Reading of the resolutions
The year 2023 is upon us, and it means we will soon be hearing everyone’s New Year’s resolutions as well. I’ve heard discussing New Year’s resolutions can be compared to telling someone a detailed recount of a dream – in other words, some people don’t like hearing about resolutions.
I get it, many people make resolutions that last for about a week, and then they die. But I like to give people the benefit of the doubt. So, without further ado, let’s talk New Year’s resolutions.
According to a blog post from the History Channel, New Year’s resolutions originated around 4,000 years ago by the Babylonians. However, their New Year celebration looked quite a bit different than ours does today.
In fact, their New Year’s Eve parties were conducted in the spring to coincide with planting season. Pretty cool, huh? An entire society celebrated something about agriculture.
The “resolution” aspect of ringing in the new year can also, most likely, be attributed to the Babylonians as they “made promises to the gods to pay their debts and return any objects they had borrowed.”
In the past, I’ve had a habit of making either wildly impractical or broad resolutions for myself not knowing what steps to take to follow through.
This year, however, I have a few things I’d like to accomplish and some habits I want to form that are 100 percent attainable.
My first resolution is to consume more ag news. Have you ever heard a song, fallen in love with it, replayed it a million times and found yourself to be sick of it a few weeks or months later? Or eaten a meal so frequently you can’t bare to look at it anymore? I did it with my news consumption.
For years I ate, slept and breathed news of all kinds. I was incredibly informed. Then I got a job working for a newspaper where I not only consumed news like it was my last meal on death row, but I made it. I wrote news stories every day.
Upon leaving said job almost two years ago, I fell off the news scene. I was burnt out. However, in the past year, I’ve recouped from and am more than eager to be an ag news junkie again.
My next resolution is to talk to people across all areas of agriculture. There are three things you need to know about me: I can, and will, talk to a fence post, I thoroughly enjoy learning about things outside my everyday life and I love Aggie football.
Given my interest in visiting with people and learning about their lives, I think it’s high time I put those hobbies to good use. I would relish the opportunity to visit with other people across all sectors of agriculture.
From bee keeping to sheep herding, I think one resolution of mine this year will be to make a conscious effort to connect with people in at least 10 different areas of agriculture.
Another resolution for 2023 is to learn more about beef production. I was raised around it and did some minimal studying on it in college, but now it’s time to learn it for real. By the end of the year, I want to know the basics of beef, if you will, from common illnesses and the vaccines to combat them, to every cut of beef and how to properly prepare it.
For the first time ever, I’m confident I will look back at the end of next year pleased with myself. I think these three resolutions are practical, attainable and easy enough to accomplish in the next 365 days. Wish me luck and happy New Year!
