What is a year? Just a label? Just a space of time divided into a section and given a number so humans can wrap their heads around the concept? So why do so many people base their lives off of the idea that things will change the next year or that things were terrible for a certain year? I keep hearing that 2016 was a horrible year, but what does that even mean? As sad as it is, bad things happen all over our planet at all times. 2016 wasn’t any worse or any better that 2015, and 2017 won’t be any worse or any better than 2016. I firmly believe that people need to rid themselves of the impactful meaning of time and change that flows through sections like a year, because time is always moving and things are always changing.

As 2016 is coming to an end, I feel forced to place events in a “good” and a “bad” category more than any other year before this. Many of the good times were really good: becoming engaged in March, getting a puppy in August, and moving my personal and professional self toward success, just to name a few. On the other hand, I don’t feel the need to get into the bad times since they were obvious to many. It seems as though the bad was more universal than personal this year. And maybe that is the difference… with so much divide, I feel as though people are coming together to complain more than ever. But what will that do? What will that change? I don’t want to set resolutions for 2017, but I do want to set a goal: I want to be positive toward others, I want to break away from the blame game that’s holding our society down, and I want to make small changes in my life that will force the benefit of others.

Taking time to categorize a year between good and bad does nothing. Saying an entire year in your short and precious life was terrible does nothing. Take your experiences, learn from them, and then work to be better. If you must set a resolution, do it–but be sure that it’s beneficial to those around you as well. We all live in troubling times, but there will always be silver linings to brighten our days. Be that silver lining. Be the change we all need. But don’t do it because a new year is upon us. Do it for now.