New Years Finally Arrived

This is a previous post from 1/05/07:

People make fun of me because I like to deeply analyze the world around us. When a day like Valentine's Day comes around, I find myself questioning its purpose and validity. This year, I found myself watching the ball drop on New Year's eve like most of the country. New Year's eve was post regional and I happen to have gone out with some of the guys to chill. I had a good time hanging out, but what was most interesting to me was noticing the way people were behaving. As the countdown began, I noticed a group of people surround the T.V.. 12...11...they were smiling and laughing...5...4...3...the drunk people around us began counting upwards...2...1 and the ball drops!! I kept my eye on the reactions of the people around me. My friends and I just stayed still to see what would happen. Excitement, kisses, hugs... it's the new year!! But then came 12:02am and people were still laughing and talking. Then 12:04am and nothing has changed. By 12:06 I've become disturbed. It's the new year, a new life, a new time...PEOPLE WAKE UP!!! Why are you sitting and watching thousands of people on T.V.? Why are you celebrating by kissing and hugging? Isn't there more to New Year's than this?

So, I posed the question to my Latte and Learning at Coffee Bean on Tuesday night to hear what my students had to say about it. Some of them kindly explained to me that New Year's is about partying. The dancing, the girls, the alcohol...it's just another excuse to party. So, in case I didn't feel empty before, now that its been explained to me, WOW do I feel depressed.

Perhaps I have a skewed way of looking at things. I think of the new year as an awesome chance to focus internally. A time for introspection and connection to that which really matters in my life. A time to connect with family, G-d, and myself. At Latte and Learning, we ended our discussion with asking ourselves what becomes of us if we are so shallow and empty? There has to be more to life. Definitely more than parties and alcohol. Perhaps I should just stop thinking and things would be easier but what fun would that be? Let me know what you think about it.