“Wham!” said the headline, “star George Michael dies.” And that’s how I read it. If you pretend for a moment that Wham! isn’t the name of a band, the statement perfectly sums up how 2016 felt. We were cursing January for taking beloved celebrities from us, but it didn’t stop there. It kept going to the very end. We said goodbye to many people, from singers to actors to astronauts. Some of them were still young, making their passing both unexpected and extra painful.

So why have I titled this post “Gotta Have Faith?” Aside from the obvious musical reference, it’s also how I want to approach 2017. Who knows what this year will hold? It won’t all be good, and it won’t all be within our control. But let’s not go into it feeling down. Let’s work together to make it the best year it can be. We can do it! I have faith in us.

In the meantime, we can fondly remember the people we lost in 2016. They left us with some wonderful music, movies and achievements to look back on. Here are just a few…

• Carrie Fisher
• Prince
• David Bowie
• Alan Rickman
• John Glenn
• George Michael
• Gene Wilder
• Muhammad Ali
• Leonard Cohen
• Florence Henderson

Who will you miss the most? Whose art or other work meant the most to you? Tell us in the comments.

-Megan

Megan is a Children’s Library Assistant at CLP – East Liberty. When she isn’t reading fantasy, magical realism and/or pretty much any children’s book, she enjoys gaming, watching movies and writing fiction, some of which has been published.