Essay / Culture

ASK

Each new year is unsullied.

It is time and space that, to our knowledge, no humans have traversed or occupied. We make plans, set goals, and create resolutions for the 31,536,000 seconds (give or take a few seconds) that we believe must be better than those in the preceding year.

We are never satisfied with where we have been.

We are always trying to escape who we have been.

Stop.

Where have you been? Who have you been?

Don’t just reflect. Identify yourself.

Have you been happy? Sad? Successful? Unmotivated? Stuck? Fabulous?

Is your father a contractor? Is your mother a baker? Did your grandfather travel across America during the Great Depression? Was your great-grandmother a slave?

Do you have his eyes? Her mouth? His sense of humor? Her determination?

Who are you?

It’s okay.

The answer isn’t fixed but it is established.

Is there more?

Past years bleed into the new year. Those who came before bleed into you.

Move forward. It is good. It is inevitable.

But, remember to ask.

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