2006

We are taught to be pessimists. Optimists are supposed to be fools who live in bubbles and are just not aware of other people’s suffering. After all, the news will show you tragedies daily. The movies will remind you that rich people are all crooks. Teachers will preach to you that it is all about who you know. Pundits will predict our doom.

Still, another year goes by and we persevere. There are fewer, less bloody wars. Less people die from all kinds of disease. We have a global economy that is more prosper, more stable and more accessible to more and more countries. A lot more people are getting fat rather than dying of hunger.

It is the constant predicament of our evolution. Regardless of all our faults, we continue to build a better world.

---x---

Being an optimist is believing things will get better, while understanding that nothing is perfect.

This year I had the chance of knowing and working with a lot of very, very smart people from various backgrounds. They’re still not perfect, and actually some of them are pretty difficult to deal with. But still, they showed me how much potential human beings have and how much can be accomplished with our minds and hard work. It is like peeking through a little window into a no-nonsense future where people are productive and help each other by doing their personal best.

It is one of the most uplifting experiences I’ve ever had.

---x---

Maybe this is all a delusion based on anecdotal evidence and all that has happened to me so far is pure luck.

However… I didn’t come from a rich or powerful family. I didn’t know highly influential people who gave me a helping hand. I did not get great grades and was not the stronger or more handsome kid in my class. Still, I’ve got a good life. I’ve got a great family.

Give it your best. Things do get better. Have a great 2007.