Hopes for the new year: A time to reset and start something fresh

For many, the arrival of a new year is an opportunity to start something fresh, whether it be a business, relationship, career path or fitness aspiration. For others, it brings worry about the uncertain months ahead.

At the West Palm Beach GreenMarket on Saturday morning, packed with hundreds of people, shoppers shared their hopes, along with some of their fears, for what the new year of 2024 might mean for them. Standing in a long, winding line waiting to order a cider doughnut or searching for the right jar of homemade aioli, many took the time to reflect on what they’d like to do differently in the year ahead.

Roxanne Pedone and Joshua Olaivar were two of them. The pair met when Olaivar tutored Pedone for a class she took at Palm Beach State College. They started dating this year and plan to move in together in the coming months.

“In the new year, I want to always look for the positive and shift my mindset toward that,” said 28-year-old Olaivar, of West Palm Beach, as he grinned at Pedone.

Pedone, 24, said that she’d like to progress in her career next year. She hopes to graduate with a degree in ophthalmic medical technology and then jump into a full-time role.

Just a few steps away from them were Michelle Robinson, 61, who strolled the West Palm Great Lawn on the brisk Saturday morning with her two daughters, Jasmine Robinson and Shauna Pierre, along with her grandson, Darnell Walker, who was visiting from college.

The group of four joined the massive line for cider doughnuts that wove around the lawn.

Pierre said that at the start of each year, she picks out one word to represent what she wants out of the year. For 2024, she chose the word “execute.” She hopes to execute the goals that she had for herself over the last year, which came to a halt when she got a full hysterectomy.

In 2024, Pierre wants to complete the “75 hard challenge,” which is a 75-day exercise ritual. She also wants to read 12 books and restructure her marketing agency. One thing that she is not looking forward to, though, is increased political discussions that come with the upcoming presidential election.

“I think politics have gotten really messy in our country,” said 41-year-old Pierre, of West Palm Beach. “Instead of bringing everyone together to find a middle ground, it's more divisive. It separates us.”

Walker, 19, echoed his mom’s sentiments about the election and wished for “better options” on the ballot. The college student, who proudly sported a baseball cap with the colors and mascot from the university he attends, Florida A&M in Tallahassee, spent winter break at his home in West Palm Beach. He also wants to ramp up his reading in the new year to one book a month.

Jasmine, 34, wants to expand her pedicure business, The Pedi Room, to more locations in the new year, to add to the one she recently opened in West Palm Beach.

Her mother, Michelle, said she wants to get her own business off the ground in 2024. She wants to sell quiches and other homemade goods at a stand under the name of "Quiche and More" at the GreenMarket and other pop-up shops soon.

But she also is not looking forward to the presidential election, which looks likely to be a rematch between incumbent President Joe Biden and the man he defeated in 2020, Donald Trump.

“The election will bring about too many emotions that are not good for people,” said Michelle, 61, of West Palm Beach. “It makes people feel disconnected from others over differences of opinions.”

Silvia Mendez, who moved to West Palm Beach from Guatemala 12 years ago, is also ready for people to lay aside their differences in the new year. She said that she sometimes faces discrimination because of her ethnicity, and hopes for that to come to an end in 2024.

She works as a chef for Leila Restaurant, a Middle Eastern eatery on South Dixie Highway, and spent the day manning their GreenMarket stand, which featured sizzling falafels and hummus. She wants to continue working there and start a cleaning business with her husband in the new year.

“In the new year, I hope my family will keep moving forward,” said Mendez, 33. “I want a better future for my three children.”

Alexis Black and Juan Lux, who both work as servers at Pistache French Bistro, on Clematis in West Palm Beach, bought a couple of sandwiches from Mendez's stand during their lunch break while they discussed their goals for the new year.

In 2024, Black plans to start nursing school at Florida Atlantic University and take a few trips, including one to Colorado and another abroad. She also wants to make plans to move from Florida to California, whether that be this year or next.

“In the new year, I want more community, money and travel,” said 24-year-old Black.

Lux, 25, said he wants to continue to work hard to get to spend more time with his family next year.

Bill and Brenda Henney, a married couple from Minneapolis, unexpectedly had to break out their sweaters on the chilly South Florida morning. They smiled and held hands as they walked past the splash pad over to the vendors whose stands with fresh produce, homemade pies and locally grown plants lined the Great Lawn.

They are spending a few months in West Palm Beach to escape the colder temperatures at their home up north, as they have done over the past few years.

Bill, 67, said he hopes that inflation rates will subside in the new year and that the world's wars will come to a peaceful resolution. Brenda echoed his call for harmony, particularly for the Israel-Gaza and Russia-Ukraine wars.

“There is so much suffering going on in the world and the news of it is disturbing,” said Brenda, 65. “I hope for an end to the suffering.”

But others had lighter thoughts about 2024. Jasmine, whose mom calls her an optimist, said that nothing came to mind when she thought of something she might dread in the new year.

“I’ve been doing so much self-reflecting about the new year,” said Jasmine, as she pushed her French bulldog named Dior in a stroller. “It’s like a fresh start at life all over again. I love life and everything it comes with.”

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: GreenMarket patrons in West Palm Beach weigh in on the new year 2024