2016 was one hell of a year. There are so many crazy things that happened this year and I just felt it was necessary to devote my last article of 2016, recognizing the significance of this year. So as I’m on my ride to Vancouver B.C., squeezed in an SUV with 7 guys, I will try to recap all the national, international, and personal headlines that I could remember. I still can’t believe all that has happened but here is my attempt to summarize the year 2016.

Sports

I’m going to try to ease into this subject by talking about sports. From Golden State blowing a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals to Leicester City winning the English Premier league, there are so much things to talk about. Many legendary talents retired this year like Peyton Manning, Kobe Bryant, Alex Rodriguez, and there are athletes that almost had a premature retirement like Messi. Lionel Messi is possibly the greatest soccer player ever to step on a pitch and he became very closed to being convicted for 31 years in prison for a massive tax evasion; but instead, he was able to fuck over his accountant and get away from the charges.

Political

Wow, I don’t even know how to start this one. Donald Trump? Probably the most historic upset in United States’ history after the revolution. I never liked Clinton or Trump that much but I would have never actually that Trump was going to be elected as our 45th President. There are so many controversies over this topic as soon as the poll results turned in and after a month later, we finally seem to be calming down just a little bit. There are still so many people opposing the Trump but let’s be honest, at this point, the best things that we could do is keep a close eye on the White House and pray that Trump isn’t going to start a apocalyptic war.

As the year developed, an emerging story came out of midwest. Besides the Michigan water crisis, the biggest headline was the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). The tribal land of Standing Rock was invaded by the U.S. corporates and military forces. The pipeline posed a threat to the water supply of the Sioux Tribe and millions of others. The corporates claim that they passed government regulations but what most people don’t know is that they were able to bypass a lot of inspections by dividing up their constructions into smaller sites. And even though the pipeline didn't physically enter the Indian Reservation, the damage caused by fracking would have made the terrain very susceptible for natural disasters. Nonetheless, the pipeline route was changed from a white neighborhood to a Native tribe land which totally makes it a racial issue more than anything.

International

The biggest headline after 6 months is still Brexit. I don’t have much to say because I live in Seattle and I have no fucking clue what happens in the Great Britain but from what I have heard, Brexit is one of the biggest mistakes the British have ever made. Again, my sources were probably somewhat, politically biased and I’m sure there are plenty of arguments against this statement. Yet, the recent research shows increase in hate crime and house prices while decrease in pound value and interest rates, so we’ll see what happens to Britain in the near future.

2016 was not a good year globally. Down in South Korea, a political chaos arose out of nowhere. Turns out, Park Geun-Hye, the first women President of Korea was being heavily influenced under a cult leader, Choi Soon-Sil. They been best friends since they were little kids and they’ve been screwing around in the Blue House since their Dads were the leaders of Korea. Millions of people protested in Seoul after finding out that their president was a puppet. Since the Korean President was protected from trial under the Korean Constitution, the citizens “asked” Park to step down from presidency. On December 9th, Park Geun-Hye, started her impeachment process.

Entertainment

J. Coles new album dropped and so did Frank Ocean’s— finally. Drake is flying through the charts while Yeezus is slowly becoming more mentally unstable. Kim K was robbed in Paris and Kanye is mad that Jay-Z didn’t come say hi. Do I care about all these news? Not particularly. I do enjoy all the new music however, so thank you for all the amazing talents out there making my drive to work just a bit more enjoyable.

Significant Deaths

This part is the worst. I don’t like to talk about deaths all that much yet I was feel it’s necessary. Just recently, Carrie Fisher has passed away, her most memorable role as Princess Leia in Star Wars. This is devastating news for all space nerds. Many musical talents starting from Bowe have left us along with Prince and George Michael. Muhammed Ali, the boxing legend has also passed on. Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor and an author of the book Night. These are some of the most inspiring people to ever exist on this planet with me and so I want to take my time to pay tribute for the miraculous works they have accomplished.

But of course, the most significant death of 2016 is going to be awarded to Harambe of Cincinnati Zoo. A big thank you to the internet for months of memes and even a bigger thank you to 11,000 pricks who voted for this dead gorilla in the recent election. The memes were at least kinda funny, the votes weren’t. For those of you out there who thought it would have been funny to vote for a gorilla, I just want to let you know that you probably should have just stayed home on voting day.

Personal

Personally, this year didn't start off too well. I got my first panic attack in February which led to severe anxiety and slight depression consequently failing two classes in Spring. It was a crucial time in the development of my character. I was so mentally unstable, I wasn't able to sleep for more than 4 hours a night for about 2-3 months. I also had to quit my full-time job because I was no longer able to work 40 hour weeks next to my 15 credit quarters. So that's how my year started.

Luckily, that is not how my year ended. It took extraordinary efforts but I was able through my downfall and become more productive. I went on a road trip down to Oregon, got a new job, learned to become a photographer, opened up my first website, picked up writing more seriously, and became even more motivated than before. It was not easy to do so, but I did and I'm very proud of myself.

So even though 2016 sucked a lot, I didn't— so I'm very grateful for that.

Hopes of new year

Look, there’s so much shit that has happened in 2016. I wasn’t able to remember all that has happened in the past year but the ones that I could remember seems to be trended downwards. Or maybe it’s just that anytime something bad happens, it sticks with me longer than the good ones do. It’s always so hard to remember all the good memories because I take ‘em from granted and never realize how valuable it is until it’s gone. In all reality, the good memories are the ones that gave me hope for tomorrow morning to come, to get up in the morning to get to work, and to pick up where I left off from the night before. We hope that the good days are ahead of us and we just keep working. The year 2016 was a let down for many people including myself. But, just recently I started to believe that all the shit that has happened was actually a realization that there’s so much work that needs to be done. And to realize this at the place I am here right now, for me, is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me this year. I wish that all the political, social, personal downfalls of 2016 will not discourage you, but instead motivate you to fight even harder, to strive for so much better, and to help you see the greatness that awaits in the illusion of tomorrow.

In a little bit, I will be heading out to the bars to celebrate 2016 with my friends. I encourage all you guys to do the same. Of course for those of you who are of age. By the time this article is posted, it will already be 2017. So I guess I only have one thing left to say:

“Happy New Years.”