Hi J-14ers!
Well, here we are at last... the last day of 2011. Twelve hours from now, we'll be counting down the seconds to 2012 -- a new start, a new chapter, a new adventure.
Most of us look ahead to the new year for a new beginning and the hope it brings -- whether it's wiping away the troubles and challenges of the last year and starting over with a clean slate... or whether it's kicking off a new goal and new outlook. However you look at it, it's a chance to start over.
But here's my question: Why wait until midnight?
Just because the clock ticks to a specific number that means we have to throw away our old calendars and hang up a new one, doesn't mean that we ourselves need to wait for that moment to start living our lives the way we want to. Why waste the next 12 hours sitting around and anticipating that moment when we can start working toward those goals, hopes, and dreams this very second?
I once watched a PBS special about a pilot talking about his life experiences. He said of course we all have those days where nothing seems to go right and we call it a "bad day." But the fact is, say everything's been going wrong all morning, why call it a bad day at that point and ruin the rest of your day? Maybe it was just a bad hour. Or a bad minute. If you yourself sum it up before it's over, of course everything else that happens the rest of that day will be bad. So what if something goes wrong, look at the positives ahead and you'll transform your bad day into a good day. And a good day into a great year!
And that's exactly why we shouldn't wait until the clock strikes midnight to say 2012. It only takes a second for life-changing events to happen -- why waste today?
So start that blog you've been talking about writing, call up that crush who you've never told your true feelings for, give your family that extra hug that you've been wanting to give them, kick off that healthy eating streak you promised yourself you'd do, get out and go for that run you've been putting off until the new year... whatever it is you've been waiting to do in 2012, why not do it now? Take a chance. Take that leap of faith. Go for it. And believe in yourself!
On that note, get out there and start living your dreams, J-14ers! And of course, have a happy new year... but also live it up today, right here, right now, on New Year's Eve because every moment counts!
What's on your New Year's list that you're going to do right now?
Can't wait to hear from you!
Rachel Chang
J-14 Editor