At midnight on 31 December I was sitting in a chair in a restaurant counting down the arrival of the New Year with everyone else, but as 1 January arrived I stood up to welcome in this new year. I stood because I wanted to say to myself that I was beginning again. There is no reasonable cause why a second's difference should change anything, but for me, this year, it did.
I was relieved to have 2004 behind me and felt that that second made all the difference between my past and my future, regardless of how uncertain that future might seem right now. It was a feeling that hope has been rekindled in me, that new prospects are on their way and that what I make of this new year will depend entirely on me.
I have never been one to make New Year resolutions and I have not done so this year either, but this year, more so than any others that I can recall, I have a sense of determination about what I want to achieve. I want to travel to Japan and Australia and New Zealand. I want to save the money that I will need to do that. I want to finish my novel and start the process of being an independent full-time writer. I want to meet someone special and fall in love again.
All, or none, of these things might happen this year. Regardless, these are the things that will drive me through this year and be the focus of my efforts.
8 January 2005
Dion Marc Delport