[Sanssouci]

A lot of people are talking about what an awful year 2016 was. But someone must have had a good year! Surely someone was promoted, or had a baby that was badly wanted, or bought their dream home, or found out that they're cancer-free, etc.

So what was 2016 like for you?

[Raizu]

Boyfriend of 3 years broke up with me, my tuition went up, said increased tuition took a lot of my savings this year, and just to top it all off I couldn't find any work in the month of December so all my savings are practically gone lol.

I think 2017 is going to be a better year though. To be honest I really can't think of anything good that happened to me in 2016 other then passing all my classes despite me putting in little to no effort in my Fall Semester.

[Sanssouci]

2016 was pretty bad for me too.

In February my partner's mother died. I was not close with her, but my partner was, so it was hard on him.

We had to pay a little over $2,000 for her cremation.

Less than a week after she died, he was in the emergency room with intense abdominal pain. We found out that he's full of kidney stones. We've had to go to the urologist around 10 times over the past year, and we've probably spent around $1,000 there, and they still haven't done anything at all. They just keep having him pee in jugs.

Then I had to clean my partner's mother's room out, so that was a lot of work.

Then I broke my finger, so that was another few hundred dollars.

Then we took two of our dogs to the vet for routine checkups and shots, which came to $300. One of them ended up needing $775 surgery one week later. Then a cat had a hematoma in his ear one week later, so we had to go back in for another $100, which didn't even take care of the hematoma at all.

Then Trump.

[Lawtan]

Antidepressants and bad psychiatry resulted in a suicide attempt. Ill four times this year (food poisoning, bronchitis, flu, strep). Family friend tried to sue my family.

But, I did do some drawing and visited family I haven't seen in over two years. And there's Trisphee.

[Den]

2016 was up and down for me. First Bowie and Rickman passing... then a major health scare that resulted in me being hospitalized overnight (Thank the deities that my insurance covered it in full) right before my birthday, but being hospitalized resulted in me getting started toward getting the help I've needed for years. Had a bad depression episode in mid-November, which lead to me getting put on some new medications, and started in therapy. Since then, I've been feeling better, and my health has improved so when the weather does the same, I'll be able to actually exercise and not worry about getting winded a few blocks from home. I'm slowly but surely working toward a healthier me, both physically and mentally.

[Vee]

Grandma died, cut off ties with my on/off bf of four years, went to California, cut ties with my dad + more
it sucked

[Kaderin Triste]

Well...my job and financial situation has really sucked, but my year had a few good moments too such as: I got my first tattoo, I learned how to make some pretty adorable stuffed animals (and have sold over a dozen of them at a craft sale), learned some basics of chainmaille, and I made a few really awesome friends that I wouldn't trade for the world.

[Glitch]

Hmmmm for me . . . It started out well (aside from celebrity deaths and what not). It had a lot of promise! I was working for this guy for my 3rd year and we were finally opening our new stores, I was training people to do stuff, making ads, having a great time of it. But thennnnnnnnnnn said boss started going power crazy, thought everybody was out to get him, job got progressively worse and worse. I found out I was pregnant which was pretty cool but I ended up using that as an excuse to get away from said bad boss. . . and I had to give up my apartment and stylish life in Oregon to move in with my parents ^^;;;

[Yokuutsu]

Every year is about the same level of depressing imo...so unless I win PCH, or my youtube channel really takes off, well, it'll probably be the same for a long time.

[Moonshadow]

A good friend is in remission from a cancer diagnosis.
No one that I love has died. 2016 had some worries and disappointments but any day and any year above ground is good.

[Isis]

2016 seemed kinda samey. I went back to college after a year-long break, so I feel like I'm finally moving forward, but I'm not that good at classes so... same problems as last year, I guess. Oh well.
Life keeps moving on. I'm hoping 2017 has some real excitement or points of interest, though I probably have to work at it to make them happen... gotta get that drive back lol.

[Coda]

Originally Posted by Yokuutsu

Every year is about the same level of depressing imo...so unless I win PCH, or my youtube channel really takes off, well, it'll probably be the same for a long time.

Honestly, this is the kind of comment I would rather hear. Saying 2016 was terrible has become memetic -- that is, people have become convinced that it was terrible because of everyone saying it was terrible. And because humans perceive bad things more acutely than good things (it's a survival instinct!) that makes it easy for the meme to spread.

Overall, 2016 wasn't the worst year in recent history. Some sucky stuff happened; some good stuff happened. Maybe, on balance, it might have been slightly worse than average on some metrics, but overall it was a pretty typical year, and by the most important metrics it was in all probability at least slightly better than the years that came before it -- fewer people in poverty, more people fed, people living longer, fewer deaths due to any cause worldwide.

It's easy to let news stories about bad things distract us from all of the positive things in our lives. The new year should be a time to reflect and remember how our worlds have improved.

[Yokuutsu]

Well, from what I heard it was bad in other nations and for other people, but for me? It's the same level it has always been, of course I don't live in area that is being bombed, or has war happening within it...now if I was in one of those areas, I;d probably say 2016 was a POS

[Coda]

The terrorism stuff would be a legitimate thing to say was worse, because while it's not the WORST year for terrorism on record, it WAS admittedly pretty bad, especially in that it spread to regions that had previously been considered safe.

And some people have had serious struggles in 2016, losing jobs or homes or relationships, and those kinds of personally-relevant sources of pain are completely understandable.

But to be honest, most people I've heard complaining about 2016 around the Internet are talking about celebrity deaths or fears about political stuff that hasn't actually happened yet. Of those that aren't complaining about those subjects, I didn't hear very many people saying how bad 2016 sucked until it had already become a meme.

That's why I want to tell people to reflect on the good things that happened. Life is a lot less unpleasant when you pay attention to the good parts, and even a good life can feel disappointing when you focus on the bad.

[Potironette]

Looking back, I don't remember much of 2016 at all. I think I grew as a person this year a lot though. But then again, I'm reaching to height of my teenage years ^~^'

[Debauchery]

It was a rollercoster all around for me personally...
But I guess the overall feeling was a good one.
I had a son, and my daughter now lives with me full time. I also managed to make it a year and a half with a woman that I love dearly. And my business is doing pretty good overall.
So I'll take it.

On a global scale though... Wow, this year was awful.