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16 Reasons 2016 Wasn't That Bad

Cleveland AND the Cubs won a Championship Ring, and no you are not dreaming.

Erin Dougherty

Feb 11, 2017

University of Toledo

Reformed African American Network

We're already a month in a half into 2017 and there is already a list of good and bad for the year. But let's take a minute to look back and remember the good that 2016 brought us.

Yes, Donald Trump was elected our president, yes we lost a lot of great people and yes there were a number of terrorist attacks. But not everything that happened was bad. While some people will look at 2016, and define it as one of the worst years, there are those who will look at 2016 at define it as one of the best years.

1. Leo won his Oscar. After being nominated 6 times for Best Actor, Leo was finally able to take home the title for his role in The Revenant.

2. High School graduation rate reached a historic high. 83.2% of the nation’s high schoolers graduated.

3. The world came together for the 2016 Summer Olympics and we actually supported one another.

4. India planted 50 million trees in one day, smashing a world record.

5. Peyton Manning went out on top. 39 years old, Super bowl MVP and a Hall of Fame career. Can’t go out much better than that.

6. Tigers were taken off the endangered list. As well as Giant Pandas and Manatees. There are now 3,890 Tigers, 2,060 Giant Pandas and there are between 7,634 and 10,434 Manatees.

7. Cleveland won a major sports Championship. Fans watched Lebron come in clutch with a block that would ultimately allow his team to become NBA Champions for the first time in franchise history.

8. The America’s (North and South) are measles – free.

9. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge paid off, researchers discovered the gene NEK1, which ranks among the most common genes that contribute to ALS. We are one step closer to eliminating the disease.

10. There was a new Harry Potter book.

11. The Chicago Cubs won. How cool is it that today’s kids will grow up knowing that the Cubs have won a World Series in their life time?

12. Pokemon Go took over. It’s one of the best video games that we have seen in a while, it gets people off the couch and outside and moving, while still enjoying a video game.

13. Finding Dory was released and we got to fall in love with her all over again.

14. The unemployment rate is the lowest that is has been in the past nine years.

15. Netflix added offline downloads. You can literally watch Netflix whenever, wherever you want now.

16. You survived.

Here's to hoping 2017 can bring us even more joy.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.

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16 Reasons 2016 Wasn't That Bad

Cleveland AND the Cubs won a Championship Ring, and no you are not dreaming.

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No one best represents the struggle like our favorite 90s squad.

1. When course schedules are released and you have a conflict between two required classes.

2. When there is only one section of a popular course.

3. Receiving the 18,000 emails reminding you to register ASAP.

4. When you need to see an advisor, but they are too busy/unresponsive.

5. Trying not to dress like a bum for your appointments with your advisors/department heads.

6. When you have a perfectly planned out schedule, and one class ruins it.

7. Carefully moving things around to accommodate a different class/section.

8. Waking up at 6:00 a.m. for your enrollment time.

9. Concocting a new schedule at your enrollment time after your original plan gets changed.

10. Getting into a class and filling the last available seat.

11. When all of your classes finally go through.

12. Realizing that you forgot a class that was a pre-requisite for everything else.

When your capability of "adulting" is put to the test

Nobody deserves to be living in poverty.

"Nobody living in one of the most influential nations in the world should be worried about making ends meet."

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What are the benefits of raising the minimum wage?

What are the states that have set a $15/hour minimum wage?

Told through Parks & Recreation GIFs

Because who understands your bitterness better than April?

1. When you have to provide an "interesting fact" for your first day ice-breaker.

2. When your professor is babbling on and on in his lecture.

3. When you edit your friend's paper and they get an A.

4. When it's 2 AM and you remember you have a test tomorrow.

5. When you finish taking the test and you're pretty sure you failed...

6. ...but then you get the test back and somehow passed.

7. When you've been up for 12 hours straight writing a paper.

8. And then you manage to stay awake in class the next day.

9. When you have to butter up your professor for an extra credit opportunity.

10. When you're assigned a group project.

11. And your group-mates are trying to chat about life instead of the assignment.

12. When it's your last class of the day and you're about to go home.

13. But then you remember rent is due tonight and the anger comes back.

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