Good Riddance to 2016

There are some years that are memorable for all the right reasons. 1999 was the year my son was born – 9/9/99, to be exact. I graduated college in 2001. Not surprisingly, I don’t recall the exact date of that particular event. American elected its first non-white male President in 2008, which is a fantastic memory I will never forget. Even as a white male.

However, some years are forgettable for all the wrong reasons. 2016, for example. I lost my grandmother. Another long-time friend passed away after yet another tiring battle against cancer. And the notable deaths involving pop icons continues to grow, adding Carrie Fisher and George Michael to an already lengthy list. 2016 is for sure a year to forget.

Some great things have happened in 2016, and they are moments I will not want to forget. I met some great people in 2016 and reestablished some existing relationships that warmed my heart. I created my own full-service public relations and marketing company, Jupiter Promotions. I proved to myself that I could overcome the most significant surgical procedure I have ever gone through, and this was my fourth that doesn’t involve an oral surgeon. My car was paid off this year and I was starting to wonder if I would ever make it to the end of that seemingly eternal billing cycle. I became a much more active member of my church, including being in a lifegroup and serving as a volunteer. I returned to blogging. I returned to reporting. I went from being unable to walk to being able to play basketball and do yoga again.

Hopefully one day it will be those things that I remember about 2016. But there has been so much more negative that has taken place this year and that is what is hard to forget. Starting out the year still relearning to walk, unemployed and still stinging from the end of a relationship that I didn’t see ending. As the year progressed, my physical and mental state improved but my job situation remained stagnant. And still today, I am beyond shocked that someone with a college degree and years of experience continues to finish no better than second for the thousands of jobs I have taken the time to apply for in 2016. I ended the year fighting an upper respiratory infection for the past six weeks.

This year has been 366 days (of course, this one was a leap year) of daily negatives or at least a lack of positives to overcome the lack of progress that has taken place this year. Losing Muhammad Ali, Arnold Palmer, David Bowie, Prince, Gene Wilder, John Glenn, Gordie Howe, Alan Thicke, Florence Henderson, Nancy Reagan, Garry Shandling, Joe Garagiola, Garry Marshall, Leonard Cohen, Merle Haggard, Glenn Frey, Pat Summitt, Craig Sager, John Saunders, Leon Russell, Morley Safer and Harper Lee, among so many others, has made 2016 a year of fading memories.

Not that celebrity deaths are what we will remember most about 2016. The election results are something we are going to recall for decades and centuries. Only time will tell how those results will affect America and the world. Only on SNL and in my wildest nightmares did I ever envision the words President Trump being a reality but that is how we will begin 2017, which is a year we all hope will be a new start.

Trump rode the wave to being elected on an often-used slogan of making America great again. I can only hope that in 2017, my life will get to be great again. Because 2016 has been a year of disappointments and disasters that never seems to end. But the end of the year is in sight and I am so ready to get a fresh start. Cheers to a new year!