While the year 2016 has been an eventful one, the year cannot be blamed for the things that have happened. A concept of time cannot cause such tragedies, only people can do that.

Anywhere you look, you can see headlines crediting 2016 for yet another accomplish (or tragedy, most likely). Some popular ones include: “2016 claims another celebrity”, “2016, the year that America lost its mind”, and “I’m so done with 2016”.

But my favorite idea I’ve seen on the matter is that 2016 is like the start of a futuristic horror film explaining how the world got as bad as it is. How brutal. One year has spelled the doom of the world as we know it. What an impressive feat!

I’m not saying that the year has been great. There has been tragedy upon tragedy, but is that because it’s 2016? Will mass shootings and genocides suddenly stop once the ball drops on New Years and it becomes 2017? Will people learn how to suddenly get along? Will celebrities suddenly become immune to death? My guess is no.

And let’s not forget the fact that things far worse have happened in prior years. In 2016, a majority of us have the privilege of modern medicine which allows us to survive fevers that have claimed so many throughout time. We can communicate with people on the other side of the world with a click of a button, when people used to wait months for a simple letter. In this day and age, we are not living through the Great Depression, the Plague, or the Holocaust. Be grateful that the “worst” you’ve had to go through has been 2016.

Stop saying that 2016 was the worst year ever, and start being responsible for your actions. We cannot fix things until we realize that we’re the cause. So, for the sake of 2017 and all years to come, see the fault in the humanity, and actually do something about it. Stop blaming the year.