But it is a new year for me - the Jewish New Year. Last week we celebrated Rosh Hashanah, which literally means the head of the year. One of my favorite traditions of this holiday is to eat apples and honey as a way to ensure you will have a sweet new year! I like apples. I like honey. And I love the idea of having a fresh, new start to the year! Since becoming a teacher, I think it is particularly nice to have this new year fall relatively close to the beginning of the school year. It helps me align my personal, religious, and professional goals for the year.
Last night was the beginning of a second holiday, Yom Kippur. This is the day of atonement. During the time between these two holidays, we are asked to reflect upon our last year - how we changed, what we did in our community, how our relationships changed, how we lived our lives overall, and if we have done anything we wish we could change (basically, our sins we want to atone for).
This past year was quite a roller-coaster for me. I certainly had many adventures and exciting experiences, but it was also riddled with challenges. I would assume that many people had a similar year. Even amidst the most joyous times, our lives are likely to take unexpected turns, and can become turbulent, and even seemingly uncontrollable. Due to many of these trying situations, I feel as though I may have lost my focus. I'm not sure I was as good of a friend, sister, daughter or teacher last year as I could have been. Although I know that many of these things couldn't be helped, I think it is important for me to recognize my shortcomings so that I can make this year better.
During our Rosh Hashanah service, the educator at my synagogue shared a lovely poem with us. The poem, and it's message really resonated with me, and also made me think of my students. I think it is so important to recognize that we are not always right, so that we can work on getting better. If we are always right, where do we go from there? This is the poem:
Along with the reflection aspect of this "holiday season" (the teacher in me loves to reflect!) is the action part. I think improvement isn't about berating yourself about the past, but rather about using those experiences to plan and guide you on a journey toward betterment.
So, what are my plans for the this year???
1. Get more involved! I want to volunteer more this year. It doesn't have to be every week to make a difference. Along with this goal, I want to work on involving my kiddos in making a change in the world. Even if it's just planting a seed that they have the ability to create change is a great start!
2. Balance - I think this will be on my list every year because it is soooo hard for me! But even though it is a struggle, it doesn't mean I can avoid it. Finding balance in all aspects of my life seems to be a true key to happiness.
3. Take some chances! I worked on trying new things (even if it scared me to death) this past year, and I want to continue pushing myself to do this. I have a few things brewing already...
4. Just be happy! There are too many wonderful things going on every day to simply focus on what isn't going well.
Even if you aren't Jewish and celebrating this new year, I wish you all a shana tova umetuka - have a sweet and happy new year!
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