As much as the holidays can be a time of fun and festivities with friends and family, it has been my experience that it is equally as satisfying when they finally come to a sublime end. Like a really great workout on the treadmill, you can wipe the sweat from your brow and let out a resounding, “Whew! Made it.” You’ve bought the presents, sent the presents and opened the presents.

You’ve spent at least one night tending to a sick dog that insisted on eating an entire box of chocolates. You’ve watched youngsters cry on Santa’s lap and run screaming through the mall. And you’ve enjoyed a traditional holiday dinner with loved ones and given thanks for yet another year together gone by.
Now a New Year begins and the old after-the-holidays lull begins to quietly set in, and we take a moment to reflect.

It is a time of renewal and rejuvenation, and it is time to make those resolutions and with some fortitude and determination keep them one way or another. A daunting task for certain, but definitely worth it in the long run. Perhaps you’ve decided to get into better shape, a common resolution among most Americans, or maybe you’d like to spend more time with loved ones.

The resolutions are as infinite as the individuals who make them, but one resolution this year stands out above all others, I think. And that particular resolution is to make a positive difference in the world this year. Maybe this sounds extreme or even impossible, but one little girl in Evanston didn’t think so, and I, for one, (and I know there are many more) believe she was right.

This year the New Year’s Eve fireworks display (an amazing show by Porter’s Fireworks, by the way) was appropriately dedicated to Alecia Hall, a middle school student who tragically passed away last year. However, before she was ever even diagnosed with the cancer that ended her life, she and a few of her friends decided to “make a mark” in the community by raising money for those less fortunate. At such a young age, Alecia understood what many of us, even as adults find difficult to express and to comprehend – the importance and the magnitude of human kindness and generosity.

To put it simply, she got it. Alecia inherently knew that the giving of oneself, that the power of extending a hand to a fellow human being is what truly matters in this lifetime. In the end, we won’t be remembered for how much money we made, how our lawn was kept or how far we may have traveled. We will, however, be remembered for how we treated others. In essence, how we made our mark.

Maybe it is something as insignificant as shoveling the driveway for a neighbor or maybe it is something as grandiose as donating a paycheck to those affected by the horrific effects of the recent tsunami in Asia. Whatever it may be, however small or large, every little positive act that is paid forward, so to speak, counts, and that is the whole point of Alecia’s Make Your Mark Foundation that is now being continued by her family, friends and the community.

If one resolution is kept in 2005 and in the years to come, it should be this one.