It's safe to say that 2016 was a year of extreme ups and downs for everyone. With the election causing great stress all around the country as well as a crazy year for sports, it has definitely been more eventful than past years. Many people have said that 2016 has been the worst year ever, and they're more than ready to jump into 2017. Although this year is not over just yet, there have been plenty of good things that 2016 has brought to us that we shouldn't forget about. Here's why 2016 was actually better than everyone thought it was.
The year 2016 was a HUGE year for the music industry. Some of the most popular recording artists dropped iconic albums that spread like wildfire. Albums such as Drake's Views and Kanye's The Life of Pablo, though very different from one another in style, were both spectacular and further pushed the "Drake vs. Kanye: who's better?" argument. Beyoncé's Lemonade was groundbreaking because of its messages of strong female empowerment and black culture, taking a big step in the Black Lives Matter movement. Other albums such as Chance the Rapper's Coloring Book, Kendrick Lamar's untitled unmastered and Frank Ocean's Blonde (it's about time, Frank), offer beautifully written messages and tell stories of their own. If you're not one to usually listen to modern music and hip-hop, I highly recommend any one of these.
Still sticking with the pop culture realm, if you're Twitter savvy like I am than you should know that 2016 has been a fantastic year for meme culture. If you are unfamiliar, memes are basically silly Internet trends in which a particular picture or video circulates around the Internet and people can caption them whatever they want. They are usually found on Twitter, and to be honest, there's really no reason as to why they appear. They just do. We had "Damn Daniel," Mr. Krabs and Spongegar, Ted Cruz is the Zodiac killer, Bernie vs. Hillary, the Big Brother gif (my personal favorite), Harambe, the mannequin challenge, and even Arthur memes from the children's television show, "Arthur." This has definitely been a year for the meme.
As I briefly mentioned before, this has been an incredible year for sports. For all my Cleveland readers, you know that 2016 was the year that the 52-year drought finally ended and the Cleveland Cavaliers brought home the NBA Championship. That will go down as my favorite memory of 2016 because of the sheer joy and relief experienced by all us Cleveland fans, and how we all came together after they won. Then shortly after, the Cleveland Indians made it to the World Series. Although they did lose in game 7, they were the underdogs from the start and weren't even supposed to beat Boston in the ALDS. It's pretty amazing that they got that far.
2016 was also the year of the Rio Olympics, in which the USA took first place with 121 medals, and 46 being gold. We got to see so many rising stars including the "Final Five" gymnasts who took home the gold, Michael Phelps breaking records left and right, and the men's basketball team stacked with NBA stars.
In the world of politics (no, not the election), several glass ceilings were shattered across the U.S. in 2016. In Oregon, Kate Brown was elected as the country's first openly LGBTQ governor. Kamala Harris, California's Attorney General, was the second ever black woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate. Ihlan Omar became the first Somali American elected legislator, winning a seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives. You go, girls!
So as 2016 comes to a close in this next month, don't dwell on the bad things that happened this year. Everyone has had their own personal successes whether it be in school, at work, socially or financially. There were plenty of good things to come out of this year. Relive the memories you've created with your friends and family, look back on the journeys you've taken and the things you've discovered about yourself, and grow from them. Apply all the things you've learned throughout the year in your everyday life, and make 2017 even better. The year isn't even over yet, so use this next month to reflect on everything you've taken away from 2016.
Oh, and by the way, Disney Channel announced that Hannah Montana is returning with a December marathon. So I'll leave it at that. Happy holidays, everyone!
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