Here in Ecuador they have an interesting New Year's Eve tradition that I found I really enjoy. Each family creates a large papier-mâché figure, kind of like a big piñata, called an Año Viejo (that's Old Year in Spanish). This figure can be in any form that they want. Some look like a family member or friend, some look like the president, some just look like an evil creature (yes, I saw a life-size Chucky doll). Whatever they are they represent something from the past year for the family. A memento to the year gone by. Then at midnight, to ring in the happy new year, they take these Año Viejos outside, everyone gathers around, and then...they stomp the hell out of them and set them ablaze while everyone watches them burn.
Okay, so it may not seem like the world's happiest form of new year celebration. Anyway, I found that I really identify with it. And it's not that I'm in the habit of holding a grudge against the past year. In fact, 2011 was a pretty darn good year. I graduated from college, saw several of my friends make big steps towards their grown-up lives, made a cross country road-trip with one of my best friends, moved to a new country, and have had some pretty memorable experiences since I've been here. However, as I watched this burning of the Año Viejos for the first time last night, I noticed that it's not an unhappy tradition by any means. It's more of a way to say, "What's done is done. Let's make this new year an even better one." It's a way of bringing closure to the past year and looking positively towards the new year all at once. And that's what I like about it.
So in the spirit of the Año Viejo tradition, I've been reflecting on what I've learned in the past year and how that guides my outlook for the new year, 2012. Essentially these are my New Year's Resolutions but with a little more depth than the standard, "lose 20 pounds, eat healthier, exercise more, etc..." resolutions that we tend to forget about after approximately 15 minutes (although I have discovered a pretty effective way to lose weight that involves living on the beach and having virtually no money to spend but that's a different blog...). So here they are. Drumroll please...
The first thing that I've learned about myself this year is that I LOVE to make plans. Okay, so this year is not the first time that I've noticed this. I probably noticed it a little further back. Let's say maybe...the first day that I learned to write when I was about three years old. I'd have to verify with my parents but I'd be willing to bet that the first thing I ever wrote was probably a to-do list. Anyway, it has been particularly obvious to me ever since I moved to Ecuador. Probably because I tried to fight it for a long time. I really tried to let myself go with the flow, Ecuador style, thinking that if I could break this habit of mine I would become a more relaxed and easy-going person. Wrong! I think I'm more likely to have a successful NFL career and star in the next James Bond movie than to break this habit. But is it really such a bad thing? I admit, it can get a bit carried away sometimes. Like when I catch myself planning details for the inside of my apartment... Yes, that would be the apartment that I don't own in the city where I don't live that I bought with the money that I don't have from the job that I have yet to apply for. That apartment. I agree. That kind of outrageous planing needs to stop. But general day-to-day planning isn't such a bad thing. It really helps me to organize my thoughts and, in fact, can be very calming for me. For that reason I am no longer fighting the urge to make plans and to-do lists. With one stipulation and this brings us to New Year's Resolution number one:
Take time each day to "enjoy the moment." It's okay to make plans and be looking forward but I don't want to allow myself to forget where I am and what I'm doing right now. So each time that I'm frantically planning the rest of my life, I want to make a conscious effort to take a few moments to enjoy my life right then and there.
The second thing I've learned about myself this year is that I love to read. Again, not so much a new revelation as a relearning of something that I used to know. I remember how much I loved to read when I was younger. I remember my first grade teacher, Mrs. Campbell, reading "The Trumpet of the Swan" by E.B. White to our class and I remember how happy I was when I finished reading it by myself for the first time that same year. Then over time as I got busier and busier, I failed to make reading for fun a priority. But over the past four months in Ecuador, and particularly over the past three weeks of vacation, I have remembered how much I enjoy reading. I've read fiction, non-fiction, travel writing, historical narratives, novels, politics, classics, and even a textbook and I've been absorbing the information like a sponge. So this brings me to New Year's Resolution number two:
Always make time for myself to read for pleasure. I realize that I won't always have the kind of time on my hands that I have while I'm here in Ecuador where I'm always working on at least two books at a time, but there is always a little extra time. Even if it's just a few minutes a day I'm not going to let myself forget the enjoyment that I get from reading.
The third thing that I've learned about myself this year is that despite my decision long ago to hate writing, it turns out that I actually really enjoy it. Starting in high school and carrying over into college I developed a list of about 10,000 things I would rather do than sit down and write. It's amazing how urgent some things became when I new that I needed to make some time for writing something. Suddenly my room needed cleaned, my car needed gas, pictures needed uploaded to Facebook, I needed to shave, I needed to buy groceries, I needed to buy a book that I new I wouldn't read, and I needed to search prices for airplane tickets that I knew I wasn't going to buy. Yes, writing would just have to wait with all of these important tasks waiting to be taken care of. Besides, I had at least four hours until that ten page paper was due and with any luck I could get a small extension... However, over the past few months of keeping this blog, I have found that I really enjoying sitting down to write. Granted, this is not a requirement and I get to write about whatever I want, but I enjoy the process of putting together these amateur story lines. Like my to-do lists, it is a good way to organize the mess of thoughts that are blowing around in my head and gives me the opportunity to reflect on ideas that I didn't even know I had. And while I have been doing all of that for myself I have also enjoyed the small bit of feedback that I've gotten from people letting me know that they also enjoy my writing. So, New Year's Resolution number three:
Continue to keep a blog even after my "Adventures in the Amazon" are over. Maybe it won't e quite as entertaining when I'm not living in the jungle, but let's be honest. I'm not exactly writing about hunting for jaguars or battles with Amazonian tribes out here. I'm simply reflecting and then putting it down in writing and that's something I can continue to do no matter where I am.
The final thing that I've learned about myself this year is that I really, really, really enjoy studying languages. From learning a new language to studying language development and linguistics, I can honestly say that it is one of the few things that I am really passionate about. In fact, one of my reasons for wanting to come to Ecuador was for the opportunity to be immersed in another language. I'm speaking Spanish every day and seeing definite improvements in my language skills little by little. I also recently read "Eat, Pray, Love" (don't judge me, just read it; I promise you'll like it) in which the writer takes time to learn Italian for no other reason than the simple fact that it makes her happy. A simple idea but one that really resonated with me. In addition I've also taken some time to read books on language and linguistics that fascinated me so much that I could barely set them down. This has led me to search for graduate school programs in these areas and I have found a few that really seem like they could be a good fit for me. Just one more option to add to my list of possible future plans. So, my final New Year's Resolution:
Always dedicate time to studying and learning languages. Whether it is a formal course of study or just because it makes me happy, I want to always make time for this. For now, I'm keeping the focus on Spanish. In addition to my daily conversations in the language I'm planning to spend some time on a more in depth study as well. And after Spanish, who knows? Maybe I'll take up another language. But as long as I enjoy this it's something that I want to keep setting aside time to study.
To wrap up this lengthy list of life lessons I think I can tie it all together with one fairly short thought: Take time to do what you enjoy doing. Seems simple but I bet if you think about it, just like me, you have let some of your favorite things go by the wayside for lack of time. Well I would be willing to bet that it's not actually a lack of time. It's "misplaced" or "misused" time. I know there are things that we have to do that we don't necessarily enjoy and that do, in fact, take up a lot of our time, but if we can just set aside a few moments to to enjoy ourselves each day we can bring a lot of balance and satisfaction to our lives. This might seem a little too idealistic to some people, but give it a try. You won't regret it. Trust me.
Happy New Year, everyone. Enjoy it!
