Each new year offers us a new chance...

The natural world, as we all know, functions in a cycle of birth, life, and death. Similarly, our calendar year follows this cyclical pattern based on the seasonal progression of our planet. Today is the first day of 2013, a new start of this cycle, and it's also as close as any of us will ever be to having a "rebirth" opportunity.

In America, 2012 seemed to be a year of hard-work, political polarization, natural disasters, and tragedies. So, while I'm definitely not suggesting that we all forego our own personal resolutions, I do believe that the new year may be a good opportunity for Americans to also, as a nation, agree to a few universal resolutions:

Improve mental healthcare and reduce the stigma of mental illness
Pass better gun control legislation and begin better gun buy-back programs
Work towards finding political middle-ground so that our currently deadlocked Congress will have a chance
Be more generous and sympathetic to the less fortunate
Try to do something each day that is self-less
Be less fearful of the unknown and trust both your instincts AND your intellect!
Be more knowledgeable and aware of American relations abroad
Don't make judgements based on pre-conceived notions or stereotypes
Try to free your mind a little sometimes and accept a new idea or opinion

So these are just a few ideas. Feel free to comment on this post with what you believe should be included in this list and I will be sure to add it to my list (this is about everyone, after all). Also, please take a moment and take my poll ! I'm going to use the anonymous results of the poll in a future post!!! Thanks guys !