Dearest Readers,
Welcome back! I hope you had a deliciously relaxing Christmas Break and you are now ready to fight against the symptoms of school including sleepless nights, long studying hours, and lots of coffee.
With a New Year opening like a new bud of a beautiful flower, many resolutions and changes occur in one’s life. The most creative resolution I’ve heard so far is from my 15-year-old brother, who informed me upon being questioned that his New Year’s Resolution was “to think of a Resolution for next year”. Haha, always a joker 😀
For many people, New Year’s is a big deal – it only comes once, and when it does, it brings a clean slate with it.
But unlike most people, I celebrate New Years four times! Lucky me, huh? I get to start over four times a year, and during that time, I can re-evaluate myself and my goals. Some of these New Years can apply to you…
New Years Day – Jan 1st
You all know about this New Year’s – big parties at Nathan Phillips Square or Times Square with people kissing (or, as I’d argue, snogging) to bring the new year in – and of course, the chance to celebrate, with people around the world, the start of a new year. I won’t dwell on this one much, because you know all about it.
Navroz – March 21st
Navroz is a Persian word, and literally translates to ‘new day’. It is celebrated by people living in countries such as Tajikistan, Afghanistan, China, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, India, Turkey and more, and is recognized around the world as being a festive and joyous New Years holiday.
For those of you who do not celebrate this Persian/Islamic New Year, you can make a personal connection to it by recognizing it as the first day of Spring. What a joyous day, I think, to have a New Year in Spring– spring brings with it a sense of renewal, beginning, and the apparition of new plants and life. Even U of T looks especially beautiful in Spring...
First Day of School – Early September
Somehow, I always associate the first day of school with a new year. I guess because school plays such a big role in our lives, and the rest of our year (especially summer) is planned revolving around school. It takes up the majority of our year, and when we start a new year, it marks the beginning of new academic opportunities and excitement.
This school year, and I hope this interests all readers, at least those in Arts & Science, we have new changes impending on the upcoming academic school year of 2009 and 2010. Below are some calendar – changes to note: We have a reading week in November, and our final exam period will be completely finished by April 30th! Woo, times are changing!
You can find out more at the ArtsandScience website 🙂
Birthdays
Evident by my chronological order, my birthday is after school begins. As the majority of the year has passed, my birthday always serves, for me, at least, to re-evaluate the year, and assess what changes I want to make as a get a year older. Birthdays are one thing that should be celebrated with excitement, no matter how old you get – they mark a new year in your life, and it makes all the difference when people you love celebrate your birth date with you J
Well, dear friends, until next week.
I hope you had a wonderful break, and you are looking forward to the New Year with vigour.
Love,
Fariya
It’s nice that you’ve thought through all the new beginnings you have. It’s unfortunate that most people get caught up on one day, and when that fails to change their life, they wait for the next one, rather than seizing their opportunity to change.
I got together with a group of friends and decided to create an extremely ambitious set of resolutions – resolutions so big we couldn’t help but be excited enough to try to accomplish them. Rather than the “lose 10 pounds” most people throw out, these are ones we actually care about.
And we’re doing them as a group, so we’re a lot more likely to accomplish them. Here is our full ambitious list:
http://TheResolutionBegins.com