We’ve left 2017 behind us, and 2018 has come rolling in at full speed. This can only mean one thing for me: awards season.

One of my favorite times of year, awards season recognizes accomplishments in the entertainment industry. The 75th Golden Globe Awards kicked off the new year with a great start this past Sunday with fantastic speeches and shocking wins, while also bringing much-needed awareness on issues in the world, especially in the entertainment industry. 

As celebrities and creatives from both film and television walked down the red carpet and entered the Beverly Hilton in California on Sunday night, someone watching might’ve recognized the unusual amount of people wearing black dresses and suits to the awards.

The reason for this was to bring awareness and protest the ways women have been mistreated and assaulted in the world of entertainment.

Since Sunday’s Golden Globes was the first major telecasted awards ceremony since the horrible actions of Harvey Weinstein and others have come to light, there was an expectation for speeches and actions made to protest such atrocities. A righteous expectation, indeed.

It started with the #MeToo campaign that welcomed and opened more conversations from assault victims among social media platforms.

Then some A-list actresses, including Shonda Rhimes, Natalie Portman, Ashley Judd, Brie Larson, Reese Witherspoon and more got together and started the TIME’S UP campaign, which has raised an astounding $16 million for a legal defense fund for women in Hollywood who have been sexually assaulted and mistreated.

The TIME’S UP pin was also seen on the suit jackets of many male celebrities, including Justin Timberlake, Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Kaluuya, Steve Carell, Sebastian Stan and more.

It was truly a beautiful thing to see these women and men wearing black to stand up and make a statement against the mistreatment and harassment of women in the entertainment industry because time is up and changes need to happen.

We all know that this is a statement that definitely needs to be heard by the world.

As the ceremony began, host Seth Meyers kicked off the night and gave a great opening monologue. It was not only funny, as one should expect from the previous Saturday Night Live co-head writer and current Late Night host, but it was also sensitive to those who have been mistreated. It was also great to see that he wasn’t shy of attacking the likes of Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey.

This year’s Golden Globes was also one of historic proportions.

Oprah Winfrey became the first black woman to be awarded the Cecil B. DeMille Award, which is an honorary award for someone who has made outstanding contributions to the entertainment world.

It is also important to mention that Oprah gave one of the best speeches ever given in awards history. She had the audience cheering, standing and clapping as she delivered words that inspired all those who listened.

Sterling K. Brown also won best actor in a TV drama for his role in “This Is Us,” and he is the first black man to do so. The hilarious Aziz Ansari finally won best actor in a TV comedy after being previously nominated in 2016; he became the first Asian actor to win that specific award.

Women were not afraid to stand up for what’s right, both on and off the stage. Natalie Portman showed this when she and Ron Howard were presenting for best director of a motion picture when she said, “Here are the all-male nominees.”

I agreed with her statement because Greta Gerwig (“Lady Bird”) and Patty Jenkins (“Wonder Woman”) definitely deserved nominations for their amazing directing in such critically-acclaimed films, both of which were two of my favorites from 2017.

I totally agreed with many of the awards that were given because they were rightly awarded.

For example, “Coco” won best animated motion picture. Martin McDonagh won best screenplay for “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.” Guillermo del Toro won best director for his fantastic film “The Shape of Water.” Sam Rockwell won his first Golden Globe for his amazing performance as a supporting actor in “Three Billboards.”

However, there were also some awards given that I was surprised by.

“The Handmaid’s Tale” beat out “Stranger Things” and “Game of Thrones” for the best drama television series. A close one for me was Saoirse Ronan (“Lady Bird”) and Margot Robbie (“I, Tonya”), but ultimately Ronan won for best actress in a musical or comedy.

But the biggest shock was best motion picture for a drama, which “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” won.

Overall, it was a fantastic awards ceremony, and I can’t wait for what the rest of this year has to offer.