new year – French Californian

January 13, 2017

Hannah Wilson

The Absurdity of the New Year + Resolutions

Even though the calendar is just a construct humans created to try and give themselves a sense of control over passing time, the new year is here, and to many of us, it means something. On one hand, any moment of any day is worthy of starting something new, but on the other hand, it just so happened that our move out of France and into America perfectly coincided with the start of 2017.

I don’t fully believe in New Year’s Resolutions. In fact, Facebook recently reminded me of a “memory” from the start of 2014 when I declared, “My New Year’s Resolution is to not have a New Year’s Resolution.” The contradiction in that statement highlights the ridiculousness of thinking that the start of a new calendar somehow has power. It doesn’t have any power (unless of course you believe that the movements of the solar system makes a difference). What really has the power is you – but that power can theoretically be accessed at any time. If you want to create your own way of organizing time, with 4-day-long weeks, 12-day-long months and 10-month-long years, then you can do that. You can then assume that every 4 days is the start of a fresh new week, it’s like your own personal Monday, a chance to begin new tasks and set new goals for the next 3 remaining days of your week. It’s just a system.

January 1, 2016

Hannah Wilson

New Year, New Me?

Like 4 Comments Diary

I’ve been thinking a lot about the New Year. I’ve also been thinking a lot about self-transformation. I love the idea of putting your old self to sleep and rising out of the ashes like a new being, with new habits, a new body, a new outlook and focus. There are many things about myself that I want to change, things like patterns of behavior and thought that usually function to bring me down. I’ve been living with them my whole life, but they’ve really outdone themselves in the past two years here in France. They’re the source of my insecurities and they prevent me from accomplishing my goals. I am positive that one of those things is called “Fear.” The other ones? I’m not so sure what they’re called, but I know for sure that they’re Fear’s best buddies. These bullies, they hang out together all the time, ganging up on me. It’s really quite hurtful, and the worst part is – I made them. I also continue to let them stay, firmly planted in my brain.

January 5, 2015

Hannah Wilson

Bonne Année

Like Comments Diary

2014 happened, and I lived through it. The time that has elapsed and the things that have occurred exist and will forever exist in the space-time continuum – or whatever else you want to call this strange thing called reality. One could even argue that this entire world is just an illusion or a dream, if you wanted to get really philosophical.

Whatever this is, I have been a small piece of it. Whatever effect my actions had on the world around me, I’ll never quite know, but they must matter, simply because they happened. Sometimes I have to stop and take notice of my existence. Sometimes I forget to see myself as a piece of the puzzle. Oftentimes I don’t realize how wonderful it is to be alive and 24 years young.