My "New Year"

by Laurel Storey on January 6, 2012

in Perspective

NaBloPoMo Writing Prompt for January 5, 2012:
Do you wish the start of the year was in a different season? Which one?

Ever since I can remember, September has always felt like the start of my new year… much more so than January ever does.

Perhaps, for whatever reason, my mind has forever linked September with the beginning of the school year, which for me was always about newness… new outfits, clean notebooks, fresh school supplies. September was always the start of something, with old friends returning from vacation and new friends just waiting to be met. Thanksgiving with its turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie was just around the corner, which meant that – oh, joy! – Christmas itself would soon be in sight. September, with its freshness and anticipation, truly is the beginning of a brand new year full of possibilities and excitement.

The first of January – New Year’s Day, and also my birthday – has always seemed to me to be more like an ending than a beginning. The festivities and food of the Christmas season were through, the last of the presents were opened for another whole year, and the tree had to be taken down and put away. Worst of all, after days of delicious sleep-ins, the alarm clock had to be set again so as not to be late for school or work the next day. January means an ending to fun and goodness and a return to the daily routine.

So for me, while I’ll continue to watch the ball drop and make happy noises with the rest of the world at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve, in my heart, September will always be my own personal New Year.

Tagged as: NaBloPoMo 2012

Laurel Storey, CZT – Certified Zentangle Teacher. Writer, reader, tangler, iPhoneographer, cat herder, learner of French and Italian, crocheter, needle felter, on-and-off politics junkie, 80s music trivia freak, ongoing work in progress.

{ 6 comments… add one }

Cindy January 6, 2012

As a teacher September has ALWAYS been the “new year”. I still get confused when non-teachers say, “We’ll do that in the new year,” meaning January while I’m thinking September! To me, too, January 1 is the end of holidays and the return to work!

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- Dawn January 7, 2012
  
  That makes complete sense, Cindy!
  
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a.eye January 6, 2012

I am also a teacher. It’s now August for me that is the new year. I agree with Cindy that I sometimes get confused when people say in the new year or last year… I relate it to the school calendar.

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- Dawn January 7, 2012
  
  I’m not sure how I got this way, as I’m not a teacher! But it’s good to know that I’m not the only one out there who thinks something other than January is their new year.
  
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Becky January 7, 2012

Add me to the list of people whose mental clock stays on the school year schedule. And I haven’t taught or gone to school in a loooong time.

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- Dawn January 7, 2012
  
  Sounds like more people than I thought are in the same boat!
  
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