Polar vortex had me looking for some warmth. Took my ol’ Pentax 35mm and headed to Aroma, whose fairly recent makeover in optimistic yellow and blue hues seemed the proper antidote to the gloomy mess it has been this first week of the new year. From my table, glancing past the steam rising from my cup of coffee, I spied quite a few friendly smiles. I settled in, took a sip, and found that secret sort of comfort only chilly winter days are able to bring.
This year being but a wee babe at eight or nine days, my mind turned to resolutions, fresh starts, beginnings. I haven’t been one to make many (if any) New Year’s resolutions in the past, but something has felt different about 2014.
A sense of hope has crept in through an unlatched side door. Blown open, no doubt, by the apoplectic jet stream. Perhaps, it’s the fact that for the first time in quite a while I have health insurance (the year of the A.C.A!). Maybe it’s that some sort of subdermal Pavlovian sense of glee is wafting through me knowing there’s a FIFA World Cup this year. Or maybe it’s just that word “new.” I like it. I’ll take it.
Freshly caffeinated and wielding my Pentax by its wrist strap I set off to ask a few of the friendly smiles what they thought of resolutions and if they’ve been able to keep them one week in.
Iman, student
“My resolution is to be more disciplined. Gradually getting yourself to be conscious and proactive about something, that’s what a resolution if for; to actively be thinking about it.”
Brad and Paul, people
Brad: “None. It’s a nonsensical thought process. Why make a resolution only on a specfic day?”
Paul: “None. It being New Year’s shouldn’t matter. It’s pretty much the same thing if I decide to change in September. I should start in September, not wait until New Year’s.”
Frank, artist
“To draw more. Same as every year. I have my sketchbook. I draw before work and try to at lunch as well, a half-hour to an hour every day. So far, so good.”
Claire, student
“I haven’t thought about it, really. Resolutions seem so finite. I used to make them when I was younger, but after awhile you grow into your own person and become comfortable with who you are. But I think new years are still exciting whether or not there’s a resolution with it.”
Chey, barista
“My New Year’s resolution is to get really good at trapeze. I’m just a beginner so I want to perfect what’s called a bird’s nest. It’s like an upside-down backbend using your feet to hold the ropes. I’ve been doing it for less than a month so my progress has been slow.”