I've never been one for New Year's resolutions. I'm not really sure why. Maybe I just forget about them by the time Dec. 31 rolls around again. Or maybe it's because I've figured out that by the end of every year, nothing has ever turned out the way I thought it would, so there's no point trying to plan too much for the next year.
That sounds depressing, I know, but I promise it's actually a comforting concept if you take a moment to think about all the good surprises a new year brings.
Because I have these resolution issues, I've made a New Year's tradition for myself. I think back through everything that has happened during the last 365 days and ask myself, "Would I have had a better year if more things had turned out the way I planned?" So far, I have always answered no.
When 2008 began, I went in with a whole slew of expectations. It was a big year for me after all. I was going to graduate high school, legally become an adult and start college.
If anyone had asked me then what I expected my life to be like Jan. 1, 2009, I would have told them that I would be getting ready to start the second semester of my freshman year at Notre Dame and looking for a summer break job in Chicago.
Oh, how wrong I was. Thank God.
By the end of March, that plan was scrapped. I got one of the small envelopes from Notre Dame and I cried. I can't tell you now why I was so enamored with the school - maybe it was the beautiful campus or the thrill of going to college somewhere totally different from where I grew up or maybe I'd just seen the movie "Rudy" too many times. Who knows?
Instead I got a fat envelope from U.Va. Let me take a quick moment to clarify here lest Thomas Jefferson become offended. U.Va. was by no means a second choice or a fallback school. It was tied with Notre Dame for my first choice and I was thrilled to get in. But being a Virginian, U.Va. didn't have quite the same exotic allure for me that Notre Dame did. I simply had not spent as much time picturing myself in Charlottesville as I had in South Bend, Indiana.
Now when I picture myself in South Bend, all I do is cringe and wonder what I was thinking. I see reports of the 6.8 feet of snow they receive each year and wonder about all the friends, parties, and late night Castle runs I would have missed if I'd gone there instead. I didn't expect to go to U.Va., but by the end of 2008, I couldn't imagine it any other way.
My college choice is definitely the biggest example of when reality ended up being much better than what I expected for the year, but it is not the only example. Life has thrown me more than a few good curve balls during the last three years. That's not to say that I haven't received a few nasty shocks along with all the happy ones or that I don't believe in setting any goals for myself.
It's just that these days, I don't concern myself much with resolutions and specific ideas about the how a new year will be because I could never expect anything better than the surprises that are waiting for me.
Katie's column runs weekly Tuesdays. She can be reached at k.mcnally@cavalierdaily.com.
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