No doubt those college days years ago were filled to the brim with prime learning. We didn’t know what we didn’t know, and while the classroom shaped our professional ambition, the moments outside the classroom grew us up. As beloved roommates Bridge and Nolan will still gleefully attest, I would oft awake after a perceived poor choice declaring myself to be “a new person.” It would go something like this…
“I just want you to know, I am a new person today!” said with great confidence and joy and a grin spread seemingly from ear to ear.
A month would go by. Maybe only a few weeks some seasons, and a new day would dawn… “I just want you to know, I am a new, new person today!’
And with each relational setback or moment of regret, I would add one more “new” to the previous declaration.
We laughed a lot those days, days in which we learned all sorts of everything from the lack of nutritional value at “breakfast club” to how to compare one’s communication skills to the stoicism of the foyer’s red, velvet bench.
We laughed then. We laugh still now. How beautiful it is when joy permeates life.
But I think one of the things I learned all those years ago is clearly foundational to the joy that coincides with the onset of another new year…
It’s a new year… a clean slate… a time to begin anew…
What new things do I wish to accomplish?
Where do I wish to grow in the year ahead?
What would I like to do differently?
And also… including a brief focus on others…
What relationships would I like to see improve?
Who can I treat better?
Of whom do I need to be more respectful?
Whether formalized via individual resolution, the turning of the calendar provides a pivot from all that was. That doesn’t mean it’s easy, the past is erased, nor we always move forward with bells on. But what it does provide is a renewed sense of hope, confidence and joy. This is a different year. We can be different, too.
Back in those college days, as the declarative statement grew in adjectival length, Bridge and Nolan and I would chuckle. There was always grace… encouragement, too. But somewhere along the line I think we realized that the added “news” were not negative. In fact, they were evidence of growth, evidence of learning — and yes, so much outside the classroom.
What a beautiful thing…
Happy new year, friends!
May your “news” ever increase. May 2025 be one brimming with hope, confidence and joy. I look forward to what we will humbly discover together in the year to come.
Blessings…
AR