Hello, 2018
A year often feels less than a year. 2017 felt particularly so. Maybe that's why they say the longer you live, the more quickly you feel time goes by. So if you feel time travels way faster than before, perhaps you are aging faster too. Not a good sign. Beware.
The turn of the year is a jubilant universal occasion for New Year's resolutions. Some people look back and reflect on their goals set exactly a year ago and reckon they have achieved quite a bit, but have to admit (unashamedly though) that they are short of completion of some, especially the top-priority ones. Fewer people care as they have their eyes fixated on the year ahead. Still fewer people remember them.
Yet almost everyone looks forward with a sense of ungrounded auspiciousness that everything is going to be fine in the new year. The word "new" is a potent panacea. This is the only time of the year that you can be irresponsibly complacent because the very occasion permits it.
It is, therefore, paradoxical that New Year's resolutions are less out of resolution than an on-the-spur-of-the-moment compulsion.
What do I want to do in the new year? A looks pretty good. B is doable. C seems achievable. D is also fine. Oh, right. E and F should be on the list too. Did I miss anything? Oh, yeah. Read ten books, lose ten pounds, travel to two countries, and expand my English vocabulary threefold. That brings the number of my resolutions to a total of ten. Perfect. Hooray!
This is not what happened to one person a couple of days ago. This is what will happen to many a person a year from today. And of course, it repeats itself again and again and again.
In a way, New Years are like marijuana cookies baked and distributed by Mother Nature. Every kid gets one, devours it, gets high, and produces a list of resolutions. Once they are done and get back to normal, they find the calendar reads, "January 1st, 20XX".
Instead of New Year's resolutions, they cooked up New Year's hallucinations. But the year has already turned, and everybody is in a race against time, so there is no point turning back. Run! Keep running! Full speed!
Welcome to 2018, a year that you think will be markedly better than 2017 but will probably remain the same or be worse. Be prepared.
作者：孟庆伟 Justin
2017 过得还可以
没来得及想新年心愿就到了 2018
题图：New Year in New York; source unknown.
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