So Long, 2017, and Thanks for Exactly One Thing

It's become almost de rigueur to hate on 2017, and as much as I hate following fads, I can't deny that this year was rough. The never-ending parade of celebrity deaths that everyone bemoaned in 2016 gave way to a cascade of sexual-assault revelations that showed the world just how ugly male privilege can be, and Tr*mp's incompetence as President has overshot even my most pessimistic 2016 expectations.

Top Ten: The First Year

Does anyone else enjoy looking back through old diaries? It's always been fun for me to look back on a snapshot in time, and think about how much has changed since I put those words to paper. When I think about it now, the decision to start this blog was a natural extension of how much I enjoy reminiscing about Stuff I've Done, combined with my lifelong journaling habit. Every so often, I'll go back and look over old blog posts, cringing over the photography and formatting where appropriate and making notes about things I need to wear/eat/cook again.

2016 in Review

2016 is generally regarded as a pretty crap year, bordering on cursed. (Possibly.) And while I'm a pretty optimistic person, I'd say that this bad reputation is well earned. From the rise of actually terrifying far-right politics worldwide to the election of a president who seems more likely to start a nuclear war with each passing day, 2016 hasn't given me all that much to applaud on the current-events front. But as I said, I'm a naturally sunny person, so I'll look for the silver linings wherever I can, and draw strength from the good things to keep fighting for a better world in 2017.

In that spirit, I present my own personal highlights reel for 2016: