What I See
Resolving not to resolve
Charlie Kraebel
City editor
This time of year highlights something many people do like clockwork — make resolutions for the coming year.
In case anyone’s wondering, I have one resolution for 2008. I’m not making any.
I used to be one of those people who made promises to myself at the end of every December; promises that were usually broken by February.
I’ve come to realize that making New Year’s resolutions basically sets a person up for failure. What happens when you reach for that extra piece of pie or bum a smoke off someone because the nic-fits are too much to handle? You’re telling yourself that you don’t have the willpower to follow through on your goals.
It’s happened to me before because I took those resolutions too seriously. I’m still overweight, I still get stressed easily and I still let my surroundings affect me too much.
Does that make me a bad person because I resolved to change those things? No. It makes me human, just like everyone else.
Instead, I’m adopting a new philosophy. Actually, an old one, which was mentioned several times by my dear late grandmother.
It states: “Whatever will be, will be.”
Sure, I’d like to shed a few pounds, and of course I’ll do what I can to make that happen. But if I’m not looking like Justin Timberlake by May, I’m not going to freak out about it, because there’s nothing wrong with the Jack Black look either.
A person can get more out of life if they just let it come at them. If things work out OK, great, but there’s a lot to be said for overcoming struggles, too.
So as I head into 2008, I’m just gonna sit back and enjoy the ride. After years of being in the driver’s seat, I think it’s time to ride shotgun for a bit.
What’s ahead? From a news standpoint, I think 2008 has the potential to be an interesting year locally. There are several key elected seats up for grabs, and all indications point to an exciting election season here in Lenoir County. Oh yeah, and we get to pick someone for President.
Aside from the politics, there are a couple other things that could make the coming year anything but boring. The Kinston City Council will be up to their elbows studying a possible annexation of areas west of the city. Progress will continue on school construction projects, and I can’t wait to see the end product (and my wife having a real classroom).
We also could see some movement on cases involving murder suspects, although anything’s possible with the way the criminal justice system works. I’d also like to see the county better define its goals when it comes to tourism, specifically when it comes to heritage and history.
That’s only a few examples of things to come, so everyone fasten their seatbelts because it could be an interesting ride.