Sing for the Year
Today, the whole world celebrates.
There is something so enchanting about the new year. It is not specific to any one religion, or nation. There is a universal sense that this night is the most important night of the year, that we must make every effort to be fully aware of that one tiny, miniscule blip in time where our lives pass from one year to the next, one decade to the next, one second to the next. And then it’s done.
Everything is the same. We wake up in the same places, with the same progress and the same people. We have the same hangovers to nurture and the same jobs or classes to get back to. Nothing has changed but our position on the time line, which is constantly changing anyway.
And yet, everyone on this planet recognizes the passing into a new year as an important event. We drink to times passed and times to come, whether they be our most glorous moments or our sorriest mistakes from which we’ve had to learn. We drink to it all and celebrate the fact that we have the opportunity to do it all over again for one more year. Another chance. A universal birthday. Everyone can agree that that’s worth celebrating.
Here are a few proud moments of 2009 that I’ll be drinking to tonight:
I began and ended my first relationship.
I threw my first party.
I paid rent for the first time on my own apartment.
I took my first road trip without parental supervision to South Padre Island.
I watched my first sunrise on the morning of my nineteenth birthday.
I waited tables for the first and last time.
I saw both of my favorite bands in concert, Metric and Third Eye Blind.
Not only did I meet the members of Third Eye Blind, but I also partied with them around a bonfire until 4:00am for the music video of their newest single.
I also saw Regina Spektor, The Sounds, Pearl Jam, Girl Talk, Toadies, the B-52’s, and Death Cab for Cutie.
I made my first A’s at UT.
I worked on a video project for Carlos Santana.
I wrote my first full script.
I acted in The Curious Savage for the second time and The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told.
I kissed a girl on stage.
I went to my first tailgates (and never saw a single truck).
I dressed as Princess Zelda for the second time.
I made some amazing new friends that, along with the old ones, will stay in my life for many more years to come.
Here’s to the new year, the new decade, the new moments. Cheers.
