Every New Year’s Eve millions of people usher out the old year at midnight by singing the first verse and chorus of Scottish poet Robert Burns’ 1788 poem set to a Scots folk tune, “Auld Lang Syne.” The phrase translates roughly to for the sake of old times.

It’s often said that we risk losing the future if we linger in the past. True. But without taking an objective, critical, or even humorous look at the past, we commit ourselves to repeating the same mistakes in the future.

For this prompt, we’d like you to look back over 2022 and tell us about your year by writing about one, two, or all three of the following:

  1. Love It: A memory you’ll be sure to take with you into 2023
  2. Leave It: An incident you’re all too happy to leave behind in the annals of 2022
  3. Leave It: Something you’re looking forward to in 2023

Yes, Our Human Family focuses primarily on racial equity, allyship, and inclusion. Feel free to let our niche inspire you. But we’re inviting you to stretch the boundaries, if you feel the need, and tell us about your lived experience in today’s world. If you’re so inclined, tell your incident in just a few sentences OR expound to your heart’s content. The choice is yours.

Submission Guidelines

If you’ve been a writer for OHF Weekly, you know the drill. Just write your article, submit it as a draft, and be sure to include the Happy New Year in the subject field. First-time OHF writers, everything you need to know can be found in our Submission Guidelines (we’ll waive the packet requirement for this prompt) and email us at submissions [at] ourhumanfamily.org.

NOTE: As a nonprofit, OHF can neither endorse nor oppose political candidates — yeah, we know there are so many who warrant discussion. But you may address specific policies.

Deadline

Monday, December 19, 2022. We’ll publish them beginning Tuesday, December 20 through Tuesday, January 3, 2023.

The OHF Weekly Editors