It is 2017, and more has changed than just the year. Some may say that everything has changed.

To state the obvious, it is a new year. You have everyone trying to keep up their New Year's resolutions, the whole, "New year, new me" mentality, most of us failing miserably. I personally did not make any resolutions because I knew I would not keep them past the end of January if I did.

For college students, 2017 represents a new semester, a semester closer to graduation. It means new classes, new professors, and new people to sit next to. For some it even means getting a new roommate. For some it is their last semester in college and preparing to be a part of the "real world."

For America, 2017 represents a year of loss and new beginnings. It is when the man who has led our country for the past eight years his position as president. For Barrack Obama and his family, it means a change in lifestyle. His daughters literally grew up in the White House. How does one go from living in the White House to leading a "normal" life? For the Trump family, it is a transition from a celebrity lifestyle to a political one. For the citizens, it is a change in leadership, a change in political policy, and, for some, the change in how they live their life. Many are afraid for the future of the great country of the United States of America, and many are excited for the change that has come.

For the world, 2017 is a chance at hope. 2016 was not a bad year for me on an individual basis, but it was not a good year for our planet. There were many terrorist attacks. The environment is deteriorating. Bees are dying. National reserves and water sources have been fought for. 2016 has brought the mentality of, "well it could not possibly get any worse than this." We have an opportunity as a society to make a change for the better. It is up to us to play the hand we have been dealt. We, the people living on this planet must take our lives into our own hands and take back our world.