2015 was a year of many things. Luckily, “inspiring” was one of them. Amid the injustices, tragedies and foolery that crowded our news headlines and social media timelines from January to December, there were a few moments that forced us to comb through the clutter and take a good look at some exceptional human beings. People who, through their actions, made us look at ourselves a little differently, aim to be more selfless, second-guess our earthly purposes, be proud to be in the skin we’re in, add more fuel to our internal fires, turn a small dream into something unfathomably grander. Truly personify the essence of magnificence.
This year, seven young men and women gave a new meaning to the term. From Bree Newsome snatching the Confederate flag from where it flew and Devin Allen giving the story of Baltimore a proper platform to Malala Yousafzai crusading for young girls’ education and Chance The Rapper carrying the future of Chicago on his back, we learned that inspiration doesn’t have to come in the biggest, boldest and brightest of packages. In our ordinary forms, with courage, passion, faith and determination, we can all do the extraordinary.