2016 can be simplified into one word: rough.
This is not just because of the presidential election, no matter what side you are on, but there are many horrible things that happened this year.
- The Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando.
- The terrorist attack in Nice, France.
- The death of David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Prince, Muhammad Ali, Christina Grimmie, and so many more.
- The fact that the death of a gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo was turned into a meme that got 11,000 votes in the presidential election.
- Britain leaving the European Union.
- The Syrian Refugee Crisis.
I could go on, but I am quite frankly depressing myself and probably whoever is reading this. Plus, there were some good things that happened in 2016 that deserve a mention.
- The wild tiger population increased.
- Giant pandas are no longer endangered.
- Zika is no longer considered a global health emergency, but is now classified to chronic threat level, which means strategies to contain the disease are working.
- We are getting closer to the HIV cure.
- The Ice Bucket Challenge actually helped fund an ALS breakthrough with the discovery of a gene that causes ALS.
- 55 countries signed the Paris Climate Change Agreement.
- A solar powered plane went around the world without any fuel.
- The Cubs won the World Series after 108 years.
- Leonardo Dicaprio won an Oscar.
