The summer of 2017 sucked. You probably don’t need a reminder of the president of the United States’ Twitter tantrums, the horrific white-supremacist protests in Charlottesville (and Trump’s tepid response), the DACA nightmare, and all of the record-breaking hurricanes.
What you could use is a rundown of the brief glimmers of hope during this hot, hellish season. Fingers crossed that fall brings many more.
JUNE
June 2 - Wonder Woman, starring Gal Gadot, debuted in the U.S. The female-centered, female-directed film had the best opening weekend turnout for a non-sequel superhero film
June 12 - The Golden State Warriors blew away the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals, and Kevin Durant was named MVP. This was great news, depending on your allegiance
June 17 - Pop star Beyoncé gave birth to twins
June 19 - Apple’s iPhone turned 10. Yay?!
June 26 - The Harry Potter series celebrated its 20th—yes, 20th!—anniversary
JULY
July 16 - Jodie Whittaker was announced as the first-ever female to play Doctor Who
July 19 - Hit song Despacito set the record for the most streamed-song ever
AUGUST
Aug. 10 - Taylor Swift took the stand and, in a display of complete calm, completely dragged the DJ she says groped her
Aug. 12 - Responding to the horrors in Charlottesville, Va., President Obama tweeted this quote from Nelson Mandela: "No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion..." His tweet became the most-liked tweet of all time
Aug. 17 - After Heather Heyer’s tragic murder by a white supremacist during the Charlottesville protests, a memorial was held for her, and quietly, word spread of a candlelit vigil. For one evening, thousands peacefully assembled to honor the victim
Aug. 21 - The first total solar eclipse in almost a century occurred across a large portion of the country, both partially and in full form, so that the entire sky went dark
Aug. 27 - HBO’s hit show Game of Thrones had an epic 79-minute finale episode in its penultimate season
Aug. 30 - The U.S. approved the first cancer treatment using blood cells to attack leukemia
