New Year, New You?

Photo: dotw on Flickr

Tradition dictates that every 365 days, you should try to kick bad habits and start your life anew.

Will this year be the year? Will this be the year that you achieve real change in your life? Despite it being a wholly arbitrary event, there is something cleansing about tagging a new number onto the end of the date, hanging new calendars, "out with the old, in with the new" and generally hoping for a better year than last.

This is a time when many of us get reflective. At least, I do. I have always been big on resolutions. For years, the last few pages of December or the first few pages of January in my journal would be filled with a zillion promises that I made to myself. With a new year came hope, excitement and a chance for a fresh start. In fact, I'm one of those people who actually sticks to her resolutions and sees them through.

For the first time (ever, really) I don't have a gigantic list of things that I want to change going into the new year. I don't have any real "resolutions," per se. Sure, I know that I need to learn how to relax. And that I should find more time to take better care of myself. 2008, well … it was amazing, exhausting, transformative, exciting, terrifying, emotional and … how the hell was it just one year? I started it in my very own apartment, which now really feels like home. I made some absolutely stellar new friends. I took on a job which has challenged me and forced me to grow in ways that I never could have imagined. I'm a better (stronger) woman for what this past year has taught me.

Looking back, I can't help thinking of the naive 25 year old that I was only a couple years ago. As Ben Harper just said on my ipod…"I’m more afraid of falling…" which I was, up until now. That being said, I have also most definitely stumbled a few times as I've gone along. What I am most proud of, is that I have been able to dust off my knees, get up and keep going.

The truth is, I'm always striving to be a better version of myself. I think about that all the time, not just at the end of the year. Regardless, I would like to bid farewell to 2008 as I look ahead to what I believe promises to be a most incredible new year. I just can't wait to see what 2009 has in store!

Happy New Year. Truly. It will be.