MINNEAPOLIS — It wasn’t all doom and gloom in 2017. The year was also filled with awe-inspiring moments that united us and warmed the heart.

The first total solar eclipse to cross the U.S. in a century bought millions together in what some could only describe as a primal experience. Thousands of immigrants took the oath of citizenship, realizing their dreams of becoming Americans. And one adorable baby, Fiona the hippopotamus, became a story of survival as she overcame the odds and tumbled into the world’s heart.

The stories provided some lighthearted moments amid a series of deadly shootings, terrorist attacks, hurricanes, wildfires, sexual harassment scandals and other tragic news in 2017.

Here is a look at a few of the moving, unifying and just plain fun moments of the year:

Yay, Science! It seems nothing brought Americans together more than the first total solar eclipse to move across the country in a century.

For one moment in the middle of an August day, millions of people stopped what they were doing and gazed upward in wonder as the moon slipped over the sun — leaving a path of total darkness that stretched from Oregon to South Carolina. Some eclipse watchers sang, some danced and some were moved to tears. Kids thought it was pure magic, and people traveled to remote sections of the country to get the best glimpse.

A study by the University of Michigan, requested by NASA, estimated that 215 million American adults — or 88 percent of the country’s adult population — viewed the eclipse either directly or electronically. That’s 104 million more than the 2017 Super Bowl.

#TeamFiona: This little one wasn’t expected to make it.

Fiona, a Nile hippopotamus, was just 29 pounds when she was born prematurely in January. After early health scares, she’s now thriving at more than 600 pounds. This sassy girl has become a symbol of survival — and the star attraction at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden.

Fiona has captivated the masses and the Team Fiona craze isn’t slowing down. She stars in her own internet video series. Tens of millions have gone online to watch her take a bottle, splash in the pool or learn to run.

T-shirts bear her image. She’s the subject of children’s books. An ice cream flavor and local brew are named in her honor. She gets so many cards and letters that she has her own mail bin. Grown men will lean over the pool in their suits and ties to get close to her, said zoo director Thane Maynard.

“We are working with Fiona and her story to spread a number of messages — one is a message of not giving up,” he said.

Inspiring generosity: Out of cash and out of gas on an interstate exit ramp in Philadelphia, Kate McClure found help from an unlikely source: a homeless man who told her to stay put, then used his last $20 to buy her gas.

Johnny Bobbitt Jr.’s selflessness was not lost on McClure. She set up a GoFundMe page for the military veteran and former paramedic, and raised more than $400,000.

Now Bobbitt has enough money to buy a home and his dream truck — a 1999 Ford Ranger. An attorney and financial adviser helped create a plan that will allow him to collect a small monthly salary and have some money for retirement.

Bobbitt told “Good Morning America” he plans to pay the generosity forward by donating some of the money to organizations that will help others.

“Everybody out there is facing some kind of struggle, so if I can touch their life, the way mine was touched, (it’d be) an amazing feeling,” he said.

“Yes!” over roast chicken: From a simple proposal over roast chicken to plans for a royal wedding, news that Prince Harry is engaged to U.S. actress Meghan Markle had many cheering in November.

Harry, an army veteran who had a one-time bad-boy image but is now devoted to wounded veterans and charitable causes, met Markle on a blind date. The prince later said that’s when he realized he needed to up his game to win her heart. They grew closer while camping in Botswana, and now there is talk of starting a family.

But for some black women, it gave them a Cinderella story they could picture themselves in. Markle, who is divorced, is bi-racial and will be the first woman of color in modern history to join the British royal family.

“We all have this fantasy of being swept off our feet by the prince. It’s validation that, of course, we can be princesses,” Essence Magazine Editor-in-Chief Vanessa K. DeLuca said.

The couple plan to marry May 19.