2016 is finally over, so we can all breathe a sigh of relief (well sort of). This year has definitely been quite the wild ride. Viewed by many as one of the worst years ever due to the changing political climate, natural disasters, violence, and the number of celebrity deaths, it's hard not to feel happy that it is over. Here at the end of such a monumental year, let's take a look back at 16 of the best (and worst) things to happen over the course of 2016.

1. The 2016 Presidential Election

Political views aside, you have to admit that the 2016 Presidential Election is definitely the number one news story of the past year. Of course, half the time I felt like I was watching "Jersey Shore" and the other half of the time I felt like I was watching "The Hunger Games," but there is no doubt that this election cycle has been historical and unprecedented. This election made history by being the first time people could vote for a female candidate in a major party, the first time we elected a president who has never held an elected office before, and (while this one may be my opinion) by being the first time I ever saw my generation care so much about national politics and actually take a stand.

2. Celebrity deaths

2016 was certainly a grim year in terms of the deaths of celebrities and other noteworthy figures. Countless times over the past year, my Facebook newsfeed was filled with stories about the latest death. Starting early on in the year with the deaths of David Bowie and Alan Rickman, some of the other musicians, actors, and public figures we've said goodbye to this year include Prince (musician known for "Purple Rain") Gene Wilder ("Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory"), Alan Thicke ("Growing Pains"), John Glenn (one of the original astronauts), Greg Lake and Keith Emerson (Emerson, Lake, and Palmer), Florence Henderson ("The Brady Bunch"), Leonard Cohen (singer/songwriter known for "Hallelujah"), Arnold Palmer (champion golfer), Elie Wiesel (Nobel peace prize winner and author of "Night"), Christina Grimmie ("The Voice" finalist), Muhammed Ali (boxer and activist), and Glen Frey (The Eagles). Click here for a full list.

3. Harambe

I'm sure you've all heard the story of Harambe by now. In May 2016, a three-year-old boy climbed into Harambe the gorilla's enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo, prompting a zoo worker to shoot the gorilla out of fear for the child's life. The incident caused a huge public outcry, as many people didn't think it was necessary to kill Harambe, and that the child's parents or the zoo should be held accountable. The fallout from the incident caused the zoo to temporarily shut down their Twitter account from daily harassment, a number of internet memes featuring the gorilla, and of course, all those people who threw their vote away in the 2016 election by writing in the gorilla's name on the ballot.

4. Brexit

In June 2016, the United Kingdom voted in favor of Brexit – in other words, the United Kingdom chose to leave the European Union. More than 30 million people voted in the referendum, and "leave" won with 52% of the vote. Britain got a new Prime Minister, Theresa May, as their last Prime Minister, Dave Cameron, did not support Brexit and resigned the day after the referendum. Brexit has also caused a bit of a controversy throughout the UK, as Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to remain in the EU and do not feel like they should be forced to leave it. Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said a second independence referendum would be "highly likely."

5. The Disney World gator attack

A tragedy took place in Disney World this past June when a toddler, Lane Graves, was killed by a seven-foot alligator in the lagoon at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort. While there have been at least 41 unprovoked alligator attacks since 2010, alligator attacks at Disney are almost unheard of, with the last attack having taken place in 1986. The family decided not to file a lawsuit against Disney, and the park has been making strides to further decrease the chances of an incident like this happening again.

6. Bombings and Shootings

Tragedy really surrounded much of 2016, with a number of shootings, bombings, and terrorist attacks throughout the year. I did not include all of them, because horribly, there were just that many. My heart goes out to all the victims of these shootings, including the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando, the Bastille Day terrorist attack in France, the Istanbul Airport attack, the Charleston church shooting, and the bombing in Brussels, as well as the many other tragic attacks.

7. Hurricane Matthew

In October 2016, Hurricane Matthew made its way through the Caribbean, leaving a path of destruction in its wake. While the storm was downgraded to a Category One hurricane by the time it reached North Carolina, it left places like Haiti completely devastated. After the powerful storm hit Haiti, aid workers said much of southern Haiti was completely destroyed, and the storm left nearly 900 people dead.

8. Gatlinburg Wildfire

Near the end of this fateful year, Tennessee was hit with a terrible wildfire that claimed the lives of 14 people and injured 134. The fire destroyed over 1600 structures including homes, churches, and cabins. Tennessee was not the only place to be swept with wildfire this year. California suffered a vast number of wildfires this year, and as recently as September had four different fires blazing at once.

9. Louisiana Flooding

The Red Cross announced that the catastrophic flooding endured by Louisiana this summer was the worst natural disaster to strike the United States since Hurricane Sandy four years ago. 31 inches of rain fell on the area in only 15 hours, causing flood waters to rise quickly and unexpectedly. At least 40,000 homes suffered damage, and thirteen people died. The Coast Guard, National Guard, and local emergency responders rescued more than 30,000 people and 1400 pets.

This list has been pretty bleak so far. Not everything that happened in 2016 was bad. Let's take a look at some of the positive things to come out of this year.

10. American Idol ended

After 15 seasons, Fox's singing competition show, "American Idol," finally ended once and for all. It crowned its last winner, Trent Harmon, this past spring. "American Idol" can largely be credited as one of the first of its kind, ushering in a new generation not only of reality television singing competitions like "The Voice," but really a whole range of competition shows like "America's Next Top Model," "Project Runway," "Top Chef," and more. I personally haven't watched a full season of "American Idol" since the season David Cook won, as I couldn't take the constant switching up of the judges (and by the time Simon was off the panel, I really didn't care anymore). Nonetheless, the end of "American Idol" is really the end of an era in television.

11. The Summer Olympics

The Summer Olympics in Rio was the third most successful Olympics in terms of medal count for the United States, which brought home 121 medals. The US won the most medals in swimming and track and field, with a combined 65 podium finishes across these categories. Gymnastics was also an area of success for the US, with a record-breaking nine medals (the most any country has won since 1972). Simone Biles won four of these medals, making her the first American gymnast to win this many medals in a single games. Michael Phelps confirmed that this would be his last Olympics, but went out with a bang – he took home 28 medals this year!

12. The Dakota Access Pipeline has been delayed

After a lengthy protest (which is technically still going on), the Standing Rock Sioux and fellow protestors finally achieved victory against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. The protest involved hundreds of tribes, celebrities, and activists and often resulted in heated confrontations between protestors and police, involving water cannons, pepper spray, and rubber bullets. After the arrival of hundreds of veterans earlier this month, the Army announced that it would not approve the easement necessary to permit the pipeline to cross under Lake Oahe in North Dakota. However, this victory may be short-lived, as President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to support pipelines, and the future of this project remains to be seen under his presidency.

13. JUNO Spacecraft reached Jupiter

The JUNO spacecraft reached its destination of Jupiter this year. The $1.1 billion mission launched in 2011. Equipped with nine science instruments to study Jupiter's structure, the mission will help researchers better understand the planet's formation and evolution. JUNO principal investigator, Scott Bolton, says that the findings they've received so far are "amazing." The mission is scheduled to continue through February 2018.

14. Ice Bucket Challenge funded ALS breakthrough

Remember the ice bucket challenge, where you were nominated to dump a bucket of ice over your head in the name of spreading awareness and raising money for ALS? Turns out, the ice bucket challenge actually funded three break-throughs in research of ALS, with the most recent taking place in 2016. Project MinE, a University of Massachusetts Medical School project, received $1 million of the money raised through the challenge, and used that money to identify the gene that causes ALS, which gives researchers a new starting point for developing treatments.

15. Wild tiger population is on the rise

For the first time since detailed records began, wild tiger numbers have actually increased. After the 2010 estimate of 3200 wild tigers, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Global Tiger Forum says there are now at least 3890 tigers living in the wild. This is still a fraction of the number of tigers there once were – in the early 1900s, it was estimated that there were 100,000 tigers in the wild. Poaching and habitat destruction have put tigers on the brink of extinction. The Bali, Caspian, and Javan tiger are already extinct, and six surviving subspecies of tiger remain in the wild. However, an increase is still an increase, and something to be happy about!

16. Pokemon Go

Finally, the biggest "positive" news story of the year! In July 2016, Niantic released what I felt was a long time coming – a mobile Pokemon game, Pokemon GO. It quickly swept not just the nation, but the entire world (with so many people playing at once in its first weeks, that the game crashed multiple times as a result of the popularity). People were arrested, people drove recklessly, people ran across the busy streets of New York City to catch a Vaporeon they easily could have evolved by changing their Eevee's name to "Rainer" – yeah, it was a crazy time indeed. While a lot of people criticized the game, claiming it just gave people even more reason to look down at their phones constantly, the reality is that when Pokemon GO was first released, literally hundreds of people would gather round to hunt Pokemon and battle gyms together. I've never seen such a vast array of people, young and old, different races, all doing something together just for fun. While Pokemon GO has decreased in popularity since its release, Niantic has done a few holiday events that have gotten people back into playing the game, with their latest update including the baby Pokemon from Generation Two. What will happen from here in the Pokemon universe? Only time will tell!