2016 has, by all accounts, burned with vitriol, divisiveness, and tragedy. Boiling racial tensions, political hate, terrorism, social media abuse, and so much more have pulled at our hearts. We’ve suffered attacks on gender, race, creed, and every form of belief. All of it has left me wondering some days if there’s hope for humanity.

At a time in my life that I’m trying desperately to better myself and learn to treat those around me with more kindness and love than ever, I see the world around me hurting more and more every day.

24-hour news channels seem filled with everything that is wrong with the world. Every day is a new disaster. Social media is ablaze with tension and abuse. Water cooler conversations have turned dark.

We’ve said goodbye to legends this year. Bowie, Nimoy, Prince, Ali, Rickman to name just a few. Stars and celebrities pass every year, but I can’t remember a year where so many that meant so much to me left in such a short period.

We’ve watched some go well before their time. Anton Yelchin, who played Chekov in the three rebooted Star Trek films, died tragically in June. Just when his career was beginning to bloom, it was over. Christina Grimmie, a promising and emerging star with an extraordinary voice, was silenced. She was only 22. Anton was 27.

A Corner Turned in San Diego

Despite all this, something unexpected rippled through the entertainment industry and its legion of loyal followers this past weekend. At the mecca of all things geek, San Diego Comic-Con, people from all walks of life united behind things they collectively love. Movies, television shows, comic books, novels, and pop-culture phenomenons breathed a refreshing air of renewal for so many. SDCC 2016 couldn’t have come at a better time.

Studios, actors, and producers wait until Comic-Con to release first trailers, announce upcoming projects, and build buzz. Comic-Con does this every year, but somehow this year was special. It was refreshing and overwhelmingly good. I’m not sure if it was because the content released was so good or because it came at a time when we needed it most.

Trailers for The Justice League, Wonder Woman, Doctor Strange, Luke Cage, and all the Marvel Series on Netflix each packed a punch. Teasers for Iron Fist and The Defenders were dangled before us and inspired glee in geeks everywhere. Heroes rose. There was hope in all of these clips that good will always triumph over evil.

There is Hope for the Future

Hope emerged as celebrities thrilled and inspired the masses. Trailer after trailer of films and shows we’ve been aching to see bombarded us with things to look forward to in the future. For the first time in a while, the future seemed like a place I wanted to be.

Social media buzzed with excitement. People shared their thousands of moments from Comic-Con. Smiling selfies filled my timeline. Exclamation points of joy followed dazzling fan reactions. Excitement and fun bubbled up and spilled over the top aplenty.

I typically share my thoughts on all things geeky or science fiction on Twitter and Facebook. If you follow my feeds, you know those are things I love. I dove into sharing the brimming enthusiasm for Comic-Con related news with fervor. I needed it. Time and again, friends have commented they did too. We all needed a lift after the year we’ve had.

For the first time in a while, despite the troubles of the world, I see hope renewed in many. The things that have weighed us down aren’t forgotten. There will be a return to reality, but I’ll look at it a bit differently after this inspiring weekend.

Movies, television, and books have always inspired me. I’m a big kid at heart. Comic-Con put a jolt of inspiration in me. I’ll draw on the optimism for humanity seen in San Diego when the next dark moment hits and hopefully I can use that energy to remember not to give up. Work the problems. Unite. There IS hope for this world yet.

Image Credit: www.tvafterdark.com. You can join the enthusiasm for SDCC through the TV After Dark feeds on Twitter and Facebook.

Also published on Medium.