With 2016 continuously unraveling itself in a somewhat odd and unfamiliar way, November has given us a day to stop and remember what good things may have occurred throughout the year and give thanks. However, these things we remember and list off tend to be somewhat similar every year: being in good health, happy, alive... If we're constantly reminding ourselves of how lucky we are that we may have those things, how are we to tell how much we've really progressed from year to year?

Here are six things about 2016 that have made this year worth thanking.

1. In the world of sports.

This year, in the world of sports, we've witnessed world records shattering. LeBron James fulfilled his promise and brought Cleveland a Championship title in sports. The Cavaliers defeated the Golden State Warriors this year in the NBA Championships. Following that success path, The Cubs finally broke their losing streak of 108 years and took a W in this years world series (GO CUBS)! This was not only exciting for Cubs fans, but sports history was written and the good spirit of baseball touched everyone's hearts that day in one way or another. In other sports news, 65 Olympic and 19 world records were broken in the Rio Olympic games this year. (Additionally, Indiana Hoosiers took home all kinds of metals in the Rio games- just had to throw that out there, GO HOOSIERS!)

2. The world and it's inhabitants.

With climate change on everyone's minds and what might happen to our earth due to recent events, it must be great to know that there are some things that have happened this year that are just spectacular. The world's population of tigers has gone up for the first time in a century! According to the World Wildlife Fund, there are now 3,890 tigers roaming the world, freely. On a human note, the world's average life expectancy is now 68 years and six months! That is six more years than it was in 1990. This year, child mortality is actually the lowest it has ever been in human history, due to the readily available healthcare and education that the world is constantly providing more and more of. Now, for news on our world, the ozone layer has actually shown physical proof that it is repairing itself due to the long process of us humans eliminating certain chemicals from our daily usage.

3. Science and advances in technology.

This year, the first fuel-less plane traveled the entire WORLD. This plane began its journey in March 2015. Completely solar-powered, powered by sunlight and will, it finished it's journey this year in Abu Dhabi. Want more cool, techy news? Virtual reality is now a reality! You can have your share of one of these awesome gadgets with just $5 at hand. Mark Zuckerberg predicts that this technology will be, "worthy of a lot of investment over a long time." Lastly for scientific fun, after five years of flying (soaring? gliding? *whatever you do in space*ing?) and almost two billion miles in covered distance, Juno, one of NASA's aircrafts, entered Jupiter's orbit on July 4, 2016. This will give us, back at home a much deeper understanding of what is out there through photos, videos, samples and more...

4. Health.

Guess what? This year was AWESOME for health-related news. Scientists were able to locate and analyze the gene that is linked to ALS! This means we are so much closer to a cure. The ALS Association actually credits a huge chunk of the money that was raised to the ice bucket challenge for its constant promotion through viral videos. Keep making videos and using social media for good causes-- it sure can pay off. Along with that, scientists have also been stepping forward in the search for Alzheimer's prevention. According to alzheimers.net, drinking more coffee and adding a cup of wine to your daily meals, as well as getting enough sleep and exercising regularly, can help prevent the disease. They've also identified just exactly how the proteins that cause this disease work. Oh, hey, did someone say Ebola? Not this year! The World Health Organization declared that the world's Ebola pandemic is officially over this year. And to finish off health-wise reasons for why we should be thankful this year, a group of Israeli scientists have announced that they are very close to starting their clinical trials for radiation poisoning treatment. The treatment is called "Israeli placental cell therapy." (Go Israel!) Advancements in organ transplants have also been developing rapidly. Scientists are now able to build organs from their patient's stem cells and have been doing so, successfully. (Shoutout to Samuel Kaswan for being so strong and always being full of love and life in his journey through a liver transplant- the Merenfeld family loves you!)

5. Music and movies.

To all of Led Zeppelin's disappointed fans that went through the excruciating pain of finding out the song "Stairway to Heaven" was plagiarized, this year on June 23rd, Led Zeppelin was cleared of stealing anything related to the band "Spirit." I can finally listen to this beautiful song again without whispering "traitors" under my breath. And finally, FINALLY, after 27 years in show biz, six oscar nominations and a lifetime of heartbreaks, our beloved Leonardo Di Caprio has taken home an Oscar for best actor for his incredible performance in "The Revenant." Keep up the good work buddy.

2016 came with many surprises and will surely end with many, many more. I can definitely look back at 2016 and think, "life, man." We have a whole lot to look forward to in 2017, and I cannot wait to see what more life has in store for us.