever been on your sixth hour of watching the same show? You’ve got the remnants of two meals and snacks sitting nearby, hours of homework haunting the back of your mind, and people texting you about why you missed two classes and a wedding. Once you emerge from your room after finishing the last episode, you wonder how long you were disconnected from humanity and realize with a sinking heart that Donald Trump is president and you failed out of college. I finished five series this year. I’m pretty proud of it, too. It takes a special kind of determination to keep up with school, sorority, swimming, people, and a job while watching seven hours of TV a day.

4. Boyfriends or Girlfriends

I definitely feel like whoever you’re with at a given point in time is a reflection of where you are as a person. Let’s face it: If you’re with a guy and all your friends hate him, it doesn’t reflect very well on you as the girlfriend. Of course, every breakup pretty much sucks, whether he was a loser or the love of your life. With that being said, I’m also a big believer that you can control your reaction to almost anything, and being OK after a breakup is possible. This year, some of you may have dropped your dead-weight boyfriend or lost the man of your young dreams, but you’re still here either way. We all get through it; the hard part is realizing that it’s not the end of the world. I’m not going into my breakups this year. The only important thing is that I’m here today, and I’m happy.