Yep, time for my unpopular opinion.
I LOVE holidays, okay? A time to gather with friends, family, and eat home cooked meals?
I’m here for that.
However, I’ve always disliked New Year’s Day. Even the parade seems like it doesn’t like itself.
Why?
Well, here’s my reasoning.
- Since I was 5, I’ve been in a school setting, guess what happens January 1st? Nothing. I go back to school in a couple of days and continue where we left off, except people are showing off the new shoes they got.
- What really changes? Like, seriously, ask yourself! WHAT CHANGED? The night before you binge ate (or drank) partied with your friends, and woke up the next day with all the same stuff. Nothing. Really. Changed.
- Honestly, New Years Day holds a lot of anxiety for me because I FEEL like something should be different, when there’s nothing new, which panics me more thinking I’ve failed at what the rest of society got right.
- I don’t believe that whole “whatever you do when you’re ringing in the new year is what you’ll do all year”; if that was true, two years ago I’d be pumping with my child less than 6 inches away from me (which, I guess, mostly is still true.)
- Life doesn’t switch on demand. I believe more in seasons, and sometimes, seasons seep over years, not giving you anytime to move past it. If I could leave all my grief, pain, and suffering in 2019, I certainly would, but it doesn’t work that way, I’m still learning lessons from the pain inflicted on me this year, and it’s not going away in the next couple of days.
- I don’t like the false hope that comes with a new year. Am I bitter? Possibly. But, you’re still reading this, so maybe you agree with me. 😛 People make resolutions, plans, think “this will be my year” “this year, ____ will happen” But what if it doesn’t? What if it’s 11 months into the year and it does happen, and it seeps over into 2021?
- People should not feel obligated to ‘change’ once a year. We should be ever evolving, ever changing, and ever present in our lives. We should always strive to be better image bearers, and that doesn’t start January 1st; it starts everyday.
So, do you agree with me? I’d love to hear your comments!
Hey Syd. Great post. Thanks for sharing. I agree with you in the fact that the New Year does not possess this magic power to make change happen. I also agree that people should not try to change once a year.
However, for myself, as we have touched on before, I love New Year’s Day. It is like a reset for me mentally and physically. It’s the time of year where the kids are out of school and I’m off of work. I literally get to catch up, reflect and set new goals. This includes reassessing goals set earlier in the year and making new plans for the ones that didn’t make it. When I set goals I don’t apply the pressure of “this all has to be done this year”. Part of what I learned in 2019 is to be patient. Do my part of putting in the necessary work for the changes that I want made but also relaxing in the timing of the lord.
The new year signifies new hope, new faith and refocus for me. My mindset is for my sanity in today’s climate I guess. It’s my way of keeping hope, faith and focus in a climate full of chaos. Happy New year doll. I am thankful for your friendship and look forward to continuing to get to know you.