“Cause everyone is forgiven now, Cause tonight’s the night the world begins again. - Goo Goo Dolls, “Better Days”

Dear Readers,

As you cut up the makeshift confetti for your party—as you eagerly cheer the endless glasses of champagne—as you smile with friends and family at the passing of one year and the dawning of another, do not let the quiet moments of 2016 leave you without some room for thoughtful reflection. Most find joy in the holiday of drunken celebration for it allows a late night for all (even children) to embrace the fact that a wave of change has washed over the entire world, closing the chapter of a year filled with endless emotions, detrimental setbacks, glorious miracles, and life changing moments. Before you toss that glass back into your mouth and nod your head at another year of your life gone, take a moment amidst the wild celebration to look back at the year that shaped you. Whether it was for better or for worse, the elements that comprised 2016 helped scaffold a stronger, wiser, and more experienced version of the person you thought you knew.

Your year might have been filled with some of the greatest achievements in both your personal and career orientated life; take it as a gracious blessing that you grew in extraordinary strides in the year of 2016. The work you fought endlessly for—the long hours spent in a dim lit library or the claustrophobic cubicle—were cashed out and rewarded in a life well deserved. Look back with an equal amount of pride and humbleness; the best of people do not gloat about their accolades in the face of the less fortunate, but take it with a grain of salt, hoping that the same happiness can be found in 2017 for their friends and family.

Your year might have been filled with hopeless tragedy, reminding you that this life is filled with sadness and horrific outcomes. Perhaps you lost a loved one, finding that 2016 robbed you of everything you once believed to be great in this world. Do not let the inevitable tragedies of this life deter you from finding peace and happiness in 2017; recognize not 2016 as a year of tragedy, but rather the year you learned how important it is to love unconditionally with the knowledge of just how short and fragile this life can be. Despite how dark the clouds hovered over 2016, just know that as the ball drops in the night sky, the sun will rise to the dawning of a new year in the morning.

Your year might have been filled with anger and betrayal—whether it was from a friend, an emotion, or an abstract idea so large you can never wrap your head around it. Do not let hate direct the course of your life—love is so much more powerful. Above all the things the new year represents, forgiveness is at the foreground—to let go of hate and embrace acceptance and love is how we endure as human beings.

Did you lose yourself? Did you find yourself? Did you make someone proud? Did you disappoint someone? Have you found love? Did you lose love? Was 2016 your greatest year yet? Was 2016 your worst one yet? As you sit perched in the corner of that couch or tucked away in the dimness of a bar booth deep in thought, just remember—the greatest part of the new year is the ability to start again—to become the greatest version of yourself.

The most beautiful part about life is the hope for another chance—a new beginning is an eternal element to the passing of tides in a new year.

So raise your glass high—embrace the ones you love—and quietly look around at your life because whether you like it or not another piece of it has just passed you by. Did you make the most of it? More importantly, will you make the most of it tomorrow?

Don’t count yourself out in 2017—your second chance is waiting.