There is something renewing and intrinsically fresh about January, a sense of new beginnings, similar to the feeling of washing your sheets and being able to hop into a newly made bed.
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Perhaps it is this feeling that has everyone on New Years Eve, often after a few drinks, with the year stretched out in front of them like an elastic band, exclaiming idealistic resolutions for the year.
Lose weight, exercise more, eat healthier, be more outgoing, be a better friend, daughter, lover, give to others - the oh-so-many cliched resolutions we all make, year after year, like we are self-improvement junkies.
It reminds me of three things: Do more! Be better! Change!
On top of all of this, it has become commonplace to pick up the paper or turn on the news to the constant symposium of terrorism, ebola, general violence and destruction, it’s enough to make you lose all faith in humanity.
So readers, I shall take the time to reflect on how bloody awesome our human race can be.
We landed on our first comet, a child was born to a woman with a transplanted womb, and a fossilized sea shell forced us to reconsider our conceptions of human culture. These are just a taste of the achievements, innovations, and advances achieved throughout 2014.
In February NASA’s Kepler mission announces the discovery of 715 new planets, almost doubling the total number of known exoplanets to nearly 1700.
In April, researchers successfully cloned embryonic stem cells from the skin of two adult men.
In June, scientists in the Netherlands report using diamonds to achieve reliable quantum teleportation for the first time with a replication rate of 100 percent.
In July, a team in the UK successfully grew a miniature beating heart so that they could induce heart disease and test newly developed drugs. In the same month researchers discovered the first genetic mutation that is a definitive cause of autism.
In September scientists turned human skin cells into transportable white blood cells capable of attacking diseased or cancerous cells.
So for those who have idealistically or unwaveringly committed to their New Years resolutions, I hope you keep in mind that it is good to improve habits and skills, but be happy with who you are.
Really, a new year comes around every 365 days, our determination to challenge ourselves should be every day. Ultimately, we are all human beings, we are amazing if we set our minds to it.
Next new years, I shall resolve to create world peace… and why not?
