In 2019, the world seems to be caught in a rut, where nothing seems to be getting better. The planet’s on metaphorical fire, bigotry has proven once again that it’s not going anywhere anytime soon, and politics have continued their descent into being several grown adults shouting at each other about who’s going to promise more without doing anything.

But with all the lows of 2019, and how downright depressing the year has been for many people, we’re not actually doing as bad as we thought. Maybe 2019’s news stories were oftentimes scary and sad and all sorts of miserable, but the high moments of the year were pretty darned high.

     In a year where Straight Pride parades full of homophobic rhetoric reminded the world that some people will always refuse to let go of hatred, we also had Scott Dittman. Ditman spent one day this June at an LGBT Pride parade, with a sign offering “Dad hugs” to those whose fathers didn’t accept them, or weren’t in their lives. Needless to say, Dittman’s fatherly love may have been unorthodox, given the fact that none of the people there were his children, but it meant the world to those who needed a hug from a Dad.

     In a year where Hurricane Dorian tore homes, lives, and families to shreds, showing us just how weak we are, we also had the sheer humanity of people banding together to be strong. There’s the woman who opened her home to almost 100 rescue dogs when their shelter was flooded, and the cruise ship passengers who spent their vacation helping the crew prepare meals for those affected by Dorian. There was the 6-year-old boy who, rather than go to Disney World with his birthday money, decided to use it to help those who needed it. Though the term has lost its meaning over time, these are the everyday heroes that we need more of.

     In a year where the looming threat of climate change held its burning hand over the future generations and the future of our generation, we also had Google, one of the biggest companies on Earth, spending $2 billion on creating renewable energy to run their offices on. We had Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour auctioning off 126 guitars used by the band, and donating the $21 million earned to climate change reversal, and we had Bill Nye, the Science Guy himself, telling the world that, even if the world is on fire, we can get out of it. Hope isn’t all lost, but we need to chase our future and save it ourselves.

      So yeah, maybe 2019 sort of stunk. But we’re not doing half bad, us humans. We’re greedy, hateful, and angry… but also selfless, loving, and joyful.

And, honestly, as someone who sees all the hate of humanity in the news, it’s good to just let the joy overtake the anger some days. So smile. Pet a dog, or help out a neighbor. Channel your inner Bob Ross or Mr. Rogers. Tell your family and your friends how much you love them. Pursue a passion of yours.

     And just remember that, in the end, we could be doing a lot worse.