Tonight is New Year’s Eve. 2012 went by in a blur, although at times, it seems like we were on an odyssey just to have some peace. Life really has become a conveyor belt. The hot and beautiful weather has disguised Christmas and it does genuinely seem as though we are being granted some sort of reprieve before the year that lies ahead – and the challenges that it will bring with it.

The first thing we should think about is tonight – the night when everyone goes out to make merry. Some will do it to bid the new cycle in, to celebrate what was good in the last year. Others will reflect on why it all went wrong, or what could have been better. But we will all head into the night by reflecting on the last 12 months and the 12 months that lie ahead.

Some of us will visit family while others will go out and have some fun, but we all need to get there. Thankfully, we did not hear of many accidents over the Christmas period. People did go out and people did have fun, but there were no fatalities and no reported traffic accidents. It was well received news, especially as we have become accustomed to hearing of traffic accidents every year during the Festive Season.

The key is not drinking and driving. We should also open our eyes to the fact that it happens – people should not abuse drugs and drive either. There are other options, people can use public transport, or taxis or they could even opt for car pooling and the designated driver system. It is simply not safe to drive while under the influence and it only adds to misery, shame and we have already borne witness to changes in political structure from both the parties.

It is all a big game, yet this time, it seems that the bowlfish mentality is not leading to the usual levels of intellectual atrophy as we normally witness. For the first time in a long time, people are thinking and evaluating, rather than accepting the spoon-feeding of the past.