Gavan Reilly

Another year over, a new one just begun about to get started…

I’ve always thought New Years’ Resolutions were a fairly odd custom – I don’t know what of the human condition it is that needs mob mentality to keep oneself disciplined; surely if you really wanted to join a gym, lose weight, get fit, quit smoking, stop biting ones nails, blah blah blah, you wouldn’t need to wait for a specific date to improve your ways, you’d want to just get on with it straight away. It’s a little like Weight Watchers – I never used to understand why people needed to get together in a group to gain the willpower to make positive changes they wanted in the first place. Not, of course, that it’s stopped me from trying to setting resolutions before, then swiftly succumbing to the all-too-human ability to fall away from an ideal, reverting to type, and generally being fail at the art of self-improvement.

Somehow, though, there’s a resilient aspect to humans that spurs them to pick up the pieces of their desires and, against all logic of doing any better, starting on the road all over again.

Personally, there’s no point pretending that 2008 wasn’t a rough year. There were downfalls and deaths, exams and tests; times when friends turned out not to be, and where people who had benefitted from a lot of help, goodwill and patience from me and my closest made it clear in very tangible ways. It’s rare that I’ve looked forward to the end of a year as much as I have this one, and wherever I am at the turn of midnight, I’ll feel little remorse at seeing the back of the year just finishing.

And so, to New Years’ Resolutions, and to why I’m here. Over the last eighteen manic months of my life, starting from living in Germany to going into full-time employment and then to full-time Final Year, and being on aeroplanes more times than I can care to count – actually, nineteen times, which isn’t bad for a student, I must admit – I’ve somehow lost my earlier fire to write, to play, to listen… well, that’s what my 2009 is for. The year might turn out to be a long one – and let’s face it, there’s as much as chance it’ll be worse than 2008 as it’ll be better.

And so, I introduce the newest chapter of my blogging life: Thinking Out Loud. The title comes from the simple fact that while my overcooked brain flits from thought to thought and doesn’t often incubate an argument to its conclusion, I tend to construct better thoughts if they’re said out loud at the pace of speech. This blog is with the same idea in mind: they mightn’t be long, but blog posts will be more regular, honest, and (at least a little) contemplated. Maybe I’ll flesh out a proper personal philosophy on life, or a manifesto of sorts – call it however you like. The hope is merely that this place sees a little more regular thought and paternal care than the other online hangouts I’ve started and abandoned over the years. And as for the mob mentality? Well, time will tell. I guess the social media must be a start.

Happy New Year, everyone – I hope you all have a genuinely good year. For those of you who care, I’ll see you tomorrow. 🙂