A Rough Forecast for 2017
by Annie Lewandowski
2016 was a year of massive change. It marked the last year of the Obama administration and a tremendous amount of terrorism and violence both in the United States and around the world. It was a year that housed an unusually high rate of celebrity deaths and the ever changing face of social justice. As 2017 comes to rest on the backs of a world that is far more uncertain and unstable than ideally it should be, one has to wonder what else the universe can dump in our laps.
The New York Times posted a series of photos that it felt were good representations of 2016 from the perspective of their readers. These photos highlighted events both tragic and wonderful in a succinct and visually appealing display. These photographs are powerful and hold the ability to resonate with an array of potent emotional states. Above all, the one characteristic that these pictures shared was a sense of melancholy. A feeling so human and decisive that it has the ability to bring the world together, even when this past years events seem to pull us farther and farther apart.
New York Times article: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/30/nytnow/the-photos-you-liked-in-2016.html
Probably the most tone-‐setting event for the New Year, in the United States at least, was the polarizing presidential results. Elections in a democratic society are always very telling in the way they give an invaluable insight into the mindset of the people, and I don’t think I am alone in my shock of finding out exactly where the majority of Americans’ opinions lie. It turns out, a whole lot of people are very scared and unsure of America’s position in the world, and this fear has manifested itself, as fear often does, in hate. Donald Trump addressed this fear in a way that appealed to the very lowest common denominator, resulting in a victory for him and his followers. As upsetting as this situation is to many people, the current state of US politics and culture is a petri dish for a new era of social justice and awareness in 2017.
I predict a challenging year for the US, but an important one. Any major shift in politics results in backlash, sometimes for better, sometimes for worse. We are in a turbulent period of history in which news both life and death, celebration and mourning, triumph and failure can be broadcast by the click of a button. This is a year of change, on large scale and small. As the country prepares itself for an overturn of the Obama administration, our own little school community adjusts to a transitioning administration as well. Even in the class 2018, juniors (my classmates, friends, and peers) ready themselves for the upcoming onslaught of common apps and college uncertainty. 2017 is a big year.
Image Source: http://www.mobyaffiliates.com/blog/mobile-advertising-trends-and-predictions-for-2017/