A New Beginning

First of all, I would like to thank everyone of you bloggers that has in some way cared enough to leave me comments of encouragement and also the really thoughtful emails I've received. I never imagined that faceless, nameless strangers online would care that much, and you've all made me glad I joined KBW. Thanks for all the moral support.

So, it's that time of year again. The time when many people reflect back to the previous year and count their blessings (or lack of), time to make those useless resolutions you know you're gonna break by day two of the new year. I used to be the kind to make lots of resolutions. So many in fact, that I would write them down on a list and save that list until the end of the year. On New Year's Eve, I would take out that list and count how many resolutions I had kept. Not surprisingly, the figure was always none. To me, this was just another one of those stupid traditions I kept simply cuz they existed. And so when I went off to college, I abandoned the tradition altogether, seeing it as a waste of time.

Last year though, something changed. Lilly and I were having one of our usual "arguments" and she was accusing me of being too "set in my ways". I had no spontaneous bone in me back then and if something was not on my agenda, then I wasn't gonna do it. As a challenge, she made a bet with me and as a result of that bet, I made my one and only new year's resolution: to be a little more open-minded and try new things. This time, I had to actually try and keep the resolution or else I would cough $1000 at the end of the year. And so my year started with a skiing trip, a skill I still don't have, and one I'll probably never muster. Why in the world anyone would go freeze their butt for hours on a mountain is beyond me. But, I had lots of fun and kept up the spirit all year. As a result, I had the most wonderful year I have ever had in my entire life. I did not let the fear of the unknown stop me from accepting a challenge and I made it a point to go out of my way to try and do things that would ordinarily make me uncomfortable. This was the best new year's resolution I ever made, and it's the only one I've ever kept.

In the spirit of trying new things, I've decided to make another resolution for next year. One I'm tempted to say "no thanks" to, but I'll accept as a personal challenge. Steve (God bless this man. Maybe I should start taking his marriage talk seriously) asked me what my new year's resolutions were gonna be for next year. I hadn't really thought that far ahead and I really wasn't planning on making any. One of his resolutions is to read the entire Bible and he asked me to embark on the journey with him. It's been a couple of years since I last opened my Bible on my own outside of church. I thought back to the days in high school when I truly believed in God and put God first in everything I did. Back then, I used to read my Bible everyday and would even buy those small devotional books (remember "Daily Bread" anyone?) I'm not sure at what point in my life exactly I became disillusioned, but it happened all the same. And so with very little resistance, I accepted that as my one resolution for 2007. To read the Bible. I don't know where that's gonna lead, but I do know that a year is a very long time for your life to turn completely around. I only have to read my diary from a year ago and compare it with my diary entries from this week to know how true this is.

And so with the new year, I'm ready for a new beginning. I feel like I'm on the verge of something big happening in my life, and whatever direction my life takes, I hope I can look back a year from today and be grateful for the change. Happy New Year KBW!