Finally, 2017 has brought us out of the disaster that was 2016.

We collectively cried in outrage as that terrible year took beloved celebrities from us, made a presidential election a long joke, and scared us for, what seemed like, the fun of it.

This article was originally meant to reflect on what we will miss and what we will not about 2016. It would be depressing to reflect on all the things that 2016 offered us. David Bowie and Prince, for instance. How dare you, 2016.

We also experienced more tragic events than the loss of celebrity icons. Harambe was killed, then later turned into a joke that ran too long. One of the deadliest mass shootings in our country occurring in Orlando which still leaves people feeling that senseless violence will always surround us. And an election that carved a deep divide in our nation.

There’s more. Too much more. But we know it already. We know it so well we celebrate the fact that 2016 is over. 2016 was so terrible that John Oliver’s “F*ck you, 2016” segment has become an internet sensation.  We can relate to it. We all trudged through those painful months and felt a sense of accomplishment when the clock struck midnight on Dec. 31.

We survived 2016.

The issue is that it was just a year. A moment in time that just so happened to come with a pile of tragedies. We were left angry and shrugging off the burdens of 2016 because here comes 2017! It’s a new year, new you!

But 2016 did not kill Prince. I know, I wanted to blame someone, too. Nor did it kill Carrie Fischer, or even Harambe. It did not bring two presidential candidates together and tell them how to ruin an election. In fact, 2016 did not cause Trump to win. It didn’t vote for Hillary. 2016 did not destroy Aleppo, nor did it cause authority figures to shoot unarmed civilians.

We did this. It is easy to blame luck, or timing, or the possibility that leap years maybe make people a little crazy. But 2016 was an accumulation of tragedies that just so happen to fall under the same timeframe. It feels bad to think about, even worse to admit.

Good things did happen in 2016. Harriet Tubman is going to replace Andrew Jackson on the twenty-dollar bill. Leonardo DiCaprio finally won an Oscar.

The country has finally realized that race and gender issues are still a major problem, which will hopefully open the door to change. There are more positive events throughout the year, hiding behind the shadows of the tragedies.

We did this, too. 2016 didn’t contribute at all. In fact, the lesson we should learn about all this is that we shouldn’t give credit to 2016. We shouldn’t blame it either. We can take this resolution and apply it to 2017.

Let us be better. We can only have a better new year if we avoid what we did in the past. We do a disservice to all if we blame a bad year on bad luck. It is obvious from our reaction to all the horrors we faced that we are now paying attention. We have the strength to avoid a repeat of 2016.

We can become louder about issues that concern us. We can show compassion for those around us. We can teach ourselves how to understand one another.

It’s a general plan that borders on a self-help book. But tragedies will not be stopped because the last digit in the year has changed.

We have an opportunity to insist 2017 is better. If we think the world will instantly change because it is no longer 2016, we will be disappointed. It is up to us to make sure that we can say 2017 was better. We only have to take on the responsibility.

I’m sure I will be the first to say it, but I apologize, 2016. You did nothing wrong. You were just a bad time in a bad place. It’s not you, it’s us. 2017 is fresh start. We’ll try to remember the good times.

Happy new year to everyone. May we strive for a great year full of great things. Let’s mean it when we say we’ll turn it around.

New year, new us. We can make this one of the best years we’ve had. If we don’t, we always have 2018 to fall back on.