Thangachi’s Corner: Your Dose of New Year’s Optimism

January 1, 2014

Updated every other Wednesday, “Thangachi’s Corner” is a bi-monthly feature that discusses relatable topics and issues relevant to the Canadian Tamil youth of today. For more information about this feature or to suggest a topic, feel free to e-mail us at blogs@ctya.org!

10-new-year-greeting

Written By: Keerthana Raveendran

01/01/2014.

This is it, friends – the beginning of a brand new year. A fresh start, if you will. 

Oftentimes, the New Year is an opportunity at a blank slate. We put aside our downfalls, our flaws and shortcomings in favour of forward thinking—this year is going to be so great. In the New Year, we tend to feel optimistic, contemplating all that we hope to accomplish in the months that follow, usually in the form of New Year’s Resolutions.  

But in all of this forward thinking, we often forget to reminisce backward and think not only about how far we have already come in the past year, but also of the joys we may already find in our past.

So if only for just a little bit this New Year’s Day, let us employ the wonderful tool that is the Internet, and take a look back at the inspiring, heartwarming and downright fantastic things that go right in our world, especially since we, in our own chaotic lives, sometimes focus on those that go wrong. Surely enough, cyberspace has much to offer—take, for example:

  • Articles like this and this. They’ll allegedly restore your faith in humanity just like that.
  • Almost every episode of “What Would You Do”—a rather insightful television show that explores a variety of troubling scenarios to determine whether strangers will intervene to help one another. 
  • When commercial organizations do nice things like this and this. As it turns out, making money isn’t always the only goal! 
  • When not-so-commercial organizations do nice things. This will just tickle you, it will.
  • Nifty kids who really know how to move their audiences—Noah performs some spoken word, and Mushy overcomes a speech impediment.
  • Cool people like these who use their superpowers for good.

As it turns out, our world is pretty incredible. We forget sometimes, with our exposure to news of disasters and crimes around the world, just how much it has to offer. So for now, put those aside and spend some time feeling all warm and bubbly inside as you peruse.

But afterward, don’t forget to get right back to that New Year’s Resolution. After all, we are going to need some more inspirational stories for next year. 

Happy New Year.

About the Author:

Keerthana Raveendran, known by her flock as Thangachi, is an aspiring author whose motivation to write usually kicks in when she’s supposed to be occupied elsewhere. She is an avid procrastinator who sees potential novel ideas as movies in her head. Maybe one of these days they’ll make it onto the page. Thangachi is currently a Masters student studying English at York University.

Read More by Keerthana!

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“Seven Steps to Acceptance”

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