2016 was inarguably atrocious. This was a year that claimed many celebrities who had created indelible marks on many lives. This was a year of the election with two of the least liked candidates. Ever. That election also culminated in the victory of a man who will most definitely be reversing the last eight years in any and all ways that he can. This was the year of the most horrific mass shooting which just so happened to also be a hate crime. Yet the year that was too affected by the death of a gorilla is now over.
In the past few years I have come to detest the "holiday" that is New Years. I've found it to be a holiday of expectations and resolutions that I knew I would never keep for more than a week. The only thing that this has come to prove is how easy it is to loathe yourself for being exactly the way you were three days ago. Especially after a particularly difficult few years I've tried to have as little to do with the holiday where my life was supposed to magically get better, even choosing to work instead of going to parties. But somehow I've found hope for 2017, to the point where I was actually excited for New Year's Eve.
Honestly I'm not sure where this hope came from. I'm not exactly looking forward to the upcoming Trump and Pence presidency and I don't doubt that this year is equally capable of robbing me of more celebrities whether it be through death or social media blackout. Yet I feel that this world learned something this year. I feel that Americans especially have had to grow a new and tougher layer of skin. Life is different now whether we like it or not. I know that I personally speak from a place of privilege but I still genuinely worry for the next four years and the effects that will carry on for many years after. That is why this new year is so incredibly important. This is not the year where you need to keep that resolution about eating healthier or actually going to the gym more than once a month. Though those goals are still important and no less admirable, this is the year where we decide we want more. In 2017, choose to participate in the political process. Choose to not only mourn the people who will inevitably pass but celebrate the lives that they lived. Then continue to love and appreciate those that you still have. If 2016 has taught us anything, it is that apathy changes nothing. Do not waste another year to mourn the losses of the year before. Empathy is more important than ever but the world will continue to turn. Use your voice to make 2017 the time where this world finally begins to heal and to fight to live.
