2016! Another great has passed with so many events in it. There were times of joy and happiness and times of sadness and sorrow. But we’ve pushed through and found ourselves in 2017, a brand new year. But so much happened in 2016 that we need to recap the major events, trends and occurrences so we know what this year was all about. So here is a list of the biggest events of 2016.

The 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics

The 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics was a very strong and entertaining event of last year. It was marked by many different events but some were more entertaining than others. Michael Phelps, the American swimming legend, had been the 1st to win 4 consecutive gold medals in the Olympics.

Adrian Moorhouse, 1988 Olympic 100m breaststroke champion, on BBC One said “What a winner. It’s been a privilege to watch every one of his gold medals, but I don’t think I’ve seen one as emotional as that one. He destroyed the field. It was stunning.” Michael Phelps had left the pool with a legacy that no one could forget.

Another key Olympian was Usain Bolt, who succeeding in winning his 3rd consecutive gold medal in the 2016, after winning the 4×100 meter relay. However, Usain Bolt has decided that the 2016 Olympics was his last.

Another Olympic highlight was captured on social media. Lee Eun-ju of South Korea and Hong Un-jong of North Korea came together as two gymnasts from countries technically still at war with each other, and posed for a smiling selfie. It was rather phenomenal and was a true show of sportsmanship between the two Olympic participants.

Finally, there were the more serious events that occurred when the people of Rio were questioned on the many families evicted from their homes when building the Olympic stadiums and roads to make room.

Trends and Memes

The year was marked by dozens of challenges and trends that affect the media and real life all around. But some trends were more prevalent than others. The one ranking highest, was the water bottle flip challenge. It all started by London Gregory, a teenager who flipped a bottle at a talent show, and a video was posted of him doing so. It went viral and spread across the country. It came to the point in which several schools in the US have banned water bottle flipping because it was declared “a distraction and a public nuisance,”  yet the trend has still grown to become the biggest of 2016. Another challenge that was strong on the Internet, especially on Youtube, was Try Not to Laugh Challenges. While these challenges are about a couple years old, they were at their peak in 2016, with millions of videos made as a Try Not to Laugh Challenge. The most popular memes of 2016 were Harambe, Damn Daniel, and other memes related to the presidential election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

USA Presidential Election

The presidential election of 2016 was one of the biggest upsets of all time, with Donald Trump winning the electoral college despite Hillary Clinton winning the popular vote by over 2 million. The results shocked millions upon millions of Americans. Students in different colleges and universities were reported to have mental breakdowns and in some cases, there were considerations to give colleges a couple days off for students to calm down. The election was the most viewed of all time, with over 80 million people watching the very first presidential debate on all news channels. Hillary Clinton had finally ended her campaign thanking the people of America and hoping that President-Elect Donald Trump would become a successful president for America.

Dublin High School 2016 Moments

Dublin High had some really great moments in 2016. Some of our best were the rallies and Homecoming Week. There many football games and the homecoming rally and football game was a great day in homecoming week. The skits made by the different classes were great and fun to watch.

After Homecoming, there was the Crucible. The play was greatly performed and was about the Salem witchcraft trials that occurred centuries ago. All the viewers loved the show, and there many gasps and shocking events in the Crucible. The DHS drama truly captivated everyone with the play.

“It was a really fun experience to work with all these amazing people,” proclaimed junior Vade Shah after his performance as Francis Nurse.

Another amazing event was when the DHS Boys Varsity Cross Country qualified for the state championship due to an outstanding NCS victory. This made DHS history as it had not happened before.

Finally, one can say that finals week was one of the most grueling weeks of last semester. While it was not a week we would want to remember, it was probably the most memorable. No stress week was during the same week, so that was also significant as well.