We'll Take a Cup of Kindness Yet
Can I be honest about something?
I really don't like New Year's Eve. Not the actual date itself, I mean. Just really the expectations of New Year's Eve. Maybe one day I will feel differently, but for now, I'm not very fond of the holiday. Perhaps it has something to do with the idea that you're supposed to spend the last day of the year partying and then turn around and start working out/waking up earlier/eating healthier/whatever resolution you've made for yourself. Starting off the new year with a hangover also doesn't seem like the greatest idea, either. Again, maybe I'm just doing it wrong, and maybe one of you dear readers will be able to convince me otherwise someday. I much prefer to spend the day at home, with family or friends--more of the way I have spent my whole year, and the way I hope to continue the coming year. And maybe that is another part of it. To me, NYE should be spent reflecting on the past year, not just going out to party because it is what's done. Not that I have any judgement for people who do that--I loved looking at everyone's pictures! In no way am I telling anyone how they should celebrate--I'm just trying to explain my lack of enthusiasm for it all.
But this is not the point of my blog post. It has more to do with the expectations for New Year's Day and the resolutions we are all supposed to have made. Say what you will about them either way; I know people who will argue vehemently for or against resolutions {maybe not "vehemently," but they'll their opinion known}.
I stand somewhere in the middle. I am the person who likes the idea of a start date for something that has meaning. The first of the month, the first day of the week. Starting at the very beginning is a very good place to start, you know, so choosing to change something on the first day of the new year makes sense. However, there is a tremendous amount of pressure attached to that, which is why January 17 is "Ditch your New Year's Resolution" Day. Yep, there's a day for it. And people's resolutions fail for any number of reasons, but I think by the end of the year, either our resolutions have become habits or they've ceased to exist. I know mine petered out sometime in the mid-spring.
I tend to do vague resolutions, which is probably the reason they tend to fail. "Be intentional." "Be healthier." "Be more extroverted" {because trying to reprogram one's personality is always a good idea and never fails miserably}. Well, this year, I kept mine vague. And I know what you're thinking. "Has she learned anything?" "Does she even read her blog posts? Because literally a few sentences ago she said that didn't work."
But let me finish! I added an extra piece to them. In my bullet journal {get on that train, everybody}, I listed my vaguish resolutions, but I also wrote what that would look like!!!! So say, if one of my resolutions is to "write more" {ahem, and one totally is}, I wrote down what that means to me. It means I need to write everyday in some fashion outside of journaling. So maybe it's a blog post. Maybe its 1000 words in a story I'm writing. Maybe it's a short ten minute response to a cool prompt. The point is I gave myself something to show if I'm making any success.
And when I started this post, I was totally going to just touch on resolutions before going into Auld Lang Syne and it's origins and whatnot, but once those rambling fingers get moving, they are hard to stop. So I will let this video do some of my explaining. I love the song Auld Lang Syne, and one thing on my bucket list is actually related to that song. I want to go to a New Year's Eve party sometime--obviously, it would be a very classy one--where everyone at the party sings Auld Lang Syne just before midnight with their classy champagne glasses in their hands and our pretty Gatsby dresses. So if you're ever hosting that party, just throw me on the old guest list, and I promise I will give NYE another chance. And when we sing the song, it will not be just the main verse but all of them because they are so pretty--I love the last verse:
I really don't like New Year's Eve. Not the actual date itself, I mean. Just really the expectations of New Year's Eve. Maybe one day I will feel differently, but for now, I'm not very fond of the holiday. Perhaps it has something to do with the idea that you're supposed to spend the last day of the year partying and then turn around and start working out/waking up earlier/eating healthier/whatever resolution you've made for yourself. Starting off the new year with a hangover also doesn't seem like the greatest idea, either. Again, maybe I'm just doing it wrong, and maybe one of you dear readers will be able to convince me otherwise someday. I much prefer to spend the day at home, with family or friends--more of the way I have spent my whole year, and the way I hope to continue the coming year. And maybe that is another part of it. To me, NYE should be spent reflecting on the past year, not just going out to party because it is what's done. Not that I have any judgement for people who do that--I loved looking at everyone's pictures! In no way am I telling anyone how they should celebrate--I'm just trying to explain my lack of enthusiasm for it all.
But this is not the point of my blog post. It has more to do with the expectations for New Year's Day and the resolutions we are all supposed to have made. Say what you will about them either way; I know people who will argue vehemently for or against resolutions {maybe not "vehemently," but they'll their opinion known}.
I stand somewhere in the middle. I am the person who likes the idea of a start date for something that has meaning. The first of the month, the first day of the week. Starting at the very beginning is a very good place to start, you know, so choosing to change something on the first day of the new year makes sense. However, there is a tremendous amount of pressure attached to that, which is why January 17 is "Ditch your New Year's Resolution" Day. Yep, there's a day for it. And people's resolutions fail for any number of reasons, but I think by the end of the year, either our resolutions have become habits or they've ceased to exist. I know mine petered out sometime in the mid-spring.
I tend to do vague resolutions, which is probably the reason they tend to fail. "Be intentional." "Be healthier." "Be more extroverted" {because trying to reprogram one's personality is always a good idea and never fails miserably}. Well, this year, I kept mine vague. And I know what you're thinking. "Has she learned anything?" "Does she even read her blog posts? Because literally a few sentences ago she said that didn't work."
But let me finish! I added an extra piece to them. In my bullet journal {get on that train, everybody}, I listed my vaguish resolutions, but I also wrote what that would look like!!!! So say, if one of my resolutions is to "write more" {ahem, and one totally is}, I wrote down what that means to me. It means I need to write everyday in some fashion outside of journaling. So maybe it's a blog post. Maybe its 1000 words in a story I'm writing. Maybe it's a short ten minute response to a cool prompt. The point is I gave myself something to show if I'm making any success.
And when I started this post, I was totally going to just touch on resolutions before going into Auld Lang Syne and it's origins and whatnot, but once those rambling fingers get moving, they are hard to stop. So I will let this video do some of my explaining. I love the song Auld Lang Syne, and one thing on my bucket list is actually related to that song. I want to go to a New Year's Eve party sometime--obviously, it would be a very classy one--where everyone at the party sings Auld Lang Syne just before midnight with their classy champagne glasses in their hands and our pretty Gatsby dresses. So if you're ever hosting that party, just throw me on the old guest list, and I promise I will give NYE another chance. And when we sing the song, it will not be just the main verse but all of them because they are so pretty--I love the last verse:
And there’s a hand my trusty friend!
And give me a hand o' thine!
And we'll take a right good-will draught,
for auld lang syne.
And give me a hand o' thine!
And we'll take a right good-will draught,
for auld lang syne.
Basically, together my dear friend, let us drink to the old times.
So Happy New Year, all! Stay strong in your resolutions! And the next time we see each other, we will share a cup of kindness to celebrate the years we've had together.
~Stay gold!
I love your blogs. Insights galore.
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