A Brave, New Year

And by the ticking of a clock, a new era rises and the old one is left to be neglected by the past.

Most people use the New Year as a chance to look forward to a new future, to make plans on how to better themselves; whether physically, morally, emotionally, what have you. Still, too often we--as humans--completely forget about the year past, as if it were a book to be closed and squeezed among other dusty volumes on a shelf. Instead, the entire New Year's experience should be looked at as a book that has finally been published after what seems like ages of work on it. Rather than ignoring it, we should read through the final project, despite how intimate of a connection we already feel with it. That way, we can be prepared to create an even better volume in the following year's publication. That, to me, is far more efficient than simply making ridiculous self-promises and hoping for the best as you dash haphazardly into an uncertain tomorrow.

So, in an attempt to practice what I preach, here are some things that I learned about myself and the world I live in this year:

--The internet is amazing; me and my generation are so spoiled, it's ridiculous.

--If I am not careful, I will never get anything done in life. It is my nature to leave things open-ended, unfinished, and unfulfilled.

--I am finally starting to figure out who I am. And it feels great, because for the first time it's beginning to feel like I am real.

--I cannot change the world, but I can affect individual people. All I can do is adapt, contort, and survive until I meet those chosen few.

--I always have and still can count my true friends on my fingers. For them, I am truly grateful.

--The ability to communicate using language is a beautiful miracle that people tend to take for granted. I am learning to appreciate it more and more each day.

--There is so much to this world that nobody ever gets the chance to experience. I have to see it all, even if it kills me.

--It does not matter what language a song is in, it's the music that speaks to you.

--Reading is one of the most important actions any youth can partake in. Without literature, society will waste away and the world will come to end.

--There's more to God than what religion has to offer.

And probably one of the most important revelations I have received this past year: there is no such thing as a mistake. Every action that I have ever taken was and will be necessary, for better or for worse. And I won't be able to tell what affected what until my final New Year's, when I can finally look back at the entire library on my book shelf.