Out with the Old

As we toast to a new year, I look back on the year past and can hardly remember it. I suppose that means there was nothing too remarkable. No major life changes--same job, same car, same dress size, same single girl. Despite the events of the last month, I can hardly say it was a bad year just for its less than desirable ending. It was a year that included exotic vacation destinations from Mayan ruins in Belize to buffalo sightings in South Dakota. I went to Hell in Grand Cayman and saw Carhenge in the middle-of-nowhere-Nebraska. I finished my MBA, I started yoga, pilates, weightlifting, training for a marathon, and accomplished #17 on my list of 30 things to do before I'm 30. (Wow. There actually were a lot of things that happened this year!) I took risks, made mistakes, and at the end of the day, I still have a pretty good story to tell.

I look forward to the New Year, not because the last was terrible. I look forward to it because like any new beginning, it brings a wealth of new possibilities. New years are like the chapters of a book. They bring new perspectives and help you better understand the story. Each chapter builds on the last; and so it is with a new year. Keep reading. Keep moving forward. The next chapter is brimming with opportunity. Who knows where it will lead you. 

To my friends past and present, may 2012 be full of hope and promise. May your past propel you forward, rather than hinder you. May what is yet to be written be what motivates you. Be purposeful in your decisions and live with conviction. (And to my 4 anonymous readers, I thank you for your faithfulness. Happy 2012.)

The Old Year has gone. Let the dead past bury its own dead. The New Year has taken possession of the clock of time. All hail the duties and possibilities of the coming twelve months! 
--Edward Payson Powell