At this point, it isn’t hard to think of 2016 as the worst year in recorded history. The headlines are dominated by news of mass shootings, political chaos, terrorism, the loss of cultural icons like Prince and David Bowie and the end of Vine. But, believe it or not, there’s still some good left in the world left cheering for. It’s a reminder that no matter what, we will all be okay.
1. Astronaut Scott Kelly has returned to Earth after a year in space.
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2. There's a new Harry Potter book and movie.
4. The Final Five (aka US Women’s 2016 Olympic Gymnastics Team) won gold (and our hearts).
5. We celebrated the first ever National Body Confidence day.
6. Harriet Tubman will replace Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill.
7. The Nigerian army rescued almost 12,000 civilians held hostage by Boko Haram.
8. Leonardo DiCaprio finally won an Oscar.
9. Bob Ross made it to Netflix.
10. Michael Phelps made history winning his 28th gold medal.
11. Remember the Ice Bucket Challenge? The donations helped find the gene linked to ALS, bringing us one step closer to eliminating it.
13. 800,000 volunteers in India broke a word record by planting 50 million trees in 24 hours.
14. Two brothers saw color for the first time thanks to specially-designed glasses.
15. #BringBackOurGirls: 21 of the 219 Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram 4 were released.
16. A 14-year-old founder and CEO turned down a $30 million buyout offer for his start-up company.
17. Grace Vanderwaal won America's Got Talent.
