Hopeful Images From 2016

After another year of news stories that produced photos that can often be difficult or disturbing to view, I thought I’d take the time to compose an essay of uplifting images from the past year. The following are images of personal victories, families and friends at play, expressions of love and compassion, volunteers at work, and assistance being given to those in need.

Gold medalist Daniel Brown from Great Britain celebrates his victory at the Rowing LTA Mix 4+ at Lagoa Stadium on day 4 of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on September 11, 2016. Raphael Dias / Getty for the International Paralympic Committee

Cal Fire San Mateo-Santa Cruz Battalion Chief Aldo Gonzales feeds an injured kitten at a home while battling the Clayton Fire near Lower Lake in California on August 15, 2016. Stephen Lam / Reuters

British athlete Alistair Brownlee (left) helps his exhausted brother Jonathan Brownlee to cross the finish line in second and third place during the ITU World Triathlon Championships 2016 in Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Mexico on September 18, 2016. Elizabeth Ruiz / AFP / Getty

A couple kissing in front of Louvre Pyramid and the Louvre museum by night on November 2, 2016, in Paris, France. Chesnot / Getty

The green sea turtle, also known as 'Honu', is a symbol of good luck and longevity in Hawaiian lore. This passing turtle provided a little mystique to the 2,300 athletes who awaited the start signal of a 140.6-mile journey at the 2016 IRONMAN World Championship triathlon on October 8, 2016 in Kailua Kona, Hawaii. Donald Miralle / IRONMAN via Getty

A heat-stressed koala rests as a resident pours water on its back on December 19, 2015 in Adelaide, Australia. Adelaide was experiencing an extreme heatwave at the time. Morne de Klerk / Getty

Indian women plant saplings on the outskirts of Allahabad, India, on July 11, 2016. More than 800,000 volunteers in India's most populous state of Uttar Pradesh planted nearly 50 million trees in a 24 hour period in hopes of setting a world record. Rajesh Kumar Singh / AP

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos (left) and Marxist rebel leader Timochenko shake hands after signing an accord ending a half-century war that killed a quarter of a million people, in Cartagena, Colombia, on September 26, 2016. John Vizcaino / Reuters

Zhiqiang Zhong of China drops his crutches as he prepares to compete in the men's high jump - T42 final during the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games at Olympic Stadium on September 9, 2016. Atsushi Tomura / Getty for Tokyo 2020

Wrapped in a Brazilian flag, Giovana Silva, 4, cousin of the Brazilian Judo gold medalist Rafaela Silva is hugged by a friend as they stand next to her aunt Cristiane while she holds a poster of Rafaela Silva, at Cidade de Deus slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on August 9, 2016. Leo Correa / AP

A woman and her child enjoy sledding on a hill at sunset outside St.Petersburg, Russia, on February 16, 2016. Dmitri Lovetsky / AP

Blind deer Tacoma stands in the living room of farmer Margret Nelles (left) and her daughter Caroline, in Grafschaft-Nierendorf, Germany, on March 20, 2016. Nelles was only trying to nurse the deer fawn back to health after it was found injured in a pit, but Nelles soon realised that the animal was blind. Thomas Frey / dpa / Corbis

Participants in the annual North East Skinny Dip run into the sea at Druridge Bay, England, on September 25, 2016. About 500 people swam naked in the North Sea to raise money for the mental health charity MIND. Russell Cheyne / Reuters

New recruit "Pepper" the robot, a humanoid robot designed to welcome and take care of visitors and patients, holds the hand of a newborn baby at AZ Damiaan hospital in Ostend, Belgium, on June 16, 2016. Francois Lenoir / Reuters

Members of the public enjoy a Christmas Tree Maze on December 7, 2016, in Edinburgh,Scotland. Jeff J Mitchell / Getty

Bird staff Holly Cale spends time with Moccas, a one year old Andean Condor at the ICBP (International Center for Birds of Prey) on May 16, 2016 in Newent, England. Dan Kitwood / Getty

Lilly Caron, 8, of Bridgeton, Maine, Jason Homchick, of San Diego, and Lilly's father Jason Caron, (obscured), ride the Sky Swing at Seacoast Adventure in Wyndham, Maine, on July 14, 2016. Robert F. Bukaty / AP

Chinese diver Qin Kai proposes to silver medalist He Zi of China on the podium during the medal ceremony for the Women's Diving 3m Springboard Final on Day 9 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at Maria Lenk Aquatics Center on August 14, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Clive Rose / Getty

Nepalese children play on a swing, popularly known as the "Dashain Ping", on the sixth day of the Hindu festival of Dashain in Lalitpur, on the outskirts of Kathmandu, on October 7, 2016. Prakash Mathema / AFP / Getty

Fifteen year-old Alaskan sea otter 'Yutan' is given a heart-shaped piece of ice treat by his keeper at the aquarium at the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise amusement park in Yokohama, a suburb of Tokyo, on February 6, 2016. Toru Yamanaka / AFP / Getty

New England Patriots tight end Martellus Bennett cuddles with his daughter, Jett, after NFL football training camp, on August 16, 2016, in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Elise Amendola / AP

People dance in a pool as they attend the Arenal Sound music Festival held on Burriana beach on August 6, 2016. Arenal Sound Festival is a 5 days music festival attended by arounf 240,000 people on the east coast of Spain between Valencia and Castellon. Jose Jordan / AFP / Getty

Bjorn, 6, poses for pictures with Owl butterflies at the Natural History Museum in central London on March 23, 2016. Leon Neal / AFP / Getty

A boy enjoys catches some air while sledding down a hill on March 1, 2016 after heavy snowfall in Prague. Michal Cizek / AFP / Getty

Baby giraffe "Kenai" (right), born on August 25, 2016, kisses his mother "Dioni" on August 31 at the zoo in La Fleche, France. Jean-Francois Monier / AFP / Getty

A boy rests on concrete blocks near the small port of Ginostra on June 16, 2016 on the island of Stromboli. Gabriel Bouys / AFP / Getty

A man throws her daughter into the air while they are silhouetted at the National Museum of Korea in Seoul, South Korea, on August 30, 2016. Ahn Young-joon / AP

South Carolina Department of Natural Resources officer Gregg Lowery rescues a cat from floodwaters caused by Hurricane Matthew while patrolling for evacuees in Nichols, South Carolina, on October 10, 2016. Randall Hill / Reuters

Actor Alexander Skarsgard kisses a baby Kangaroo during the Legend of Tarzan Photo Call at WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo on June 14, 2016, in Sydney, Australia. Ryan Pierse / Getty

Cyclists Shawn Morelli and Megan Fisher of Team USA sing at the podium with their gold and bronze medals won in the Women's C4 3000m Individual Pursuit at the 2016 Rio Paralympics. Ricardo Moraes / Reuters

A novice Buddhist monk walks with a puppy at a monastic school in the suburbs of Yangon, Burma, on February 18, 2016. Gemunu Amarasinghe / AP

A three-old-day male baby Asian elephant stands next to his mother Janita in their enclosure at the Prague Zoo on April 8, 2016 in Prague, Czech Republic. According to the zoo, the baby is the first Asian elephant to be both conceived and born in 82 year history of the Prague Zoo. Matej Divizna / Getty

Dexis Casadiego, a veterinarian and part owner of the Funasissi animal shelter, caresses an abandoned dog at the private shelter in the working-class Caracas neighborhood of El Junquito, Venezuela, on July 23, 2016. Fernando Llano / AP

Canada's men's wheelchair basketball team player Adam Lancia kisses his wife Jamey Jewells of Canada after her match at the Rio Olympic Arena on September 15, 2016. Ueslei Marcelino / Reuters

A couple shares a kiss while they take pictures in the middle of a cosmos field at Olympic Park in Seoul, South Korea, on September 21, 2016. Ahn Young-joon / AP

10-DICIEMRE-2016 END

All photos from The Atlantic