New Beginnings...



So here we are, 2011; a new year, a new start. That time where everyone exclaims that they are going to wipe the slate clean and start afresh...

The last few months of 2010 were pretty crap for me to say the least, and as much as I was looking forward to seeing the back of them, looking to the future is a scary prospect.

Everyone begins the year with the infamous 'New Years Resolution' - quit smoking, loose weight, detox, etc. It's as if there are these unwritten rules in life that we obied by, although we don't actually have to.

Lets look at New Years Eve for example. Every year is always the same, people fretting about what to do and where to go. Drink prices are bumped up by a few extra quid, and you end up paying too much money to stay in an establishment that you weren't really that bothered about going to in the first place.

Yet we all do it, every year. It's as if we feel we have to.

The same can be said for a variety of different things. Christmas for example, where everyone stresses about spending time with family. It's the one time of the year that everyone gets together, trying to sort out how the whole family can be seen within one day. Why? No one usually bothers worrying about who is going to spend time with Aunt or how the Grandparents will spend the day. The same can be said for relationships. There seems to be yet another unwritten rule that once you split up with someone, no matter how long you were together beforehand, once you split all ties are cut. There is no more conversing, no contact, nothing. Just who started this rule book of ridiculousness?!

As scary as it is having the slate wiped clean, the fact of the matter is that what happened 'last year' isn't really as far away as it sounds. The 'slate' can indeed be wiped, but it doesn't take away memories and feelings with it. Although you shouldn't dwell on the past, sometimes it seems that it is something that simply cannot be helped, no matter how hard we focus on the future...

Yet, as everyone says, the new year is a time for change and new beginnings, now I'm not one for making resolutions, they usually last an average of a week, two at the most, but I do know this...

This year I want to try to make things different. I cant go on living by life's unwritten rules, and to be honest, I don't want to. 2011 is all about making your own rules, new beginnings and fresh starts.

Don't be a follower, be a leader. Make your own rules for life and live by them.