As the holidays come to a close, I begin to think about the New Year and a strangeness of calendar dates in general.

2016 is a strange year. Seriously, can it really be almost two decades from the turn of the millennium? I remember that 1999 year when we were all watching the ball drop, counting down to 2000. Likewise, I recall the irrational fears that filled the air---the fears that somehow the new computers we all had in our houses (with Dial Up, no less) would crash at this once-in-a-lifetime moment. Surprise...we survived. But more fears followed years down the line, irrational as always.

2006 was similarly a strange year. That year had the infamous 06/06/2006 day (or the devil's day) and as a 10 year-old Christian girl, that thought scared the pants off of me. Good news, nothing happened to me or anyone on some mass scale due to that coincidence. And the life clock ticked on...

Then 2012 came, the year the Mayan Calendar would end and supposedly bring about the end of the world. Turns out the Mayans just decided to stop making dates on their stone calendar at some point and it just happened to land on December 21, 2012. Some people still freaked out though (not including me) and prepared to meet their doom all of 2012.

All this to say humans put a lot of emphasis on dates. We celebrate certain holidays certain days of the year. We make goals and circle the date on the calendar of when we wish to complete them. We freak out when the date makes a certain pattern, such as 01/01/2001 or 12/13/2014. What this exactly means in terms of human nature is uncertain, but I like to think it proves the caring nature of humans for one another.

Think about it: if people didn't care about each other, we wouldn't spend precious time and money dozens of times per year on holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, and the likes. Similarly, if humans didn't care there would be no need to celebrate the New Year. After all, it is just a simple number switch on a physical calendar. Yet, for humans, it's the opportunity to get together with family and friends once again and make resolutions (which are often a very caring thing indeed, especially when those resolutions are about becoming better people and helping others). Plus, even unique dates prove the caring nature of humanity; these more than often become the dates chosen for weddings and other important milestones as a way to make that date and the memories that come with it all the more special.

All in all, dates are significant. They always have been in the course of human history and probably always will. So as 2016 comes, I wonder what interesting, wacky events and memories it will bring. Knowing humans, there will likely be a few dates among the 365 days we are given that we will remember for years to come---hopefully for positive reasons.