I like the fact that 2016 is – even more so than ever – a result of the year before and honestly, all the years before that. As the very first post of 2016 – and many say, you will in the New Year what you are doing as the new year comes in – it is appropriate that reflecting on the impact based on so may people over the years is ushering in the new year for 2016!
New Year’s all over the world is kind of an amazing concept – using social media to tell how others and remind others, how much they have had an ipact on your life – and totally true in my own life – and I am enternally grateful for it.
Whether I am in Mexico, PA, D.C., Delaware, or a host of other places, I have always been lucky enough to carry around with me the individuals from my family, my students, my now grown up and emerging leaders formerly known as students (breath!) – and new friends from around the world, the traits that constantly let me reflect and grow into the person I still want to be. They stand by me on the grumpy days, the awaking in the morning days, the reflection days of the past, and looking to the future.
I continue to realize how much tolerance I have when it comes to using the past to get ahead with my future. Also, in looking back on some events of 2015 – I realize:
The issue of “Affluenza” is what you make of it, not just what and how you have been dealt with issues in life, but how YOU determine to control them controls ultimately, your place in the future.
I appreciate the presence of someone to make a change, and respect so may people for just making the effort, opposed to those who just idly sit by. Whether I agree with them or not, the initiative to make a change and divert from the mainstream – that is usually more of a noticeable opportunity to try and make oneself more than they are currently. I see this every day, be it in President Obama, to students around me, to students that were my students and are now making differences in their community, to colleagues, to of course family who have always encouraged that trait!
For the future – I honestly see this – the chance to be in touch more with family and friends, the chance to continue on a rapid pace to devour amazing sources of reading, using social media to spread promises of change and hope and positivity, and using the very influences in my life to respond to negativity and make it positive – each one if us are truly capable of that every day, though if it were easy we would learn so little -(difficult to remember that at the time!)
I am grateful for also being able to look back
at all the places I have visited, be it restaurants, great local stores, and museums, which all help continue to make me reflect in so many different ways on what I see in the future – I noticed this as I went through the Smithsonian History Museum the other day and how different I look at things since the last few years – and glad I have my eyes even more wide open – without glasses even!
I wish sometimes I would have travelled and worked in another country so much earlier and then realized, the perfect it did occur was PERFECT for this reason – enabling myself to be entrenched in so many great and creative personalities and friendships and then adding to what I THOUGHT I knew about issues such as international views from outside of the U.S. (which covers everything from immigration, to opportunities we have as citizens of the U.S., to responsibilities we have as citizens looking back, to just looking from within and working with the many many changes I still need to make in myself).
One of the things I found myself so passionate about was this – going into an international experience in 2011 did not seal the deal forever for me to remain international all my life physically necessarily, but taking the IDEAL of being international and applying that to improve my own country – that is key and keeping international in your heart is what can make the difference for all those around us – and can change the future of our planet. The following look at 2015 is truly just a snapshot of these links:
The ORIGINAL DID YOU KNOW – SHIFT HAPPENS (2008)
So much has chnaged in so short a time, but each of us can be sure one thing won’t – the chance to change everything for the better!
Thank you each one for being such an integral part of the change that has been me! 🙂
Happy New Year 2016!
PAVEing a Blog 