The first week of the new year is complete. One down and 51 to go. How is it going so far? What are you doing to ensure it goes well?

So much of the conversation around this time speaks of previous and upcoming years in very passive ways--in ways that make it seem like a year is something that happens to you. It is true that many of the circumstances by which we grade the quality of a year are seemingly completely out of our control. And in recent years, many of those circumstances made for failing grades. Hurricanes and flooding, political turmoil, COVID-19, inequality and injustice, the winter freeze--the list is daunting, but it is also incredibly broad in view.

While these large scale events do impact us personally, typically, the things that make for a good year are not large, global events, but individual, personal occurrences. It’s a new job, an important relationship, a significant milestone or accomplishment, and any number of small wins that stack up into the life we hope for. Often, those things are all, to some extent, within our control. They all involve identifying a problem and implementing a solution.

As we all grapple with New Year’s resolutions, it is interesting to look into the origin of the word. Our modern understanding of “resolution” has its roots in both Latin and French languages. In both, the word means “a breaking into parts,” “to loosen,” and “to untie,” which makes sense. Successful resolutions almost always involve identifying a problem, breaking that problem into causes, and then addressing those underlying causes accordingly.

Before another year gets away from us, let’s untie those things that are keeping our lives knotted in place so that we may move forward. At the Glasscock School, we are ready to help you achieve your goals this year, so that when we look back in 2023, we can say confidently that those things which were in our control, we took hold of.

If your goal is to:

• Advance in your career or start a new one, then start that process today.
• Become a better educator, then become a student.
• Learn a new language, then apply today.
• Expand your knowledge and meet like-minded people, then take a short course or pursue your master’s degree.

The decisions we make and the actions we take will define this year for each of us. Be bold now so that this year won’t be one that happens to you, but it will be one in which you make things happen for you.