I spent New Years Eve with my sister in Albuquerque—watching 2012 documentaries and reading The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success—and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. We were so relaxed about the entire evening that I’m actually quite surprised we didn’t miss the countdown to the new year! We noticed that midnight was approaching with just enough time to rush into the window-filled entryway where we could see fireworks going off from some other much-more-on-top-of-it partiers. The actual moment when it changed from 2011 to 2012 was fairly blurry to me this year… Being in Albuquerque, I felt as though I was watching the world slowly revolve into the New Year, with some help from facebook. First, friends in New Zealand were wishing everyone a happy 2012. A few hours later, my friends in Europe were celebrating. Soon, Argentines were clinking their champagne glasses and posting “Prospero Año”s. Then the ball dropped in New York, my friends in Oklahoma and Kansas sent me the typical “Happy New Year!” texts, and THEN, after everyone else I know had been celebrating for any amount of hours (up to almost an entire day earlier in New Zealand), it turned into 2012 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The line between years, between hours, between moments, seemed so… non-existant, that I couldn’t help but look at the New Year in an entirely different light. The idea of New Year’s Resolutions always seemed equally appealing and intimidating to me. I’ve had a love/hate relationship with resolutions over the years. I’m hopeful enough to always want to take the opportunity the New Year always brings to start afresh, but just the date on the calendar changing a few numbers was never enough incentive for me to make drastic changes. I could never say “well, it’s now XXXZ instead of XXXY, I obviously have to behave differently!” It just never made sense to me. This year, I think I now understand why that reason was never enough: Time is gradual. In the same way that change is gradual. The only important moment is the present moment, and the only way to change anything about yourself is to focus on being your best self in every present moment… No matter what year it is, or where on the Earth you stand, or when that tiny patch of Earth you are standing on rotates into the “New Year.” And since change is gradual, I’m not going to give up on all of my resolutions if I mess up one moment, or one day. I will put my errors behind me and embrace the new moment—the only important one.
“The past is history, the future is a mystery, and this moment is a gift. That is why they call it the present.”
Happy New Moment, everyone :)
Please, don’t actually call two thousand ten “y2k10.” That would just be ridiculous.
But! The New Year wouldn’t be the New Year without listing some resolutions, now, would it!?
- Become fluent in Spanish.
This isn’t an option. It will happen, or else. - Become mediocre in Italian.
I have to work toward my University exchange to Italy while I can! - Learn how to play the guitar.
Isn’t this on everyone’s list? - Learn how to play the charango.
Just because it’s so South American :) - Learn how to Tango dance.
I refuse to leave Argentina without completing this one. - Learn how to play Tango music on piano.
The lessons are only 10 pesos a month, how could I not!? - Lose weight.
I will not come back as a typical fat exchange student! NO!
I hope you fulfill all of your New Years resolutions and have a wonderful 2010!!
