Majority of my friends keep saying how 2016 was probably their worst year so far. Since they are my friends, I was very quick to agree, but when I took a step back and actually thought about my year, it wasn't all the bad. My year was definitely full of ups and downs, but if it wasn't for all of those events, I would not be where I am today.

The new year started off perfectly (at least what I considered perfect at the time).I was in a relationship, I had amazing suite-mates, I had a close relationship with my family, and I had so many goals set for my year. Little by little, all of these began to fall apart... I just didn't notice.

It started with my suite-mates. They suddenly decided to turn on my roommate and I, but we figured it was alright since we still had each other. We made up for that by joining a co-ed fraternity called Alpha Phi Omega.

The next thing that fell apart for me were some of the goals I had. At the time, all of the decisions I made revolved around my (ex) boyfriend. I wanted to get an on-campus job, but it would have interfered with the days he came to visit, so he advised me not to take the job. I began going to the gym with my roommate, but he only wanted me to go with him. I wanted to get my grades up, but every weekend he came over, he got mad when I tried to do some homework. All the little things I wanted to do in order to better myself were put on hold because of someone else.

Eventually, my roommate and I started having problems due to my boyfriend at the time. l soon replaced that connection with girls from APO.

The rest of the spring semester went by, and somehow I made it through. My grades were average, I had made no improvements to myself at all. I was not at all where I wanted to be, but I tried to be happy because it would make him happy.

As the summer went by, I hardly saw any of my friends because if I wasn't working I had to spend time with my ex. If I decided to hang out with my life-long friend, it was always a big deal. Everything was a fight, but I sucked it up since I thought that's what couples did.

It was finally time to go back to school. He moved in early since he was a freshman, and I moved in just a few days after. As the first few days progressed, I knew it was going to end. The fighting, jealousy, and disrespect was just too much to handle. One month into what we thought was going to be the best semester yet, he ended it for another girl.

While most people expected me to go into a depression, I did the complete opposite. I finally started to live my life the way I wanted to. I was able to spend time with my friends, and actually form a close bond with them. I finally went to my first college party, and I got to see what the world has to offer, my friends and I did spontaneous things every weekend, and I went to my first rave. This breakup did not ruin my life, it opened my eyes.

Today, I have a wonderful boyfriend. He is supportive of everything I want to do, he makes me smile and laugh rather than make me cry. We work very well together because we both realize we need to have our own lives in a relationship. We cannot be each other's lives.

Oftentimes when a series of bad events occur, people become discouraged and see everything from a negative perspective. I understand this, because I have always been that way too. But from what 2016 taught me, bad things can keep happening, but there is always good in the end. Even if it takes a while to realize, bad experiences do not equal a bad life. Bad experiences will build you up and make you a stronger person. Things will always get better.