New Year’s is one of my most favorite times of year.  And not because of the seemingly endless amounts of Champagne I force my liver to swim in (although I like that aspect too), but because it is a time for reflection. And anyone who knows me, knows I’m all about reflection. While I’m not a big fan of New Year’s resolutions, per se (namely because they are made, broken, and never thought of again for another year), I am a fan of people looking back on their life, reliving the triumphs and also a little of their pain, and then evaluating. Who they are. Where they are. What they are. Reflection is good. It helps us remember what we survived. What turned us into who we are today. And, above all, focus on the us we hope to be tomorrow.

If anyone had told me just five years ago that I would be single again, would write a book, start back at school, AND begin to reshape my career as I know it, I would have laughed at them and asked them to share a few of their polka-dotted pills. But I know better now. I remember where I’ve come from and I have an idea of where I’m headed. I use New Year’s as a time to shift my focus inward. As a reminder that careers and books aside, I should always remember to put myself first. And for as much as I plan and hope and dream, I’ve also learned that some of the best things that have come to happen in my life were the ones I could have never hoped to dream of. The ones, to me, which seemed unimaginable. The true wonder in life lies just beyond those stars we stretch to reach for.

So if you’re in to making New Year’s resolutions, leave a little room in those plans for the unthinkable. A little room for the magic and wonder that life has already planned for us. And remember that it’s okay if those goals which seem so perfect today fade and change. We don’t have to wait for New Year’s to make a difference in our lives.  New Year’s reminds us that we can and we should strive to make a difference, to change, each and every moment.

Thanks to all my readers, to all my friends, and even those who didn’t believe in me. Together, you have helped shape me into who I am today.

Happy New Year everyone. I hope 2013 is all that each of you hoped it to be, and much, much more.