2016 has been a tough year.

Maybe partly due to the political climate right next door, maybe because of our own political stuff, maybe because of all the people who have died or maybe because the world is a mess, but morally, financially and physically, for me anyway, 2016 will live in infamy.

First, Donald Trump is now the President-Elect of the United States and that , to me, is the most depressing happening of 2016.

Then, we’ve lost huge names this year. Music Legends. Artists such as David Bowie, Prince, Leonard Cohen, and Glenn Frey, to name a few, all fell victims of the 2016 wrath. At one point, it felt as though news of another loss came in pretty much every other day.

2016 was especially harsh locally, where more than our share of people were seen dramatically losing their lives in fires, car accidents and yes, to cancer and other terminal diseases, as well as suicide. Many were under 40, which makes the pill even harder to swallow. We ourselves have lost one of our contributors, Countess Trotzier, our “World in Balance” girl, who passed away suddenly and unexpectedly.

It is sad to think about how many lives have drastically changed because of all the unforeseen events 2016 has brought on, making us realize just how fragile life truly is.

But it is also a wake up call.

It’s a wake up call that every moment counts, that life is too short to fester about stuff that really doesn’t matter.

The Seeker didn’t get as far as we wanted it to get this year, but it doesn’t matter. We do what we love doing, that’s more than sufficient. What matters is you, the reader. Sure, we would love to be included and acknowledged when year in reviews are compiled–Thank you Team Cornwall for doing just that–but why get upset over things we have no control over? We can’t change how other people react to us, we can only change how we react to them and we choose, everyday, to be positive in a world filled with negativity.

We know things do not revolve around us. We know if we disappeared overnight, it would keep on turning without us. We are pragmatic enough to know that we are not essential; nothing truly is, but we also know that while we do exist, we are a glimmer of joy in many people’s lives. We do make a small difference. I am thinking of Chris, who always has words of encouragement for me on twitter… Or Mrs. Lee who calls in her classifieds religiously weekly… Or also Esther who says her week goes to hell if she doesn’t get her “weekly dose of positive news” in her hands before Saturday morning. I am thinking of all those who respond to my editorials, both in agreement or disagreement. Those I give a voice to when they have none. These are the people we touch and who also touch OUR lives. These are the people who matter. Their readership and loyalty are the rewards we get for swimming upstream, tirelessly, in a world where anything other than mainstream media is regarded as a farce and in a city who supports almost exclusively a certain entourage. This is just how things are here in Cornwall. Some people are automatically embraced while others have to work hard to be included.

So here is to 2017! We are committed to renewing our efforts to continue being that light you can turn to when the clouds set in. To quote one of our contributors, Shannon Ferguson, in a recent article from Choose Cornwall, which truly reiterates what Mai-Liis and I have been saying for years, in 2017 we will “be so good that they can’t ignore us.”

In the mean time, I’m glad we can finally put 2016 to rest!

Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and see you back on Friday, January 6, 2017!