Wednesday, January 05, 2011

My New Years in a Nutshell



I absolutely love getting all prettied-up... especially to a ball with Black and White being its theme. It was less than twenty-four hours before countdown when I was notified of this party; without a second thought, I booked the tickets. Next thing I knew, I was off to New York City and then to New Jersey to celebrate New Years... where I definitely had a ball.

I remember the turn of 2010. I was in Louisville, Kentucky... and January first was the day of Meg's wedding. I remember being teary-eyed. That old favorite college roommate of mine looked positively gorgeous. Funny, I also wore that peacock hairpin. I had no New Years resolutions, and had no idea what two thousand ten was going to be like.

A year later, although I'm more settled and secure -- I know what I want out of life (not just the rest of the year) ... I'm also aware I may have no idea what I'm getting myself into.

I'd consider that exciting. Last night, I was telling a friend about how people would live their lives based on "years." For instance, I'd say: "Wow. 2010. What a year." Then again, every year is "Wow, what a year." As years roll by, you grow; you gain wisdom and insight (well hopefully).

Things simply happen, especially circumstances that are beyond our control. We cannot avoid the "common facts of life"... during those months; I learned so much about life, death. Love, hatred. Friendship, relationships. How you cannot judge someone based on their past. About people, about forgiving, about acceptance. About letting go. About what we should value the most: what is important to us. Being able to understand others, to understand myself.

Years are some numbers that scientists decide to come up with. I say forget numbers. Forget how many years you have lived. I could say, based on what I had gone through, I've lived a million lifetimes at the age of twenty-six.

Instead of years, I am living my life based on moments. On the other hand, I have acknowledged this year as a chance... to be surer of myself. To be more determined and give my absolute best to what I want out of this year.

The turn of a new year does give people a sense of hope, new beginnings, second chances. Last year I had no resolutions. I told myself to expect none. I precisely said resolutions are excuses for people to wait for a year to make some changes.

Of course, I am not perfect. God knows I'm just as flawed... I break every resolution that is known to humankind. In this case, instead of resolutions, I've decided on several personal oaths (albeit simple ones) for 2011:

1. Take risks, a.k.a. do huger leaps of faith into the unknown.
2. Swallow my pride.
3. Think right, eat well.