Many people, including me, are in complete shock that it is already the new year. I remember when so many people were talking about the world ending in 2012. That was five whole years ago. Time flies so quickly in the long run and in the blink of an eye, the next year is over. Looking back on past years, things have changed so much more than we realize; It is crazy that the start of the century was 17 whole years ago. To jog your memory and hopefully not make you feel too old, here is what our country was up to back in the day.

17 years ago-

The year that Christina Aguilera Won the Grammy For Best New Artist and the brand new hit "Oops!... I Did It Again" by Brittany Spears came out. 17 years ago, George Bush was elected president of the Untied States and the movie How the Grinch Stole Christmas! was released. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire book was also published this year.

15 years ago-

The year 2002 was the year that singer Kelly Clarkson won American Idol. It is also the year that movies such as Ice Age, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Spider-Man, and My Big Fat Greek Wedding came out. The song topping the 2002 charts was "How You Remind Me" by Nickleback. Also high on the list, Avril Lavigne, Vanessa Carlton, Jimmy Eat World, and Eminem.

13 years ago-

2004, the year of The Incredibles release! Shrek 2 also came out this year. This Love by Maroon 5 came out and was a popular hit, as well as Hey Ya! by Outkast. Some popular toys this year were Barbies, Bratz, Cabbage Patch Kids, Care Bears, and Leap Frog. The Blu Ray system was also becoming more popular after its release the previous year. Also, the social media site, Facebook, was founded.

11 years ago-

2006 was a busy year for the world. It is the year that Pluto was stripped of it's planet status, and the Wii gaming system and Playstation 3 also were introduced and became a big hit. Webkinz were increasingly popular for children. TV was changing, introducing brand new shows such as Hannah Montana, Friday Night Lights, Ugly Betty, and Dexter. Last episodes of Blue's Clues, Arrested Development, That '70s Show, and Jimmy Neutron were aired. Also, 11 years ago is also when new movies like High School Musical, The Pink Panther, and Garfield were released. In addition, we sadly lost stars such as Steve Irwin and Peter Boyle.

9 years ago-

Breaking Bad and The Secret Life of the American Teenager came to television. Macbook Air made its debut. Popular new releases of music included "I Kissed a Girl" by Katy Perry, "Bubbly" by Colbie Caillat, "No Air" by Jordin Sparks feat. Chris Brown, and "Pocket Full of Sunshine" by Natasha Bedingfield. Not to mention this was the year that Justin Bieber posted a music video that would soon be discovered and provide him the path to stardom. 2008 was also the year the summer Olympics were held in Beijing, China, and President Barack Obama won the presidential election against John McCain.

7 years ago-

Justin Bieber is becoming popular in the music industry, as well as Ke$ha who released hit "Tik Tok" which took place as the top of the 2010 charts. The boy band One Direction was formed this year. The app Instagram also was launched to the public. 7 years ago was when the Winter Olympics were held in Vancouver, Canada.

5 years ago-

5 years ago, people were freaking out about the world ending. The popular app Instagram was launched. Popular movies were released including The Hobbit, Hunger Games, Dark Night Rises, The Avengers, Brave, 21 Jump Street, and Pitch Perfect. One Direction is a craze among the youth, and videos of parodies of Carly Rae Jepson's chart topping song "Call Me Maybe" were popping up all over the internet. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle and Furbie toys are making a comeback.

3 years ago-

Pharrell Williams' song, "Happy" is playing all over the radio. 2014 is also the year that shows Good Luck Charlie and How I Met Your Mother went off the air. The movement Black Lives Matter was increasingly becoming popular after it's founding the previous year, and an Ebola outbreak gave us a scare. Winter Olympics were held in Sochi, Russia, and Colorado started off this year by becoming the first state to legalize marijuana.

1 year ago-

This year doesn't need much explanation since we were living it a few weeks ago. In 2016, Trump was elected president, Olympics were held in Rio, and we lost celebrities including David Bowie, Gene Wilder, and Prince. A Finding Nemo sequel, Zootopia, Suicide Squad, and Moana came to box offices. It was excitingly the longest year ever, exceeding it's usual length by a single second, making it one for the books.

Feel Old Yet? Just you wait.

Let's see what's in store for us in the next 17 years.