A new year means new beginnings and room for improvement for everyone. Over the course of the past year, the world has changed drastically in all aspects. We have seen changes almost everywhere including places like the Internet, the music industry, and our nation. As we ring in the new year with high hopes, there are some things to consider leaving behind.

This year was definitely a big year in politics for the United States, whether you support Donald Trump or not. As of this year, our president has sparked movements across our nation since his election. Nuclear warfare, aka the end of the world, is now something we have to worry about daily due to Trump’s relations with foreign countries.

Speaking of the end of the world, climate change is a real thing and everyone should understand that in 2018! Let’s leave that ignorance behind. It is scientifically proven that the temperature of the atmosphere is increasing drastically. This means those scientific studies cannot be debunked by a couple of angry tweets from our president.

Since republicans have dominated attendance in office this year, Ajit Pai, the man in charge on net neutrality, has tried to rip the freedom of the Internet out of the public’s hands and give control to big corporations in order to make a profit off advertisement production. This man and any idea of net neutrality being repealed should be completely left behind in 2017 because most of us love the Internet the way it is.

The Internet is our modern day platform for almost everything, and a beautiful place to spread information. Although the Internet has its flaws, it is something we universally love and use daily. In order to improve this effective tool, we must perfect it and make room for better things.

Let’s start with something that needs to be wiped from this earth forever: Trump’s twitter account. Most of us can agree that this is something Trump should not have access to because he abuses its power and creates chaos on the Internet.

Another thing that Trump and the entire Internet needs to stop doing is trolling and cyberbullying. The sheer act of putting someone down online is childish and unnecessary.

On a lighter subject, what is the Internet without the beloved memes that have become valued by all of the Internet? While this year has produced some amazing memes, there were some terrible, more horrifying ones of the darker realm. I personally think we should start 2018 with a clean slate and generate some new and improved meme ideas while still remembering the old.

Along with these 2017 memes, some trends eventually became memes (the life cycle of the Internet). Throughout the year we have seen some pretty crazy things, anywhere from fidget spinners to Gucci belts. Although these trends are still prominent today, I think they will fade over time like every other fad or trend that blows up the Internet.

The music industry has played a huge factor in our culture this year and as always affects our everyday lives. The biggest trend in the music industry this year was SoundCloud rappers which is not necessarily a bad thing until you factor in drug culture. Drug culture must stay in 2017 and not creep its way into 2018 due to the devastating effects it has taken on musicians and fans. Glorifying drugs like Xanax is something that shouldn’t be taken lightly or promoted for recreational use. 2018 should be the year of a more positive music industry.

In conclusion, 2017 was a great year in many aspects but it is also something we need to reflect on and learn from. The new year should be a symbol of new opportunities and a reminder to create or accomplish personal goals. We should all make our new year  resolutions to make the world a little more livable in 2018.