Two. Zero. One. Six. Those four numbers in that order contain 12 months, 52 weeks, 365 days, 8,760 hours, 525,600 minutes, and 31,536,000 seconds. In all those seconds, many, many, many things happened. There were birthdays, celebrations, holidays, vacations, tests, projects, elections, to name a few. But there were also the more important things that so many people let pass by, take for granted or forget about until they need it most. I'm referring to the moments, memories, and realizations that make life as great as it is. From those simple times where you find yourself in a boat in the middle of a Wisconsin lake at sunset and the world feels right to the crazy times you're the best man at your best friend's wedding and the party goes late into the night. So without further ado, sit back and enjoy 2016 in review.
While many people may look upon 2016 and say "This year sucked!" I say quite the opposite. Sure it was at times like an undisciplined child and yes loved ones and celebrities we adored have passed on, but I can say for myself that so many other wonderful things happened that made me glad to be alive. In May I finally graduated college with my Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering. I knew it was going to be rough, it took longer than I thought, and there were many times the thought of giving it all up entered my mind. But I persevered and now I have an expensive piece of paper that says I'm qualified to be an engineer. That was pretty big.
The year was also filled with weddings and by that I mean ten couples I know tied the knot and I had the honor of attending five, being the best man in one. Go check out my wedding post for all the shout outs and info on that. Congrats again to all you crazy kids who got married this year.
My love for travel took me on many adventures this year. Two brief tours of Chicago, trying deep dish for the first time. Raced high speed go karts in Austin, TX and explored the weird city. Cruised on down back to Raleigh for a wedding, devoured delicious food and drink downtown, and hung out around a campfire with old and new friends under the starry sky until the late hours of the night. Took an extended stay in the Big Apple and took a few bites out of my ever growing bucket list (for all those wonderful adventures see my NYC series posts). Canoed out onto a quiet lake as the sun bid me adieu in the great outdoors of northern Wisconsin, casting a line chasing the ever fun large mouth bass. Disappeared for a weekend in the great hills of Hocking, OH with the bros as one of them would soon be wed. As well as many other small adventures along the way.
I had the pleasure of seeing Kenny Chesney live in concert for my second year in a row as well as the ever talented and ever lovely Carrie Underwood for the first time. Both experiences were phenomenal.
My love for baseball was well fed as I went to five regular season Indians games, one Pirates game, and one Yankees game, as well as Game 1 of the ALDS which featured the Indians vs the Red Sox. The home team one seven out of eight games I attended. The best parts were watching the Indians come down from two runs in the bottom of the 9th to win it in walk off fashion, being in the first row bleachers at Yankee Stadium, and going nuts with the home crowd as the Tribe smashed three home runs in one inning off Boston ace Rick Porcello and ended up winning the game.
My geocaching hobby has really taken off this year as it is an adventure all in itself. If you still don't know what that is, go to www.geocaching.com for more info, but be careful, you may become addicted. As of the moment I am writing this post, I eclipsed the 1,000 finds mark and now stand at 1,051 caches found. That's a pretty big milestone I'm proud to have hit this year.
This year was also a pretty awesome year to be a Cleveland sports fan (except of the browns but that's come to be expected). The Cleveland Cavaliers brought home Cleveland's first major professional sports championship since 1964 (which was also the Cavs first) that put the reality into Believeland and 1.3 million people came to witness the championship parade live. The Cleveland Indians made a magical run straight to game 7 of the World Series when no one thought they would stand a chance with their small market, their injuries, and them just being Cleveland. Even though they didn't come away with the ultimate victory, it was still an amazing season and I believe they'll go all the way next year.
There are also many less extravagant moments that I've had this year that'll remain in my memory for years to come. The small moments in life that we sometimes take for granted but turn out to be crucial points in our lives. A few brief examples include being at a conference and entering into a conversation where someone is going through a bit of stress because of everything they have going on. I then explained to the others in that conversation why this person was stressing out and that the job wasn't as easy. This person then responded with "I love you so much right now." It wasn't meant in a romantic way at all but rather a friend's appreciation for me understanding. That response made the rest of my day. There was also the many nights I hung out with the bros and for the most part I didn't care what we were doing, but what mattered most is we were together and it felt like family, because they are.
Lastly, I want to say this. People, the media, the internet, and the world have portrayed 2016 as an awful year. I can state others years that could be considered "worse" that didn't gain this type of response. So for me, I'm still breathing. I have a roof over my head, a family that loves me, many friends who I consider family, I graduated college, I'm still able to enjoy life, I'm still proud to be an American, and the Lord is still Lord.
As we welcome 2017, take each day as it comes, love the people that you do and tell them so. Keep friends close. Turn off the media. Don't let social media rule your life and the way you see the world. Take risks. Do the things you love. Keep your head up and never stop fighting.
What a year. Bring on 2017!
