I know that most people say that to make this new year better than the last, we must stop complaining about how bad 2016 was and think about all the positive and all the good that did happen. I understand and respect the people who are saying this, but I also think that we’re allowed to have hope for a better new year. Yes, I know that we control our own outlook on life and we can determine how life affects us. However, sometimes we don’t know how to handle what life throws at us and sometimes this means that we don’t control our outlook on life very well or maybe in a way that others think we should, but that also does not mean that we aren’t thankful for all the good and positive things that did impact our lives during 2016.

We know that 2016 really wasn’t the worst year ever, but honestly, no one knows how people are impacted. Some really great times and some really awful times occurred in 2016; and everyone is affected by them differently. I know that for every bad situation we need to try to look for the positive and try to understand why it happened or how this can positivity changed our life. But, knowing from personal struggle, this can be hard. Finding the positive change when something bad happens is not easy. That’s one thing that 2016 did teach me though. That I need to be more positive and try to find the good, even when all I can see is bad. But, for some people this lesson is hard to get through and even harder to learn. It’s not that they can’t, but sometimes people aren’t meant to change, and I don’t know if that’s good or bad, but it’s the way it is.

So I think it’s ok to want and hope for a better year. To hope that 2017 is better than 2016 because for some, this hope of a new year is the positive thing in their life. Not everyone can have such a positive outlook on life and find the good when they’re surrounded by bad. For some it’s easier than others, and some people are trying their best to learn and understand how to do it. Overall, hoping for a better 2017 means that people are positive for the future, even if their past was good or bad, or maybe a mix of both. 2017 will be a year full of ups and downs and everyone will handle it in their own way. So let’s all have hope that 2017 will be a better year, even if that has a different meaning from one person to the next.