TwoThousandEleven - TwoThousandTwelve

Tonight's the night, dear readers: tonight we move into a new year!  The last 365 days have been incredible in all their ups and downs, and I'm deeply grateful that you've come along with me for the ride.  We've experienced so much together; it's a lovely comfort to know that you're right beside me through the thick and the thin of life and I'm very happy to be able to share it all with you.  2012 is going to bring even more adventure, I'm sure of it, so make sure to keep your hats on!

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I am very much looking forward to tonight's elaborate festivities - don't worry, I'm back on the sauce for the occasion - and can't wait to celebrate all of the joy of the past year.  The new year can be used as an excuse to put what's been firmly behind us, but I don't think that I'll be letting go so quickly...

So often, as the clock ticks over from 11:59pm on 31 December to 12:00am on 1 January, we resolve to change.  We commit to starting fresh.  We swear up and down that this is the year we'll reinvent ourselves - but I'm beginning to realize that the new year doesn't emerge from a vacuum.

It's part of the human condition to improve; we're on a constant quest to better ourselves.  I do believe that this is not only natural but healthy, and that in striving for advancement we are fulfilling our greatest potential.  However, I am discovering that without a full awareness of where we have come from we cannot progress to where we want to go.  I am understanding that blank slates do not exist because everything we do from hereon out rests on what we have already done.

Therefore, my resolution for 2012 is to own my past while boldly exploring my future.  Regardless of what I have done right or wrong in the last year, I will move forward having learnt from the incredible experiences that 2011 brought.

I hope that your 2011 was full of joy and adventure - may your 2012 be even more so.  Happy New Year, dear readers!