My Letter To 2016

Dear 2016,

You have been one of the most tumultuous years that I, and probably a lot of other people within my generation, have experienced. Even though you are nothing more than a group of days (and four numbers), you have everyone left and right blaming you for everything that has gone wrong. From beloved celebrity deaths, to the election of a rotting tangerine to the highest office of the United States, and to countless tragedies as a result of violence all over the world, you had never ceased to make people angry at you. Which is impressive too, considering that as I mentioned before, you’re just a group of days (and four numbers).

I'm not even mad. (Will Ferrell)

While you yourself have made me quite conflicted and yes, even irrationally angry at some points, I look at you overall as a mixed bag. Because you see, while so many terrible things happened this year, I also had so many amazing things happen to me as well!

So yes 2016, while we were all inside of you, I got to experience some incredible things. For starters, I graduated college with a Bachelors Degree in Fashion Business and Acting, and I have never been happier with my pursuits. I got to go to Turks and Caicos to see my brother fly around on a trapeze and aerial straps – how many people can say that they’ve seen that? Oh right, and I also got to go to Italy with my best friend and my sister. Freakin’ Italy!! And did I mention that I was lucky enough to experience the joy of the Cubs winning the World Series firsthand?

There were some other sweet moments that I’m happy to have experienced. Due in part to a spontaneous decision on my roommate’s part, I ended up getting my first pet, a little black kitten named Winifred. I was also lucky enough to be apart of an award winning short film, Silver Screens (and yes, while it was incredibly rough to go through the month of July with my parents mad at me for being partly nude on screen, it was all worth it). I also had the pleasure of working for two incredible Chicago startup companies (check them out: https://zipfitdenim.com/ and https://www.vosgeschocolate.com/). And finally, as Kylie Jenner actually predicted, I realized so many things about myself this year that I hadn’t realized before – including the fact that a total of three men had stolen my heart this year in a whirlwind of excitement and young romance.

Of course, I’m not letting you get off the hook for a lot of the other things that you brought upon us, 2016. I’m still bummed at the fact that we didn’t get our first woman president, despite the fact that she won the popular vote. I’m also still heartbroken over events such as Orlando and Aleppo, and very much not over the deaths of Alan Rickman, Anton Yelchin, and Carrie Fisher (as well as other beloved celebrities). However, if there is one thing that I can give you credit for, it is giving a majority of us an excuse to get off of our asses and take action. Yes, while you have been a year of tumultuous events, you have also been a year of making us realize that if we want change, we have to get up and achieve it ourselves.

So 2016, I will raise a glass to you tonight. I will raise a glass to all of troubles you’ve brought us, as well as all of the achievements that you have gifted us.