5, 4, 3, 2, 1… Happy New Year! After the parties, noise makers, and fireworks, we find ourselves in the midst of 2016. The switching of the calendar year marks the transition from the painful and eventful 2015 into the bright, hopeful future. A new year means a new beginning.

     2015 was filled with personal loss, ended relationships, world tragedies, and a myriad of setbacks and painful memories. Mass shootings such as the one at San Bernardino were a continued trend this year with over 250 in the U.S., according to a report by NPR. The terrorist attacks in Paris instilled fear and despair into people. Wars all throughout the middle east continued to riddle world news.

     Closer to home, we had gun violence and local church burnings, and more recently the great flood that took the homes of so many, even within this school. On top of these tragic events, students dealt with depression, wrecked friendships, and death, making it difficult just to survive.

     Whatever it is that marred your 2015 is in the past. This brand new year is a clean slate where we can remember the tragedies but also move on. Cut out that toxic friendship. Chop off all your hair. Try something new that you’ve always wanted to do. Forgive that person that you’ve been holding a grudge against. That mistake you made, let it go. You are not the sum of your mistakes and scars from 2015.

     It is time to remember the past, and see that it is exactly that. It is the past. There is no need to dwell on it or spend time worrying when you have the entire future to look forward to. 2015 was a terrible year for most, but you can make 2016 better. You cannot control the natural disasters and international tradgedies, but you can control your responses to those events. It’s about trying to see the bright side and making the world a better place despite the depravity. It’s a new year, and you are a new you.

– THE ROAR