A New Beginning

It’s that time of the year again, when we come face to face with yet another year. January is the first month of the year that allows us to embrace a fresh start. What better way to start the year than with a New Year’s resolution? A New Year’s resolution is a commitment that an individual makes to break or change their current lifestyle. New Year’s resolutions are very common, and may be considered a custom for many individuals, helping them start their new year in a different way. Commonly, a New Year’s resolution may consist of a person’s aspirations to cease smoking, drinking, or other bad habits

In order to create a New Year’s resolution, it must be New Year’s Day. Countries all over the world celebrate this day with special concerts, parades, gatherings, and sporting events. In Canada, Australia, the United States, and the UK, many people gather at beaches and run into the water to celebrate this day. In Britain, an extra round of football fixtures is played, unless New Year’s Day falls into Thursday, Friday, or Saturday. Vienna, on the other hand, has a special New Year’s Day concert. As for the rest, London has a New Year’s Day parade, and New York City has the annual ball drop in Times Square at midnight. Many individuals celebrate this day by taking time off to be with friends and family. New Years has been a special day to many people for centuries, and has been dated back to ancient times. Although this event lasts for one day, it is the most distinguished holiday known around the world that welcomes the coming of the New Year, and brings everyone closer together around the world.

Coincidentally, the New Year brought change that would bring the world together. On January 20th 2009, President Barack Obama gave his inauguration speech in Washington D.C., and became the first African American president of the United States of America. This was an issue that didn’t solely affect the U.S., but an issue that affected the whole world. Being the world’s superpower, the U.S. is closely examined by other countries as they observe and learn from it. During President Obama’s inauguration speech, he stated “We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. All this we will do.” Accordingly, these are the things that other people look at; we listen to his plan, and see if he will fulfill his statements. If he accomplishes these tasks, then he has not failed us; however, if he does not accomplish these tasks, then we lose hope in him. Although President Obama will remain in office for four years, he nonetheless can either change the way the U.S. is looked upon by the whole world, or change the way the U.S. looks upon the rest of the world. It’s not his decision to choose our lifestyle; it’s our decision to choose our lifestyle, therefore we should not judge a person by their actions, but simply their attempt of doing these actions.

As we have all experienced change, we know how difficult it can be. For most people, it takes time, effort, and support of others to help them drastically change their lifestyle. Even though everything is not perfect, we expect it to be perfect, and the only way to do that is by doing our best. January, the start of a new year, offers us a clean slate and a chance to start over again.