The end of a year-a.

With one day left of 2016, many people are wanting to speed up time and kick 2016 out the door like a guest that stays at a dinner party well past coffee and cake and the hosts are looking at their watches and saying "gee, it's late" "hmm, I've got an early start tomorrow" "are you going to be ok getting home?" etc.

Normally, I have a mini freak out about the passing in time in general, forgetting the small successes and looking at the big things that I have or haven't achieved- this post from April 2015 confirms that, read it here.

2015 wasn't the best for me, so I was super keen to see the new dawn of the New Year with fresh eyes and fresh hair and fresh underwear. (A New Year's resolution that is relatively achievable, and far classier than I expected, as they say, it's what's underneath that counts.)

12 months on, unlike most other people on my news feed (which is, embarrassingly enough, the only place I am reading "news" at the moment) I am not wanting 2016 to end, because it has been a fantastic year for me. I don't have enough fingers and toes to count my blessings. 

If you are struggling to count your blessings, either because you have olives/Burger Rings/Doughnuts on your fingers, here is a list a friend shared that a dude in England called Matt Strange wrote. I could tell you more about Matt Strange, but I haven't stalked him enough as I was feeling a bit strange about it to be honest.

Here's the good things that happened in 2016:

There's an Ebola Vaccine now
Child Mortality - Down across the globe
+9% survival rate in pacreatic cancer sufferers
Gene responsible for ALS found
Volunteers in India planted 50 Million trees in 24 hours
Suicide rates down globally
The Ozone layer is repairing itself
The Rabbinical assembly issued a resolution affirming the rights of trans and non conforming individuals
MIND CONTROLLED ROBOT ARMS
Leo got dat Oscar
Wild tigers numbers up FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 100 YEARS
Giant Pandas - No longer endangered
A solar powered plane did a fucking world trip
Global Malaria down by 60%
Measels ERADICATED from the Americas
93% of the world's children learned to read and write - the highest percentage IN HUMAN HISTORY
China plans to be completely renewable by 2020 and has a global plan for by 2050
Huge global push in renewable energy
Norway committed 0 deforestation, 0
Every major grocer and fast food chain in the U.S pledged to use cage free eggs only by 2025
Manatees - No longer endangered
Wild Wolves - Back in Europe
Wild Salmon spawning in the Connecticut river for the first time since the American revolution
Columbian white tailed deer - no longer endangered
Green Sea Turtles - NO LONGER ENDANGERED
Sea World no longer breeding captive killer whales
Humpback Whales - NO LONGER ENDANGERED
Global aid - up by 7%
Americas most generous year EVER in charity and aid
China's most generous year EVER in charity and aid at $15 goddamn Billion

Yes, some famous people you liked died, and you know what - more of them are gonna go too

but take some time to look at the good and beauty in this world, good stuff is happening, learn it, support it, be part of it.

THANKS MATT!

Huzzah for all the animals not being endangered. If this list has tortoise anything, it's that we should be celebrating!

Jj