For the last six years, I have written a column announcing my New Year’s Resolution. And before I decided to write this one – I went back and read each one of them, and in doing so – I have come to discover that I have not only stuck to and kept most of my yearly vows – but this year, I was dead on the money.

After a year that started out tough, I managed to become an editor once again, and get both a car and a new cell phone – just as I said I would last year at this time. In the column, called, “My New Year’s Resolution – Full System Reboot,” I said that there were many things in my life that needed fixing. “Among the many things I need to ‘fix,’” I said, “would be my financial situation, my level of self-confidence – and my lack of certain necessary items that one should not be without at my age – like a car and a savings account.,” Thankfully, I did get a job, which fixed my financial situation and boosted my self-confidence – although I did not get a savings account yet – and I also purchased a car, which has certainly enhanced my life.

So, as I leave 2005 behind, I can look back at it as a tough year – but one that saw a positive and prosperous conclusion – and a promising beginning for the year ahead…

…which brings me to my New Year’s Resolution for 2006.

My crazy life has included many things, but one thing it has always included in my present is my past. For as long as I can remember, my past has been a current part of my life in so many different ways. As I tried to move forward, I realize now that I was constantly bringing something with me from behind. Whether it be contact with a former boss, a past incident that effected my future – or a past friend or girlfriend – it seems that my future was always being shaped by something or someone from my past…

…well no more.

That is my 2006 New Year’s Resolution – to finally leave the past behind – and from now on – only concentrate on the future.

For way too long, I have kept in contact with people who, quite frankly – don’t belong in my life anymore. Yes, there are people from my past who are in my life – like Lisa and Christine, my two former girlfriends – but they are part of my daily life and two people who share a very special bond with me that will never be broken. But there are others that I keep in contact with who I either speak to once every now and then – and/or people who I don’t see for years. I am sorry if this sounds offensive, but I do not see a reason to keep in contact with these people anymore. Whether I am this person’s former colleague, their past boss – or their past boyfriend – I do not see the point in dragging out a very long and inevitable goodbye. If we have both moved on in life – then there is no point in trying to mix two existences that will never, ever combine. So step one is to say goodbye to a few people that I do not wish to talk to anymore – for good.

Step two is to stop reminiscing as much as I do and instead look at what lies ahead. When I am alone at night and unable to sleep, I would frequently look at old photographs, listen to old songs – and even read some of my old columns as I remembered the good and bad times of my life. But if I have an entire life ahead of me – then why am I looking at what I’ve already passed? That’s the equivalent of trying to drive straight while looking through your back window. While I have a great love for what I have lived through, it is time I kept my eyes on what lies ahead – rather than what remains behind.

Step three is to let go of the fears and concerns I have about the present, because of the situations in my past. Dating has left me jaded, a recent former employer has made me feel insecure in business – and a few old friends have given me a fear of letting new friends into my life. These feelings have stopped me from increasing my circle of friends, succeeding in business – and trying to fall in love again. So, in keeping with the theme of my Resolution – I plan to wash away these emotions – and rebuild my confidence and my sociality as I head into 2006.

To be honest, I have had both the title and theme for this column in my head for quite some time. I knew from almost the end of the summer that this would be what I would promise myself in 2006 – and you can bet that if I have thought about it for this long – I plan to follow it through. Please believe me when I tell you that turning 33 has really made me “grow up” in a lot of ways – one of them being the fact that I have to say goodbye to the past in order to say hello to the future. The only way to have a positive future is to look ahead – and not behind. Sure I loved my life then – but it is not my life now.

And now that I am only looking forward to what lies ahead – I am more eager than ever to see what awaits me in the year to come.