Well, here we are at the end of 2016 and the beginning of 2017. That means it is time to bid farewell to the last year and I am sure many are happy to do it. Here I am adding to all the trending New Year’s posts I get annoyed of seeing. I hate all the predictable New Year’s talk about resolutions, making changes that no one sticks too, and all the negativity.

I thought it would be a good idea to reflect on the positive of the year because everyone seems to only remember the negative. I personally had many positives come out of 2016. I started volunteering in the summer and have been able to continue to volunteer during the school year. I made it to my senior year of college. There was a time I was not sure I would make it to my senior year, anyone in college can relate to those dark times you questioned everything. Now that I am in my senior year I know I will make it to graduation, the accomplishment has given me enough motivation to get through until the end.

It is so easy for us to focus on the negatives, we remember the memories with negative emotions more strongly than memories with positive emotions. A while ago I made a conscious effort to be happier and that could be why I don’t feel as bad about how 2016 went compared to most of the population. There were a lot of famous deaths this year right until the very end. When people thought it was over, sure enough, another person would pass away. Politically everything this year was an absolute mess with fear and anger running rampant. It seems like there has been more of a divide between different people than ever before.

I can understand why it can be hard to find anything positive from this year. The easiest way to see it is to start with personal successes and move out from there. Good things I have seen come from this year is people coming together for causes they believe in. I have never seen so many people take an active role in the causes they care about. If people only see the gap between themselves and others, then they will miss out on the bridges connecting us all.

Social media is not helping anyone look at the good that has come out of 2016. Everyone gets on social media and sees all the posts about how horrible 2016 was for others and starts to only think about the ways it was bad for them too. We might be able to spread more positivity if we post about the good things we had in 2016, then people will think about what good they had in 2016.

If we don’t try to see the good in the time that has come and gone, I have some harsh news and that is that 2017 will end in the same exact emotions of defeat and failure.