President Donald Trump has clearly made some waves throughout his election campaign and his first year of presidency, but it is important to recognize all he has done for the country thus far.

First of all, the economy is actually in a pretty great state for once. The stock market hit an all time high which created more jobs and wealth for Americans. As a businessman, President Trump understands the concepts behind the economy and entrepreneurship better than the average man, which allowed for him to successfully boost our economy.

Trump’s actions to improve business in the United States include the INSPIRE Women Act, which promotes women entering STEM fields, the Small Business Administration Act, which focuses on privately raised capital and innovation, and the United States Agency for International Development which will launch a worldwide competition next month for female-led businesses to gain access to capital. Additionally, unemployment rates have hit their lowest in four decades in thirteen states under the Trump administration.

President Trump has also prioritized increasing and redeveloping national security. The National Security Strategy explains Trump’s vision for the country’s national security. There are four pillars stated in this strategy: (1) protect the homeland, (2) promote American prosperity, (3) preserve peace through strength, and (4) advance American influence. President Trump has made it clear through his actions regarding national security in the past year that he has intentions to create a stronger nation for our country’s future.

In this first year of his term, President Trump has repealed 14 of President Obama’s regulations,has successfully handled crisis through composed leadership, and has reduced many costs imposed on American citizens. Overall despite your individual views on President Trump and the past election, no one can take away the fact that he has allowed for many beneficial changes to be made in American society.

Hearing so many people bash our president due to their disapproval of the little things he does is appalling considering the many great things he has done for this country so far. There are three years left on his term, and I for one am very interested to see what else he will be able to do for us.

No matter what your political stance is, it is important that you take the time to look at what President Trump has done to better this country in his first year in office. Maybe you don’t agree with everything he says or does, but he has been making great strides for our country and that is so important. This past year has been a year of a large division between political views, leading to hatred and cruel words or actions.

There is no need for any of that to continue into 2018, and I think it’s very important that everyone takes a minute to step back from politics and look at what they’ve done in the past year. Are you proud of how you’ve acted? Are you concerned with how you treated people? Take the last week of 2017 to realize the consequences of your words and actions whether they were good or bad and figure out how you can grow in 2018.