I always have loved New Year’s Eve, but never for the parties and festivities. Out of all the New Year’s Eves I’ve celebrated (21), more often than not I end up at a friend/family’s house watching an overzealous host interview the poor suckers in Times Square. Before you write me off as a stay at home debbie downer, keep in mind that all my New Year’s Eves have been spent in either Delaware (meaning friends’ parties in their college apartments) or South Dakota, where you watch people three other time zones celebrate the stroke of midnight before you give up and go to bed early. New Year’s Eve has become a night where one feels obligated to make it the greatest night ever. However, the more you plan and the higher your hopes grow, it never meets your expectations. It’s true – everyone has a story about how a friend’s birthday goes terribly wrong, but “OMG remember that one night where nothing was going on and so we went to the bar off of Franklin Ave and we met up with so and so and then saw Joe Schmoe on the street corner and we thought why not let’s follow Sallie McCallie and ended up in that photographer’s loft where that model randomly appeared”….it was great because you couldn’t foresee the night ending up that way however you tried.
Anywho, New Years Eve is the best because it allows a do-over, retribution, forgiveness of the self. You can put this past year behind you and start forth the new year thinking this is THE year. Toss out what you don’t need, forget past blunders, remember the lesson you learned on that one REGRETABLE time, and figure out what change you can put forth to make YOUR life better.
I take resolutions seriously. Resolutions are much more effective when they start off as an abstract concept, “I will stay in touch with friends and family better”, and then you break it down into specific tactics: “I’ll call Mom once a week”. My other resolutions are to be healthier (i.e. less coffee, more veggies) since the possibility of getting my own health benefits scares me and organizing everything to a T (rekindling my romance with office supplies) in order to make my existing responsibilities easier, not to make room for other goals.
2010 is going to be a big year for myself – the upcoming graduation and searching for my first job. Entering freshmen year with the rest of the class of 2010, it meant nothing. Now the future is upon us all and it’s time to get to work. It’s scary and exciting to think about how I could be living anywhere in six months. Unemployment and facing life in a box is scary to me, so I’ll be chasing jobs more than locations (though I do have a preference for the Eastern Half of the US). So lovely reader, if you have any suggestions or hear rumors through the grapevine, just let a little lady know.
So pick your resolutions wisely, and be more creative than say “lose 10 pounds” (it’s simple guys – drink more water, exercise, lay off the junk food, eat veggies, and drink less alcohol – yes I’m saying it – a beer gut on anyone is not sexy – I don’t care if you think you’re a “teddy bear”) The prospect of another start to a New Year means so much! Get new music, buy a new book (an AGENDA BOOK!!!), follow me on Twitter or Tumblr, read all the “End of the Year” music reviews your friends and Pitchfork posted, read more serious “Best of 2009” and “Best of the Decade” lists that every “legitimate” news source is coming out with, rearrange your Chrismahanukwanza gifts, message all the friends/family you reunited with over the holidays. It’s time to start over, and keep doing whatever wonderful things you are doing.
Hopefully you had an amazing New Year’s Eve and 2010 will be extra special.
My Name Is Reb 
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