2016 has been a tumultuous year for me, you, and the world. Many iconic celebrities passed away, Donald Trump was elected, Russia apparently hacked that same election, my brother got married (this was a good thing, of course), I started my final year of college, and began considering my future options.

The past couple of weeks, however, have changed a lot of my thoughts. I even asked myself if I should make 2017 New Year's Resolutions when there was no guarantee of making 2018 resolutions, due to our president-elect's penchant for tweeting, and also due to just how unexpected life can be.

Two main takeaways from 2016 are the ideas of value and family. First, I must value people, even if they do not value me, and second, I must appreciate my family and cherish our time together.

I learned a lot about valuing people and maintaining healthy friendships this year. Even after the deep hurt of the previous school year, I chose to forgive the people involved and to quit dwelling on the lost time together. I also chose to cultivate and sustain my new friendships, and I am deeply thankful for them.

In 2017, I want to continue to develop those relationships and also stay in contact after I graduate. I also hope that I can make new friends when I enter the next stage of my life, even if they are not of the same depth that I had in college. Besides, deep friendships take time to happen.

Recently, I went to Pittsburgh to visit my extended family. There is always a meat-heavy meal, a hockey game playing on the TV, and boisterous laughter amidst childhood stories while our ninety-four-year-old patriarch looks on with pride and joy. It was a deep comfort to me this past week, knowing that nothing much had changed since my last visit. We swapped life updates, snickered while my uncle griped about the prices of batteries, and marveled over the annual family calendar that my mother takes on every year. I even talked with my grandfather about his experiences in World War II, and I'm still amazed by his humility every time he shares his story.

We also went to see my other grandfather's grave and I reflected on how his life had impacted me. He was a war veteran, too: a corporal in the Korean War. I never really heard much about what he did, except that it involved quite a bit of time in Germany and Russia. He was married to my grandmother Louise for 60 years before he passed away, and knew more about cars than most anybody on the planet. Grandpa Guthrie was probably one of the kindest, most grace-filled people I ever knew and I hope to be even half as kind as he is one day.

We visited Louise in her assisted living home, and I was heartbroken at first to see her so forgetful. When she was told I was her granddaughter, she nodded, but I couldn't see a glimmer of recognition right away. That broke my heart. As time went on, and my father and uncle made conversation with her, she started to really make eye contact with me. I know many of her memories are gone on this earth but when she goes to heaven, they will be restored! I held on to that hope as we left the home and drove back to my uncle's house near Penn State. That night, we all shared a family meal and made small talk. It was a very pleasant visit, albeit short, and I was struck by how much peace I felt. Before going to Pittsburgh and State College, I had been pretty anxious and upset.

I have absorbed as many stories from my grandparents' past as I can, so I can learn from their wisdom and pass those stories down for future generations. Someday, I might even write a book based on what I've heard. 2016 has also taught me not to take my family relationships for granted. I have increasingly come to the realization that I have an unusually stable family: no one has been divorced (much), there have never been any fights, and my grandparents loved all of us grandkids equally. I have seen nothing but loving marriages between my aunts and uncles, and nothing but healthy sibling relationships between my cousins. I have been given the gift of wonderful role models and I am incredibly thankful for that. I can only hope my children will have the level of closeness my cousins and I have, as well as the amount of good role models.

In 2017, I want to continue to collect stories and memories from my aunts, uncles, and grandparents as much as I can. I also want to keep in regular contact and maintain the tight bonds with my cousins on both sides of the family. My biggest hope is to perhaps meet someone that I eventually create a family with, but I won't rush that dream. That is up to the Lord, just as everything else is up to Him.

I ask you readers, now, to think on what you took away from 2016 and how you can continue those lessons in 2017.

Happy New Year!