Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instil in us. - Hal Borland.

And so we find ourselves at the very end of 2009 - it's been an incredible year with some absolutely mind-blowing highs and equally exaggerated lows; life today is virtually unrecognisable when compared to that of a year ago - everything that could have done has changed completely and I've changed a huge amount with it.  It remains to be seen quite what effect these changes will have on my life; not enough time has yet passed to allow things to be seen entirely clearly and who knows how things will end up in one, two, or ten years time.  The one thing I do know is that tomorrow is supposed to be a time for new starts - an idea that I've always been rather sceptical about; I firmly believe that change should come from necessity or good timing and not simply because that is what society dictates for a particular day in the year.  There may well be destructive habits that I should leave behind me and new, more positive activities that would facilitate my development into a happier, healthier and generally better person but this will not happen over-night and certainly not simply because it's what I should be doing.  

Tonight is really just another night, nobody will undergo a radical transformation into a miraculously superior human being at midnight, just because a new year is upon us - we will all be the same flawed individuals constantly striving to improve ourselves in one way or another and doing our best to be the people we would so like to be.  For this reason I'm not against the idea of 'New Year's Resolutions' or any other attempt at self-improvement which can only have a positive effect on the individual and the world around them, but firmly believe that resolutions need not be restricted to this one day of the year - we should feel free to make vows to change for the better at any time.  Instead of making resolutions, I'm working on a list of 10 things I would like to achieve in 2010 - this will not necessarily involve forcing myself to become a slightly better person, but will hopefully give me the motivation to accomplish some things that have been on my to-do list for a while!

Despite this rather ambivalent attitude towards the whole idea of New Year's Eve and the traditions associated with it, I'm always up for a celebration and will indeed be out tonight.  While there is often too much pressure put on NYE to fulfil everyone's expectations and see the new year in with a bang, tonight will be spent with my very best friend, lots of wine and even more dancing - I fail to see how this could be anything but the perfect way to spend the last night of this year.  

I've complied a playlist of songs which define 2009 for me, one which will most likely be playing tonight as we decide what to wear and get ourselves all dolled up for the fun and games that will follow.  Some of these tracks highlight the best and most significant moments of the year, while others are just amazing songs that were released this year - either way, they're all rather wonderful and I hope you enjoy them...

theverybestoftwothousandandnine

1. Passion Pit - Little Secrets

2. Kings Of Leon - Knocked Up

3. Black Eyed Peas - I Gotta Feeling

4. The Cribs - Cheat On Me

5. Chase & Status - Against All Odds

6. Lady Gaga - Paparazzi

7. Kasabian - Fire

8. Florence & The Machine - Drumming Song

9. Shakira - She Wolf

10. La Roux - In For The Kill (Skream Let's Get Ravey Remix)

Happy New Year!

I hope that you have an amazing night, whatever you may be doing!