def make_list_if_not(thing):
    """
    Checks to see if an item is a list, and if not, turns it into one.
    ---
    IN
    thing: a thing of any datatype
    OUT
    thing as a list (list)
    """

    if type(thing) != list:
        thing_list = []
        thing_list.append(thing) 
        return thing_list
    else:
        return thing