To put it bluntly, 2016 has been a rough year. Centuries from now, archaeologists will search the ruins of Twitter and realize modern society connected a little too much to that “This is fine” dog meme. The teary, watchful eyes of Crying Jordan also greeted us everywhere we looked, making him the de facto mascot of this particularly cruel era.

But take heart! There were plenty of things that still managed to make the year bright. From embracing the power of social justice, to preparing for fatherhood, to simply enjoying a movie like La La Land, here's what gave eight stars (and recent Golden Globe nominees) hope in 2016—despite, you know, everything that happened this year.

Mahershala Ali"Well, my wife is pregnant. On the most personal level, I just think that and the potential of being a father and raising a child and trying to be the best person I could be for my family and being a great example for our child—I think that that gives me a lot of hope and energy."

Rachel Bloom"I mean, I think that the things that give me hope are also the things that have contributed to my echo chamber. My show feels like it's become a big deal among these, like, L.A. people and New Yorkers in a wonderful way, so it's one of the things that's interesting for me—because so many wonderful things have happened in my own personal life that have made me so happy with 2016, despite all the other global things that are the complete opposite. So I have very mixed feelings about it."

Issa Rae"Knowing that now is the time to say something that matters, and people are listening and people are ready to hear the next steps. People are embracing art in particular as a way to express their dissatisfaction and frustration and their next steps of action. I feel like that’s the most optimistic thing out of this is that people are really using art for social change."

Viggo Mortensen"It is a dark time, a lot of uncertainty, a lot of fear, and I think when people go the extra mile just to listen to each other, that's always encouraging."

Isabelle Huppert"We should have hope, yes."

John Lithgow"La La Land. I found that the most wonderful movie experience. I have seen a lot of great movies in the last month, and that always gives me hope. But La La Land, it was the first completely un-ironic treatment of love I've seen the era that it evokes. I just thought that it was enchanting and a revolutionary movie. Political moments like this, people look desperately for moments that just restore their spirit. I think that’s one reason why The Crown is so effective—because it is about dignity, grace, and government. . . and I won't say anything else." [Laughs]

Caitriona Balfe“I think that we can see by the rest of the [Golden Globe] nominees that it is a really fantastic time in the moment to have a vision, and I think I feel very fortunate to be working in this time. . .I do think that right now, it’s a very important time to stand up and voice their beliefs and reiterate that we are 50 percent of the population, that we have a voice and we need to use it. Even though Claire is a woman from the 40s, I think that she does have a resonance in today. We need to stand up for our beliefs and our rights, and I think she embodies that kind of spirit.”

Barry Jenkins"I think I can speak personally to the experience with Moonlight, which, in some ways, is somewhat of a challenging film, or not a typically commercial film, and yet people have sought out the movie. People from so many different walks of life are embracing this movie . . . and I love that people are coming into the cinema and they’re expecting nothing but our voice and within that they’re seeing themselves. So that has given me an extreme amount of hopefulness about the year, despite some of the things that happened. "