we're back!

It may seem like some things will never change. Your father always has the ability to make you question your position even while praising your life choices; the farcical GOP primary race continues to sweep across 'key' states; Spanish grannies still know exactly where to walk on the sidewalk so as to prohibit passing from either side. But we must also recognize the advent of a new year, and all the possibilities that go along with it.

As second semester starts at Suffolk Madrid, and with it come new classes, new classmates, new plans, and new hopes, I would like to share with you an article that I came across recently and the three suggestions for a meaningful life in 2012 that it shared.

1. Cultivate (your better self). Learn the arts of nuance, subtlety, and grace.

2. Create (something dangerous). Youth is to be spent pursuing your passion. Don't simply be content with the road well traveled... rather dream big, and be an architect of the future.

3. Forgive (and fail). Remember that failure is, in itself, a part of achievement. So go ahead-- fail. Just remember to forgive yourself and those around you... taking failure for the important lesson that it is.

I have paraphrased these three profound suggestions, for the sake of my own reflection. I do recommend reading the original article though, which was written by Umair Haque and published in the Harvard Business Review under the title "Mastering the Art of Living Meaningfully Well". He acknowledges the challenges that we all face, and speaks with wonderful insight to suggestions which I, for one, intend to carry with me in the year(s) to come.