The litany of celebrity deaths we saw in 2016 seemed to become emblematic of a year gone bad.
Despite the many low points of last year, there were some unifying themes that emerged and that can be used when our community and country undoubtedly face hardship in 2017.
The ultimate reality that life is fragile and nowhere near guaranteed was on full display last year. For the LGBT community, that notion was painfully driven home by the mass shooting at Pulse Nightclub. Even without personally knowing a victim or survivor, it was hard for most of us to resist imagining how easily the scene could have been a Gayborhood club, and the victims us and our friends.
Images of terrorist truck attacks, fleeing Syrian refugees, victims of police shootings all conflated to further illustrate the risk of taking any day for granted.
These incidents and others also communicated that we need to be prepared for surprises. None of us expected to wake up June 12 and hear that 49 people were gunned down at an LGBT club. The shock of the tragedy was nearly as hard to grapple with as the reality of the massacre. Many in the country were just as sideswiped by the election of Donald Trump as our next president. His victory shook to the core those who were confident that the country was headed toward continued progress and equality.
The headlines of 2016 were unexpected and for many unwelcomed — but that doesn’t mean they were of no value. We saw time and time again that we need to strive for the best but be prepared for the worst. We need to take on both the challenges and triumphs of each day as opportunities for growth. We need to invest time, attention and energy on the relationships, causes and goals that matter the most. And when an unforeseen tragedy happens, we need to rely on one another for solace, healing and perspective.
This year will bring new pitfalls but — despite the gloom and doom forecasted by the election of our next president — there is bound to be progress; no matter how small it is, it should be celebrated and used to rebuild the building blocks that were damaged in 2016.