<\/p>\n
In my mind, 2016 was not a year to feel nostalgic about. Trump was elected, and in the land of the Beckhams<\/a>, Charli XCX<\/a>, and Emily Blunt, Brexit happened. And speaking of celebrities, that year we said goodbye to cultural icons like David Bowie, Prince, and Carrie Fisher. In fact, by the time George Michael passed away on Christmas Day, the general consensus was that 2016 was a \u201cspectacularly shitty year.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n But this week while scrolling on social media, I was surprised to see people reflecting on 2016 with a nostalgic fondness. In these pictures, what I\u2019m most struck by\u2014apart from the questionable hair and fashion choices\u2014is that people look like they\u2019re having the time of their lives. Then I realized that, actually, letting Trump define an entire year in life and culture was shortsighted; is it possible that 2016 before the election was the last good year?<\/p>\n As a millennial, I feel lucky to have been alive and vaguely cognizant for the decade leading up to 2016, when it truly felt like the winds of change were in the air. Marriage equality had recently been legalized, and it seemed to be only a matter of time before there was a woman president. It felt like the progress of the previous decade was destined to continue. And while it sounds painfully naive in hindsight, I\u2019m glad I got to briefly exist in that Obama-era bubble where divides and challenges didn\u2019t feel insurmountable. It was the year that Michelle Obama famously said, \u201cWhen they go low, we go high<\/a>\u201d\u2014and we were innocent enough to believe that it would work.<\/p>\n