Look back at 2015 and ahead to 2016

For myself, and many of my collegiate peers, the past year marked an essential and pivotal year as we stumble into adulthood. Many positive things happened, like same-sex marriage being legal in all 50 states; however, it’s apparent that our country has a lot more developing on its way. As we look back at the popular topics of 2015, we will have insight on what 2016 will behold.

1. The Year of the Woman: The year 2015 was essential in the contemporary women’s rights movement. Topics such as rape culture on college campuses, fair wages, transgender rights and intersectionality were focused on. With the likes of Ava DuVernay and Michelle Obama, we can only hope change is on it’s way.
2. Twitter: It has become astounding how resourceful and powerful Twitter has become the past year. It’s the mecca of pushing news, virtual interacting and youth domination. It will be exciting to see how strong our generation’s voice becomes through the use of social-networking mechanisms.
3. Presidency: For many of us in college, 2016 marks the first time we will be eligible to vote for the next president of our country. This has been an extremely exciting, yet nerve-racking experience as we follow each candidate. If I can give any of my peers some advice- no matter who you vote for, just go out and vote!
4. Revolution: It has become apparent throughout the years that the rising discrimination against minority groups has become a problem in the United States, which has also spread among college university last year. As many rally together for change, especially in lieu of the lack of diversity this year at the Academy Awards, it will be exciting what the future holds in terms of equal rights. Immigration policies, police forces and Muslim shaming, to name a few, have been the topic of discussions in 2015. Remember, our voices can be powerful in unison.
5. Television/Film: With media outlets such as Netflix, Hulu and AmazonPrime, TV shows and movies have grown rapidly in popularity. We can look forward to many fun and exciting new movies and television shows in 2016. Some of my favorites in 2015 were: Mad Max: Fury Road, The Revenant, Making a Murderer and House of Cards. With the revolution broiling, too, we can look forward to new and diverse stories being told.