The year 2019 gave me a newfound appreciation for reasonable people and an addiction to Kim Kardashian: Hollywood.

While 2019 had great potential, it fell a bit. However, it did take me on one wild rollercoaster ride — the kind that you are enjoying until suddenly you have whiplash and are soaked in vomit from the person sitting next to you.

The year began with temperatures so cold that they made college history. The frigid temperatures of 2019 closed Allegheny for not one, but two days.

According to an article published by The Campus, the last time the College closed its doors due to extreme weather conditions was in the 1970s — before that, the College  hadn’t cancelled classes since World War II.

The entire campus rejoiced as an email relieving them of their studies was received late on Tuesday, Jan. 29. The sounds of beer cans cracking at 9:33 p.m. that Tuesday evening could be heard all the way to Edinboro.

The extreme weather conditions of those two days provided students with a much needed break. What is wonderful about being condemned inside on a college campus is that approximately 90% of your friends live in your building, making it a 48-hour party.

The spring brought with it a regression of women’s rights — the creation of “heartbeat” bills restricted access to safe and legal abortions across the country.

Sixteen states passed or attempted to pass laws that ban abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected in the womb, which typically occurs around six weeks of pregnancy.

However, none of these recently-passed abortion bans have gone into effect, and this attack on women’s reproductive health has brought with it an outpouring of support and conversation surrounding women’s rights.

As the country fought to take rights away from women, Allegheny made great strides toward gender equality.

On July 1, President Hilary Link began her term as Allegheny’s 22nd president and the College’s first female president.

The January announcement that Allegheny had elected a female president brought warmth to the winter’s frigid temperatures. However, Link’s July arrival left me wondering how it had taken a liberal arts college like Allegheny 204 years to elect a female president.

The summer flew by faster than ever. As I have gotten older, I have realized that more hours of daylight is just another way of saying more hours to work. That said, the extra sunshine and homework-free weekends made up for the week’s long hours.

August rolled around and brought with it the beginning of the school year. It was not until mid-August that I realized I had never unpacked my boxes from school and survived the summer on a rotation of three outfits.

Although I was thrilled to be back with my friends in a setting where it is socially acceptable to be drunk more often than not, and the fall of 2019 marked the beginning of my senior year, which can only be described as horrifically magnificent.

Senior year means finally being legal and able to join my friends on their weekend journeys into town, but it also means figuring out what comes next. I am still trying to grasp the idea that I have less than six months of calling North Village home.

The end of this semester brings with it a sense of nostalgia, or at least it would if I had any time to actually feel emotions. I feel as though I have been thrown on stage during Orchesis and told to keep up without any practice.

Even the most detailed planner has not been able to help me manage this semester. Instead, I have decided to live in athletic wear and running shoes, so I am prepared to drop everything and run to all the commitments I forgot I have made.

This fall has also marked a historical time in American politics with the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. Each news update sends shockwaves of excitement through me and not just because I love drama — the inquiry has also restored my faith in democracy.

In addition to heart palpitations, 2019 has given me a shameful addiction to Kim Kardashian: Hollywood.  I should probably be more embarrassed by my addiction than I actually am; however the game serves as a much -needed escape from reality and a great way to avoid responsibility.

I assume winter will be more of the same chaotic magic here at Allegheny, just with 3 feet of snow and the constant fear of face planting on my way to class.

Cheers to 2020.