2018 is here. 2017 is gone.
With the arrival of this new year comes the arrival of many new challenges and problems, and, primarily, new goals. One of the challenges that we are faced with is saying farewell to the previous year and all her myriad trials and tribulations. In order to truly enjoy and take advantage of all the time we are allowed in the new year, we must say goodbye to the previous one as though it is a close friend moving away for the first time. Certainly, there were arguments. Absolutely, there were joyous times. But now is a time for progression, and dwelling on the past only hinders the present especially when it's as fresh as an accidental knife wound while cutting onions.
What is done, is done. What happened, happened. It's over. No sense in crying over milk that was spilled half a year ago.
One of the new problems I'm facing, specifically in regard to this blog, is how to creatively and accurately portray anxiety in a new year. The only way I can portray this is in narrative form. So put the kettle on, brew some coffee, sit back, and let me tell you a story.
Midnight is fast approaching. You're sitting at your desk, playing video games with your online friends as your eyes dart from the game to the clock in the bottom right corner of your screen. Each minute that passes quickens your heart, races your mind. Between the laughter and joy you feel the growing uncertainty of a new year and all the things it might bring. The realm of infinite possibilities swirls around you, spiraling into your body like hair circling a shower drain. Given enough time and neglect, your pipes will clog.
You know, and feel in your bones, that you're not going to sleep tonight. Today will become tomorrow. The moon will retire and the sun will rise. Last year will vanish into memory while the mountainous new year will stand solid before you. Your only option: climb. One foot in front of the other. It seems so simple.
The game ends. Everyone yells "Happy New Year" into their mics, and everyone heads off to bed. You lie there, staring at the ceiling as midnight becomes one, three, five in the morning. You wait for the new year to level you like an atom bomb, but it never does. It's just another day. Another year. Another sleepless night.
I wish you all a happy, productive, incredible new year!
