2017 in Retrospective and the New Year

In a few short hours (at least in my time zone), 2017 will be over, and the new year of 2018 will begin.

Looking back on this year, I have a lot of mixed thoughts and feelings.

Right off the bat, I'm not gonna mince words: a lot of horrible things happened this year. From the loss of various famous figures like John Hurt, Adam West and more; to horrific tragedies like the deaths in Charlottesville, and the mass shooting in Las Vegas; to disasters like Hurricane Irma; and all of these stories breaking about sexual abuse and harassment in Hollywood... there's been lots of pain and sadness in 2017.

But, also, there have been good things that have happened this year.

For one thing, this was the year I graduated from college. That's always something I'm going to look back on with pride and happiness

And, there have been plenty of good things in cinema and television.

This year I saw the final season of Samurai Jack. New seasons of The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow have been excellent I got to see movies like Logan, Skull Island, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Thor Ragnarok, and The Last Jedi in theaters. I also got to watch other great films, from classics like The Birds (on the big screen, no less) to other films such as Silence, Unforgiven, and A Monster Calls.

And, of course, we got to see our favorite ponies on the big screen. I definitely feel that that's an accomplishment. Plus, another season of FiM finished up, and gave us gems like "The Perfect Pear" so that was wonderful too.

It may not seem very important, but what I'm getting at with this talk, is that - even in times when there can be so much misery and badness around - there are things, even little things, like a few hours spent watching a movie or even a cartoon, that can create good memories. And those good memories and thoughts can help us move forward, and continue to hope for the best in the future.

So, Happy New Year, everyone.

Let's all do what we can to make it a good one, shall we?