Years Go (Bye).

2010 is over, and today is day one of 2011.
2011. I have hopes for this year, but the name itself doesn't really slide off the tongue too well. "two thousand eleven. two thousand eleven. twenty eleven. twenty. eleven. 2011."

So, New Year Resolutions?
However you look at it, years are really just another way to gauge time. There isn't anything different between December 31 and January 1. When the clock strikes twelve and the ball drops, you aren't suddenly capable of doing things that you weren't able to do the entire year before. You won't just suddenly lose weight, suddenly quit smoking, have no urges to drink, and your language won't be spotlessly clean overnight. New Year, is not a miracle.
It's also not a re-do. All of the things that happened in 2010 happened, the good and the bad. The mistakes you made are there, a new year doesn't change that. The memories you made will last.

Personally, I feel like if your New Year Resolution is about habits like smoking or drinking or cussing or what-not, and you wait until January 1 to start your "new habit", you're basically stepping out on the wrong foot and setting yourself up for failure. Change comes from the heart. If your heart really does change, then you'll recognize the importance of picking up good and clean habits right here and now, instead of enjoying them almost guilt-free for the whole month of December because you claim that you're not going "to be doing that anymore once the new year comes around."

I think I'm more an advocate for New Year Recognitions. Looking back at the past year and really contemplating and putting to heart all of the lessons that you learned over the year. Seeing how you've grown, and maybe how you haven't. Recognizing where you fell short, AND where you excelled. What truly defined your year, and how did these things truly define YOU?
From knowing this, I think you can have a more clear and definitive idea of how to LIVE.

This is my Recognition: To live a life of love. To live my life with passion, and to be motivated through purpose. I want to go out and experience life. Simple things, intricate things, anything worth experiencing that will allow me to grow the way God wants me to. By the end of 2011, I want the stories I've gathered to be ones worth hearing.

Goodbye 2010, we've had our ups and downs, but I still wouldn't trade you for the world.
Dear 2011, I hope you're ready :)