The Year Of The Dragon and New Beginnings

Happy New Year!

"The year of the dragon is traditionally associated with new beginnings and good fortune. Generally, it's predicted that any new venture may benefit from the outstanding luck often associated with the dragon. Therefore, 2012 will be a very good year to get married, have children, or start a new business."

It's the start of The Year Of The Dragon so I had to ring in the new year with a Dragon shaped ice cream cake. Hopefully I don't get cancer...(if you are confused please reference my last post.)

The new year has allowed me some time for reflection. I had an absolutely tragic end to 2011. Losing my Dad threw me off the wagon of optimism and made me slip back into the comfort of pessimistic thinking. December 2011 was the hardest month I have lived through in all my 26 years of life.

I have now made it my goal to start fresh in 2012. I spent last night with a friend and we discussed our goals for the new year over a dinner of cheeseburgers and wine. Classy, I know. I am in the process of planning adventures in 2012 so that I can continue growing and learning and smiling and challenging myself. The way I see it is that with every new and fun experience, my Dad can live a little through me. I feel like he is with me now, so I have this new-found responsibility to show him things he was never able to see in his lifetime. This gives me motivation to keep going, even though sometimes I don't want to. This gives me motivation to turn my thoughts into actions, even though sometimes it seems too hard.

My battle with pessimism has never been easy and I will continue to fight it. I know I will still be sad sometimes and it's ok to be sad. I just can't let that sadness control my life and how I live it. I will fight hard to find joy where it is easy to find sorrow. Hopefully, I have the luck of the Dragon on my side this year, and hopefully, my new beginning will be filled with good fortune.

  

 Here is to a New Year filled with 

Hope and Luck and Joy and Love

for all my family and friends.