2015: a year of technological advances, space exploration, fear of growing terrorist groups, shocking national upsets, local shootings, and the rise of the man-bun.  Granted, Dick Clark said it every year at the Big Apple’s Ball Drop; but I’ll keep to tradition by saying that we’ve had another great year.  So the big news? We’ve all heard it… or maybe not.  Nevertheless, here’s just a short list of some of the things you missed and possibly a few of the news stories you’ve gotten tired of hearing.

February 12:  At a conference in Minsk, Belarus, Ukrainian, Russian, German, and French leaders agreed to end the prolonged fighting in eastern Ukraine.

June 16: Donald Trump announced his candidacy for the 2016 presidential election.  What started almost as a joke to much of America, has surprisingly evolved into a serious possibility.  Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing… well I guess that’s for next year’s list.

June 26: The United States Supreme Court ruled in  Obergefell v. Hodges that state-wide bans on same-sex marriages are unconstitutional.

July 14: New Horizons, a NASA spacecraft, held true to its name with its close-up flyby of Pluto.  We’ve never been so close to this former planet. 

September 10: Queen Elizabeth II became the longest reigning monarch in British history.  

In late September:  Pope Francis visited the Washington D.C. performing mass at The Catholic University of America.

September 28:  We could have neighbors!!  I’m guessing the potential life source has been there for a while, but on September 28, NASA announced their discovery of water on the surface of Mars.

September 28: Millions turned their eyes to the sky as the ‘super blood moon’ made its rare appearance.

October 30:  A Russian passenger plane was downed in Sinai, Egypt when another terrorist attack struck.

November 13:  Hearts went out to even more victims of the growing Islamic terrorist group, as ISIS turned a festive city into chaos with six separate attacks throughout Paris, France, killing 130 people.

December: By the end of 2015, over one million electric cars were owned worldwide. That number is still growing exponentially.

Whether globally, nationally, locally, or individually, 2015 was full of surprises, scares, and answered prayers. Here’s to another year of even greater success stories and terrible hairstyles.