Dear 2017,

It’s already been a month and so far you’ve been disappointing; but not as disappointing as 2016 was. You’ve been full of protesting and Donald Trump’s cruel decisions within so little time into his presidency. But I’m not here to talk about politics, I’m here to discuss the tragic year that was 2016.

The main element of what made it incredibly disastrous were all the deaths that happened throughout the year. Of course we lost some of the most influential people in the world such as; David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Muhammad Ali, Prince, and in a devastating turn of events Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds in the same week. Although they have inspired our lives in numerous ways, we cannot forget about the endless amount of innocent lives that were taken away due to hazardous incidents; terrorist attacks, mass shootings and overall violence.

Thousands of people lost their families and friends through tragedies that have now turned common, please don’t let this continue. Hearing about mass shootings or bombings around the world has become the norm, especially events that are caused by hate crimes or racism. This past year the world forgot how to treat each other as equals, it’s your job to make sure that we remember and learn how to appreciate other differences instead of using it as an excuse to be violent. I’m not sure if you are aware but there were multiple terrorist attacks that happened in Paris, Iraq, Istanbul, Syria, and the list goes on. No pressure or anything, but it’d be nice to not have so much death to talk about; to not have so many conversations about how many people died or which town was bombed, or which minorities were targeted.

Sorry if this is overwhelming for you, let me try to lighten the mood and motivate you. Even though these incidents have resulted in major destruction in beautiful countries, the way people all around the world have been uniting and standing together to prove that love overpowers hate has been breathtaking to witness. Through all these hardships, people have chosen to rise against them, to fight for their loved ones lives, to stand up so nobody else can go through such horrific grief. The past year has shown us just how strong and powerful humans can be when they work together rather than against one another.

That’s why I hope that you do your best 2017, to make sure that we continue to work together as a team, and to fight for what’s right. I’m happy to say that you already seem to be doing that; with a month in you’ve already given us the Women’s March. As well as everyone coming together to protest against Trump’s Muslim Ban. So far you have proven yourself to be very optimistic, and I, along with the rest of this generation, are looking forward to see what else you have in store for the rest of the year. Please, we don’t want to see anymore destruction in this world. We will make this a year about love, strength, and most importantly, equality.

Sincerely,

a teen who wants to see change in the world