happy new year!

september is like new years to me. i was born in september. school, which i've been in for almost two decades, starts in september. my mom's a teacher, so the rhythm of summer has always been unpredictable, like my friends, ben, patricia, and hawkeye's band, beats per minute. they called themselves this for irony's sake as there was no rhythm at all, only lots of fun things that make noise. meanwhile, september is a return to friends, patterns, familiarity, and a steady rhythmic life. thus, on my equivalent of new years eve, the night before school started, i found myself as excited as a kindergartener the night before school started. i woke up wanting to scream, "Happy New Year!"

this summer carried with it clarity and new vision. this year has the potential to be one of great formation and academic stretching, as i believe i have found the question that will gestate either into a book or into a phd thesis.

so, for all of you who read my blog, happy new year, and i look forward to journeying with you this year.

also, is this a season of new year for you? how do you mark it? is there a pattern to this month? are there favorite rituals (like the cashing of student loan checks :))?

for me, my birthday followed (i say followed because i no longer have a birthday only the anniversary of my 24th birthday) the start of the new year, making the gathering of those i love an important part of the start of things. this year i had thought of not having a party, but as school started and i felt familiar rhythms, i realized that this is a part of my calendar...so there will be a party - an anniversary party - but a party none-the-less. do any of you have similar events or traditions that make life feel like home?