somewhere i have never traveled. . .: December 2011

January is named after the Roman god Janus, who is depicted in antiquity as having two faces, one looking back, and another looking forward. From his name is also drawn the Latin word ianua, which means door or doorway, a passage from one place to another, from one stage to the next. Both images are useful for us today, who are commemorating the passing of yet another year – looking back at the year that had passed, and looking ahead to the one that still lay ahead; passing through the threshold of 2011 and stepping into the promise of 2012.

I was standing last night outside Hastings Hall with Clemens, after midnight, shooting the breeze, while his and Dominique’s wildly successful New Year’s Eve party was going on in his flat upstairs. The conversation turned a bit somber, and in a moment that certainly rivals the great German philosopherswhose wisdom, I am sure, runs in his veins (aside from alcohol, of course), he told me, quite honestly, “It is good for us to be here.” And by here, I understood to mean, at Harvard, together, at the turn of 2012, celebrating as friends.

It was indeed a difficult year for many around the world. The continuing financial crunch in Europe and the United States, theearthquake in Japan, the conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan, the floods in the Philippines, and the challenging birth of democracy in the Middle East, only to name a few. Amidst these crises, we arrived in August, from every corner of the world, bringing with us an abundance of hope and expectant anxiety at what still lay ahead.

We are now half way through our shared journey (Imagine that!). And looking back, I am amazed and gladdened at how we have all become friends and shared so much of our lives with each other. For some of us, it was a year of leaving home for the first time, of living in a foreign country away from things familiar, and realizing that there are many things that we can actually do without: like cars or televisions or even telephones; but also reaffirming the reality that there are things that must always be there, no matter what: like family, and friends, and good conversation, andlaughter. For others, it was a year they found love – quietly or passionately, in many shared conversations (and a couple of engagements!), against the backdrop of the wonderful cities of Cambridge and Boston. For others, well, they are still waiting. . . . and waiting. . . .. but hopeful that 2012 will be the year, not only of ski trips and classes and more alcohol, but of falling in love as well.

For me, personally, it was a time of quiet epiphanies, prime among which is the value of, and gratitude for, my parents. Not that I particularly missed them over the time that I have been away – I am content to know that I am where I am supposed to be at this point in my life – but that, mixed with the realization of one's independence, is the acute sense of gratitude for those to whom I had been so dependent for so long. And coupled with this is the knowledge that they won't be around forever. And so, as sage advice goes, “Get to know your parents, you don't know how long they will be around.” Have we thanked them enough?

And that is the thought andthe sentiment that I would like to carry today, and for the rest of this year 2012, and one which I would like to share with you, my dear friends: that of thankfulness and gratitude – for actually being here, where we are, doing what we are doing; for the friends that we’ve met, the challenges that we’ve faced, and those that will still come our way - challenges which we will certainly surpass with determination, moments of panic and good humor; for the families, friends and loves we’ve left behind, but who always think of us, and to whom we can always come home to, in the cold of the Cambridge winter, if only in our hearts and minds.

I therefore end with my New Year’s musings with a quote from one of my favorite authors, Neil Gaiman:

“May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books andkiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the nextyear, you surprise yourself.”

Happy New Year!