The first thing that I distinctly remember from 2017 was on New Years itself. For the first time ever I didn't spend the holiday with family, but instead went to a friends house. The night itself was miserable with uncharacteristically hot and rainy weather. Fireworks were mostly a bust and I didn’t get a chance to use anything other than sparklers which wasn't exactly fun, but when the new year arrived at midnight things became very interesting. A bunch of people ran off my friend's porch and into the street where we then proceeded to splash around in puddles and then walk around giving our wimpy dry friends soaking wet hugs. It was a cool way to start the year and although I can't explain it well I feel nostalgic even thinking about the way it felt to be surrounded by friends in pure bliss. But, as that pure bliss faded the first trend  the dreaded fidget cubes and spinners emerged. They started off okay but after everyone seemed to get one they became the bane of my existence all I can remember from school was the click of buttons and switches and the blinking of obnoxious lights.  Politically, this year marked the inauguration of Donald trump as the 45th President of the United States. His office this year has been marked by controversy even on the inauguration day with marches and protests against his political agenda and him personally. From collusion with Russia to his treatment of women the widely held opinion on Trump has generally been negative. However, many middle class people have viewed him as a representation of their being fed up with being ignored and see him as the man to create more jobs and boost the economy. Police brutality was a huge topic this year and led to many protests and a huge presence of the Black Lives Matter movement through celebrity endorsements including Colin Kapernick who protested the national anthem leading to the end of his NFL career and the removal of the national anthem from the airing of games. Even in the midst of so much controversy there were positive aspects to this year, including but not limited to the many Rip Vine videos that honestly kept me alive this year, the absolutely incredible Great American Eclipse, and the overall sense of unity and togetherness that seemed to emerge in times of violence and natural disaster. And sadly, there was violence and natural disaster this year. Between horrible shootings and terrorist attacks including the ones in Manchester at Ariana Grande's concert, the Las Vegas Massacre, and the and the emergence vehicles as the harbingers of chaos on the Westminster Bridge,  Stockholm, and New York violence stood center stage this year without hardly mentioning the seemingly never-ending battle in the Middle East and the overarching threat of North Korea. Natural Disasters also took a major toll in the Atlantic this year with major storms Harvey, Irma, and Maria causing mayhem and leading to the loss of so many lives, homes, and businesses in 2017. As usual sports this year were interesting with the Atlanta Falcons blowing a 28 - 3 lead to the Patriots in the super bowl  and then the Warriors sweeping the Cavaliers 4 - 1 in the NBA finals and a very odd game 4. Towards the end of 2017 a new movement with the tagline #Metoo led to a seemingly never-ending emergence of women throwing accusations of sexual assault and harassment at notable CEO's, News-casters, Celebrities and even major political leaders. During the last couple of months of the year it has been almost impossible to turn on a television without being broadsided  by accusations followed by swift resignations. Each year is so complex that it is not at all easy to label it under one single name. However, each new year is always filled with possibility waiting to be taken advantage of. Simply it is up to you to hold on to opportunities and make the most of the next year to come.