A new year means new opportunities. New opportunities in love, in work, and in relationships. This also means that the new year is full of missteps and mistakes because not every step we take is the right one. Many may want to leave everything that happened in 2016 there, but history is important.

Without history we would not exist. We would not be who we are today. Whether you like who you are now or you plan on making changes, you wouldn't have anything to work with if you didn't remember your history.

This is why I propose reflecting back on 2016 in such a way that will make 2017 better. Remember the good and the bad in a neutral way that will allow you to learn from what you did. What is past is gone, nothing can be changed, but looking back can help us from making the same mistakes in the future.

Remember when...

January 2016: Iran Nuclear Deal went into effect, Taiwan elected its first female president

February 2016: Super Bowl 50, #OscarsSoWhite

March 2016: Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton pulled ahead in presidential race, former first lady Nancy Reagan died

April 2016: Obama moves more troops to Syria to fight ISIS, airstrike killed 50 people in Aleppo, Syria hospital

May 2016: EgyptAir flight MS804 went missing over the Mediterranean

June 2016: Orlando club shooting killed 49 people, Olympic athletes bow out due to zika virus in Rio

July 2016: Pokemon Go is launched, Dallas shooting killed 5 police officers

August 2016: Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Brazil female president is impeached

September 2016: U.S. and Russia have Syria cease-fire, Government recalls Samsung Note 7

October 2016: 141 people arrested at Dakota Access Pipeline, Cubs win World Series

November 2016: Donald Trump wins the presidential election, Ohio State sees someone crash car and begin attacking individuals with a butcher knife

December 2016: Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher died

All of this happened in the world around you. Some of it directly affected you while others were just something in the news. History is being made every day. So take some time to reflect on your history. You might learn something about yourself or others, and that something just might make 2017 the best year yet.