Cheers to 2019

As we turn the page to a new year, it’s a time for self-reflection. It’s only now that we can look back at 2018 in its entirety and identify the ways we have grown and changed. We can separate ourselves from the moments that broke us, and instead focus on growing from these challenges. I debated going on with a detailed summary of the adventures and mishaps of the last year, but instead, I am focusing on more important matters: new beginnings.

2019 is the year of new adventures. I will be leaving behind my teenage years to enter the terrifying, uncharted territory of my 20s. It is also hopefully the year that USC makes it to the Rose Bowl. However, most notably, it is the year that I leave my comfy hometown of Westchester, Los Angeles and move to Europe for an entire semester.

This year, one of my resolutions is to challenge myself through writing, art, academics, music, and in beliefs. I want to grow. This applies to Athens because I want to challenge myself to spend more time out of my bed and exploring my new home. I want to adventure to new islands and countries I have never seen – never wasting the moments I won’t get back. Ironically, I also want to relax. I sometimes feel as though my life is a constant blur – everything is done in a rush. But sometimes it is okay to take a breath. I cannot see the world unless I take  a moment to stop and really enjoy what is around me.

And yet it is not the reflection or the setting of goals that makes new year’s one of my favorite holidays, but the final countdown. As the seconds drop, the air fills with an unmistakable feeling of excitement. Suddenly, for the last 15 seconds of the year, the moments where we felt beaten or lost, and the moments when 2018 could not seem to give us a break, all disappear. For those last few seconds, everyone – not just the people at your party or the people on your street – but everyone is doing the exact same thing. Because no matter who you are, or where you are on the coast, you are most likely screaming the countdown and watching the clock. And before any logic can dissuade us, we are holding onto a shared hope. A hope that what is coming is better than what is gone.

So let’s raise a glass to 2019 and hold onto our hope.