Resolving our resolutions

It’s already halfway through January and 2009 is in full swing. Many of us have made resolutions for the new year. Some make lists of them, some have only one, some just don’t give a damn and some keep their same resolutions from last year. Are you guilty of any of these? Despite that how many of us are actually resolving our resolutions?

My resolutions this year consist of developing and progressing with the 5 year plan I had planned for myself before I came to England in 2006. Three years later at the beginning of 2009 I have promised myself to buckle down and finally get published. I actually see this becoming a reality this year. I have realized to be patient, things come to you when you least expect it, as long as you have faith. The reason I believe in this is because last years resolution was to start writing and to love it the same way I did when I was young. It has come true.


The tradition of asking one another our new years resolutions should coincide with helping one another with resolving them. Its only fair. A lot people this year, our friends and family, most of all, will want to quit smoking, stop drinking so much or even finally get a job and become a productive part of society. Are you actually helping them achieve any of these small goals? If you cant achieve your own resolutions put some effort into helping someone else’s with theirs. It may be easier.

New Year, New Fear

That’s right a new year brings new fears. A year ago none of us would have thought we’d be affected by the “credit crunch”. But this year it seems inevitable. We will all be affected somehow by this financial meltdown in 2009. Some of us will lose our jobs, be forced into other fields of interest to find the income we need, or just simply continue to collect unemployment as we wait for a positive upturn in the economy.

The fear I mention is not the fear of further economic or financial crises, it’s the fear of starting over. Some of us will have to start from scratch. Adapt to a different way of living. This doesn’t mean it should be difficult or cause us any distress. The end of last year has given us the opportunity to transition into different fields of interests whether we like it or not.

In a recent trip back home to New York for the holidays I witnessed first hand the disorder an economic recession can have on a population. Each day the television set blared out the economic woes of every class in society and how to cope with difficult financial circumstances during the holidays. If hearing about it from the media all day wasn’t enough, I’d go out in the evenings and get it from my friends. “So how is your job?”, I’d ask enthusiastically, with an interest in catching up with an old friend from college. “What job? I got fired a couple of months ago,” she replied. She was employed at MTV and is now currently freelancing with a production group..

Another friend recently graduated from the New York City Fire Academy. One of the proudest moments I’d ever experienced with him. After being assigned to his fire house, one day fresh from graduating, he was enlightened to the difficulties the city was having. If approved a new city budget might not be able to keep him or the rest of the new probationary fire-fighters who are eager to protect the city. It's a shame when dedicated men and women make a sacrifice for an enormous cause but in the end cannot be utilized to act upon it.

Although things have changed for many and may change for some, now is a time to focus on what matters most to us; friends, family, our passions and desires. Through the dust clouds of the economic rubble we should see signs of relief at the end of the tunnel. God bless in 2009, may it be a year of modesty, unity, and sacrifice. Keep your dreams alive and continue to strive for all that you deserve.