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The MEL Year in Review

Everything we learned from 2017, whether we wanted to or not

Well.

It’s been a year, huh?

2017 began with the flat, lurching noise of our dreams being punctured, and continued to leak out hope with a damp, monotonous farting sound that only increased in volume and horror as the months went by. 2017 gave no quarter: Each silver lining was rudely snatched away, and by the end of it, limping to the finish line, it felt more like an endurance test than a year — a gauntlet made up of white nationalism, shitty media men, heinous political corruption and the growing sense that we, as a society, had only two realistic options left to us: Sink into this stinking morass forever, or burn it all down and start again.

But, y’know, MEL had a pretty good year.

Sorry, but we did. We learned a lot; we wrote a lot; we shared a lot. We used 2017 to try and overcome the increasingly glaring differences between us all and figure out how not just to function, but to use the endless bullshit being flung at us to fuel our fire, make our voices heard and connect with like-minded people — aka you — to make us all feel a little less insane, a little less hopeless and a little less alone.

We also wrote a lot about dicks.

As this fuck-show of a year draws to a close, we’re incredibly proud to bring you our thoughts on what the hell happened.

Enjoy. Process. Prepare yourself for next year.

Because one way or another, 2017 is done.

The Very Best of MEL in 2017 (And Everything Else We Have to Say About the Year That Was):