Bring On The New Year

Happy New Year everyone! Not that New Years has ever been too exciting for me. I rate it right up there with Groundhog Day as far as excitement goes. But maybe I have just never celebrated properly on New Years. While growing up I was never around many people who drank alcohol, so most New Years were spent at home playing board games with my family. I like board games, just not enough to make a holiday about them. Now that I am of drinking age, New Years hasn't gotten much better. Maybe it is the cold weather or the overall gloominess of January, but even drinking doesn't make me enjoy the noise makers or the party hats or the ball drop at Times Square.

I don't go for the new years resolutions either. I'm sure many people enjoy making a new start with a new year, but to me there should be no limits as to when a person can make a new start. Why do it on January first? Besides, most new years resolutions turn out to be empty promises and if there is anything I hate in this world, it is empty promises. If you want to do something, make sure you are ready to really do it. Don't just say you will do it because it is January 1st.

One last reason why New Years is not my cup of tea is the differences in time and calendar systems around the world. Why count down to midnight when other parts of the world have already done it before you? It is only symbolic with no real significance. It only has significance if you want it to, and I really don't care either way. I could count down from 10 at any time of any day and yell "Happy New Year" when I am done, but that doesn't mean anything has changed. There are even different calendar systems throughout the world where the new year starts on a different day or the whole year is entirely different from what it is in the United States. So why place any significance on numbers?

I'm not trying to spoil the holiday for anyone who loves it. I'm just saying it is not very fun for me, but maybe someone will show me how to enjoy it someday.