TL;DR:

• Looking back at the past can change who we are.
• Hope was the one word chosen for 2022—a message of hope that we can connect with each other.

I know that I am not alone when I say good riddance to 2021. This past year and a half, the country was torn apart, other perspectives were not accepted, the values of education changed, and politics divided the people. While many may not agree with me, that’s okay. I do not expect (or want) complete agreement. But what I think is that some may agree to choose not to look back at 2021.

I do not deny the fact that we can learn a lot from 2021. But as one of my favorite authors mentioned in his book, Slaughterhouse Five, in chapter 1, Vonnegut, himself, reflects on his time in Dresden as a World War II POW. He reads from the Gideon Bible about the ‘Great Destruction.’ Vonnegut states:

I’m certainly not going to do it anymore. And Lot’s wife, of course, was told not to look back where all those people and their homes had been. But she did look back, and I love her for that, because it was so human. She was turned to a pillar of salt. People aren’t supposed to look back. I’m certainly not going to do it anymore.

You don’t have to read the book to understand what Vonnegut meant by the passage above. In fact, if you read the words carefully, you will know that while it’s natural for people to look back, it can change who we are. As ‘humans’ we are to not look back but only towards the future.

Whether you choose one word to start the new year or want to reflect on the year 2021, it’s an individual decision to make. May hope carry us all into 2022 that we can connect with each other and not let the world divide us. Click To Tweet

Choosing #oneword

Every year for the past three years, I chose a #oneword to go into the new year with. I was not going to participate this year as I felt that the words I chose didn’t reflect how the year went. But today, the eve of New Year’s Eve, I realize it’s not about the word. It is about the positivity of the word to lead as the ball drops signifying one year ending and another one beginning. 

My previous one words:

• 2021 – Purpose
• 2020 – Determination
• 2019 – Believe 

As I stated previously, I was not sure I was going to participate in the #oneword for 2022. However, I decided that choosing a word needed to come to me. It was not one that I can just choose to fulfill some type of quota.

For 2022, I chose my word as *HOPE*.

Thinking back to my last three years of words, I see a connection between them. I end the year, like most people, with a positive vibe on choosing a word. As the year progresses, we sometimes forget the one word that we chose the eve of the next year. But that is natural to do. 

Going back to the words of Kurt Vonnegut, it’s because sometimes we choose not to look back. Yet, some of us do. The problem with looking back is not learning from mistakes or trying to remember moments with the ones we love. For some, the problem of looking back, especially at 2021, is that we reflect only on the negative aspects of the year. Think about it for a moment. The memories we have that are negative outweigh the good ones. While there is no answer as to why, it still is being done over and over again. 

How can we stop this? Simply put, we can’t. It’s part of us being human. But what I have come to realize is that it’s not about looking back at the regrets, the decisions that I made, or the events that unfolded throughout the year. It’s about how the future will turn out.

What I will look back on are the ones who personally connected with me this past year alone despite my anxiety ridden craziness. Another educator, someone who I call a friend, said something to me that I did not realize before. He said that it’s not about the likes or the tags, it’s about the people who follow you because they want to. So, to those who have reached out to me during all the times (the good and the bad), I am grateful for you.

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This past year, I learned who my friends are. Sometimes it takes a political movement or a virus to separate those who are true to those who are not. For those who looked past personal views, you are the golden ones. You are the ones that I will carry through into 2022.

We cannot all be the same, otherwise what would make each one of us different? That’s why I chose the word, hope, as my one word for 2022. I hope that people can see past certain views and judgment of others. This is the only way we can stop the divide once again.

As Vonnegut stated, “People aren’t supposed to look back. I’m certainly not going to do it anymore.”  His words ring true today as they did in 1969 when he wrote the book. I am not going to look back anymore because the past is the past. 

Whether you choose one word to start the new year or want to reflect on the year 2021, it’s an individual decision to make. May hope carry us all into 2022 that we can connect with each other and not let the world divide us.

 

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About Kristen Koppers

Kristen is an educator, Edumatch author, blogger, and presenter. She teaches ELA in secondary education as well as an adjunct professor at a local junior college. Kristen has been teaching for twenty years and has a Master of Arts in English (M.A.) and a Master of Education in Administration (MA. Ed.). She certified as a National Board Certified Teacher in 2009 and completed her recertification in 2019.

Kristen is the author of Differentiated Instruction in the Teaching Profession (2019) #DITeaching and The Perfect Puppy (2020) #ThePerfectPuppyEdu. Find out more information about Kristen at: www.kristenkoppers.wix.com/koppers.