Good Riddance Day: Shredding 2017's negativity

NEW YORK (FOX5NY.COM) - An estimated 1 million people will be in Times Square to ring in the new year Sunday night. But on Thursday, dozens were there to take the first step in starting their new year off right.

The 11th annual Good Riddance Day gave New Yorkers and visitors that chance to let go and say goodbye to the past by shredding and destroying representations of what they hope to keep out of their lives in the new year.

Times Square Alliance President Tim Tompkins said the event is about looking back and letting go. While stress, bills, and self-destructive behaviors were some of the most common resolutions, the list of things people wanted to say good riddance to was endless.

This symbolic event proved to be a time for reflection and hope for ourselves and our nation.

And so just days away from 2018, even if these changes were out of one's control the experience was therapeutic for many. And a reminder that the new year gives us another chance to get things right.