Dear 2014, welcome! It's nice to see you, even if that means I am going to be another year older!
You are well aware that you have a very tough job ahead of you following after 2013. There is so much pressure and expectation for you to sweep on in and be better than your predecessor, like a new president taking on his term at a particularly tough or crucial time. I am sorry that you have this burden to bear, but nonetheless you hold our hopes and dreams in your hands in a way that probably no other year has done so, so please, treat us wisely and kindly.
What I cannot get my head around, is how in 2014, we have found ourselves in such a paradox of being classified as a 'first world, advanced, rich' nation, yet, we are struggling in a way that we should not be – it's crazy.
It's like a game of snakes and ladders. The hardworking people of Larnaca who have always paid their bills and taxes and tried to climb the ladders up towards bettering their lives are now finding nothing but snakes, sliding down further and further, and going backwards instead of forwards due to wage cuts and tax and bill hikes. The shocking fact that we are the first generation to be worse off than our parents is terrifying, especially for those of us who have children that need providing for. We don't (all) expect to be rolling in it, with lavish lifestyles and material wealth, but we do expect to be able to make ends meet in the knowledge that each year our circumstances will better themselves till we can retire in a comfortable way deserving of all the years, hours, blood, sweat and tears that we have put into our lives. The stark reality that the snakes will keep taking us down and that the rungs of the ladders are crumbling beneath our feet is one in the forefront of the minds of all us 'ordinary' citizens as you enter our lives, so please 2014, find a way to get us all back on track.
Don't let all this put you off, this is your opportunity to be the year that turned it all around for us – just like the president who comes in with a fresh perspective and succeeds in making real and tangible improvements during his term. Part of his motivation is to better the lives of the people he serves, but another part is ego - to go down in history books as the person who made the difference. You too can be 'that' year – the one that everyone looks back on with gratitude and positive memories as a defining point in our lives. I can't offer you advise on how to do it, but if you do, the glory is all yours!
I will check back in on you at the end of your term, and I hope that you prove to have been the 'president' that brought about better days… for me, for mine, for Larnaca, for Cyprus, for each and every one of us…
First appeared in The Cyprus Weekly newspaper 04/01/14
