Millecular: Social resolutions

Gosh, how the world has changed in just a short year — though most of it hasn’t been for the better. In fact, if you were to search the year’s top news stories, it’s death, destruction and turmoil. It was a sad year for the world in many ways: from Syria to Paris, Greece to China, and here in the United States, as well.

It seems the more I age, the more apparent it becomes that bad will always be incorporated in our lives. We will always be plagued by negative.

However, we can also forever continue to create the positive. (I mean, look at Justin Bieber. That kid has reinvented himself back into positive light, like 10 times over. If he can, we can.) But the actual good that happened this year will forever change the way we consider the view of our world, our existence and — quite literally — our place in the universe.

Here are some of the best things that happened in 2015:

Same-sex marriage became legal by the Supreme Court and the LGBQT community found amazing strides; we saw Pluto up close and found water on Mars; we are on the verge of wiping HIV off the earth; we struck massive foreign peace and nuclear deals; autonomous cars are running on the roads; U.S. currency got a facelift; climate change is seeing movements towards positive impact and Mark Zuckerberg — the wealthiest millennial in existence — pledged to give away 99 percent of his Facebook stock throughout his life, and all to better the future generations. The list can go on.

As we move into 2016, I have to ask, what are we going to do better this year? How are we going to reinvent the negative into positive? I always suggest personal resolutions for bettering yourself, but I think it’s time to add a few larger social resolutions into the mix.

This year is the first real start for the maturity of all millennials. There are only a few lingerers left in high school, but most of us are in college or are producing for the economy already. We actually surpassed the number of living Baby Boomers this year. For now, we are the generational focus of 2016… nothing new there.

With that focus comes great responsibility. Every generation says, “I want a chance to change the world.” This is Gen Y’s chance, and has been for a little while, but now is the time to act on it. Make your social resolution an action towards creating positivity. To me, society has never been more self-educated; we know the good things, we feel the bad things and we know what it takes to make a change. We know what it takes to turn a resolution into reality.

So lets do it.

Sure, 2015 may have been plagued with negative events, but let’s continue to progress the world via the steps we took this past year. It’s a daunting idea, but like my dad says, “If you can make a daily list of three things you can do today, that progresses you further towards your dream or goal for tomorrow — and you complete those steps everyday, or give an honest try to — you’ll be further ahead than yesterday.”

That’s all we need.

Have an amazing New Year. Be grateful, be kind and be the change you always knew you were. Keep it yuccie, Millennials.

(Tweet me the best things that happened to you this year @GavinBGriffin.)

Read more Griffin: coloradodaily.com/columnists.