It’s New Year’s Eve once again, a time for resolutions that
most of us won’t keep and a time to change anything we didn’t like the previous
year. To me, New Year’s Eve represents an ending, an ending of the year that
seems to have passed by so quickly in the rearview mirror. 2017 had many ups
and downs within its 365 days. Memories of the good seem to fade as the year
goes on, while memories of the bad seer into our minds. We save pictures and
messages of the good in hopes that they will keep the memory alive. Yet, we
want to destroy any hint of the negative memories. Both the positive and
negative have gotten us where we are today. The positive events help us continue
to have hope in the future and continue to have fun. The negative events help
us grow because it’s often said that we grow through trials and tribulations.
So, while we want to erase those negative memories, they are just as important
to our story as the positive memories.
In 2017, I have developed friendships that I never would
have imagined. My life was in shambles at the end of 2016 and I looked ahead to
2017. Through this year, I’ve lost loved ones to death, life changes, or simply
different places in life. I’ve learned things about myself, with the help of these
new friends, that I hadn’t discovered. And I learned some things about the
people in my life that I would have rather stayed in the dark about. But all of
these helped shape me this year. To say
2017 is a year for the books would be an understatement. The person I was
January 1 is not the same person writing this today. So, to 2017, it’s been a
fun, albeit tough, year.
While New Year’s Eve might be an ending of sorts, New Year’s
Day is a brand-new start to a 365-page chapter in our book of life. Each day is
a new page ready to be filled with new memories. We may not know what lies
ahead or what the future holds. The good news is we know Who holds the future.
We’re getting ready to turn the page and end this chapter that was 2017. As we
go into 2018, I challenge you, just as I challenge myself, to think about what
you want to see different this year. Don’t make resolutions that you know inevitably
won’t be kept. Don’t even call them goals. Make a list of things, no matter how
small or large, that you would like to see different in 2018.
To the friends who’ve stood by me this past
year, I thank you. To everyone walking into 2018 with me, I thank you. Let’s
walk into 2018 with a smile, knowing we have another opportunity to write the
best chapter yet. Let’s let go of the past, look forward to the future, and
live for the present. Because now is all we have. Happy New Year!
