So, what does the end of the year really mean?
With another year coming to a close, many people are taking the time to reflect on the events of the last 365 days or setting out plans for the next 365. It’s interesting how the flipping of the calendar can serve as the catalyst for such behaviors, given that the first of January differs very little from the third of February or the 16th of July or the 29th of October in its intrinsic value as the start of a new year. How it got luckily enough to be picked out of a hat by some multi-milleniayear- old Roman ruler I can only guess, but it’s about as arbitrary a start to a year as one can get. Why the year starts in the middle of a season, and why that season is winter at that, is beyond me. Before it was adjusted, the Roman calendar began in March, which, as it generally marks the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, makes much more sense (granted, that calendar only had 10 months, so there’s more than a host of other problems with it, but you get my point). So thanks, Numa Pompilius, if you actually ever existed, for seemingly pointing to a random date on your new calendar and saying that was the start of the year. Makes perfect sense.
Ah well, whatever. No sense in crying over 2,500-yearold spilled milk. Besides, even if the year did start in March (which, again, would make way more sense), it would still be fairly arbitrary in its selection and how it should affect people’s decision making processes. After all, what really is the difference between the 31st of December and the first of January? From a realistic standpoint… not much, right? But people have a funny way of trying to keep things organized, from the taxonomy of all known living organisms to separating the forks from the spoons in the silverware drawer. Time and years and calendars and all that fun stuff included. Because while January first isn’t all that different from any other day, it does serve as a reminder that a significant chunk of time has passed between now and the prior January first, and it is that reminder that causes all of this somewhat abnormal behavior. It causes many to look back over the last twelve months and evaluate perceived successes and failures and then make adjustments based on that evaluation. It might not even be a conscious effort, but the tick from 2022 to 2023 is something that grabs the attention long enough for it to be difficult to ignore. I myself am no more immune to this than anyone else. Personally, I’m a sucker for “best of the year” lists, especially when it comes to the opinions of friends or my own personal takes. It’s a fun endeavor to look over what songs I listened to most on Spotify or discuss what movies, books, or video games a friend and I would rank as the best.
Beyond such lists, 2022 has given me more than enough to contemplate over. It’s a bit mind-boggling to see where I was at this same point just 365 days ago. The idea that I would even be writing something like this column was not even on my radar at the time, let alone the host of other big events that have taken hold of my life over the last year. Just thinking about everything, from changing jobs to moving to getting married to traveling to buying a house, it’s honestly a bit hard to wrap my head around at times. All of these new journeys have been exciting, fun, and thought-provoking and I’m eager to see what comes next. At the same time, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that it was also a bit exhausting, so I’m also looking forward to hopefully being a little more settled in 2023.
But, if 2022 has reinforced anything to me, it’s that you can never be quite sure what to expect in life. Who knows, maybe 2023 will be even more exciting than its predecessor. Perhaps I will be the spearpoint in a movement to change the Gregorian calendar so that the year starts on March first rather than January first. I mean, probably not, but I’m not completely ruling it out.
Anyhow, I hope 2022 treated you as well as it did me, and if not, I hope that 2023 is better. Happy New Year and a belated Merry Christmas!
A C ertain Point of V iew
