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POINTS OF VIEW

A space to share your feedback. Over to you.

Kickstarting 2016
The first edition of wknd. in the New Year came with a few surprises. I expected the usual clichéd articles on how to set and stick to resolutions and make the most out of yet another revolution of the earth around the sun. However, your magazine posed a few thought-provoking questions.
The article New Year. New You? (Jan 1) insightfully depicts the thinking patterns of different people. Some of us like to go with the flow and learn as life happens, whilst others like to modulate their learning and growth with a start and finish, goalposts and milestones; and nothing is a better starting point then the beginning of the year. It feels like a second chance to start again and chase our dreams. Although it would take the same amount of hard work as any other time, the New Year has the effect of letting go of our past mistakes and flaws, giving us an illusion and a guilt-free choice of a complete closure.
If we recap our lives during the last 365 days, as have the three women in the article How My Life Changed in One Year, we can see how much we've changed and how much potential we have to change this year, if only we put in a little more effort. Change is inevitable, whether in 2016 or the years after, so why not steer in that direction right now?
I wish wknd. and its readers a happy New Year!

Congratulations on your winning entry, Kirtida Parikh! We will contact you shortly.

Advice on the Money
I am sure a lot of New Year resolutions will centre around managing finances better. This has always been a popular resolution, but seldom gets fulfilled. The timing of the article Are You Saving for Retirement? (Jan 1) was apt in terms of the very specific details given on finance management.
I remember how meticulously my father used to plan and manage his finances. This included - apart from our regular spending - set expenditure priorities and, most importantly, savings schemes with his retirement year in mind. Looking back, I am amazed how smoothly his system functioned, with all the numerous saving plans such as bank fixed deposits, post office saving schemes, stocks and, most importantly, ensuring a good education for us. I will try to stick to my New Year resolution and implement the tips provided in the article. A good cheatsheet I found: 1. You're on your own 2. Cash flow is king 3. Retirement planning requires a plan 4. You will get old 5. Start early and reap the rewards 6. Stop putting yourself last.
Joy John, by email
New Beginnings
The January 1 issue of wknd. did full justice to the spirit of the New Year by touching upon aspects like resolutions, financial planning, health, and guiding us on how to have a headstart. Of special interest to me was New Year.New You? with its different perspectives. I regard New Year as the right time to initiate changes in our lives, and resolutions as a way to quantify that change.
While the concept of "New Year's Day is every man's birthday" makes it a great leveller and starting point, resolutions remind us that we all have shortcomings we wish to change. And the psychological effect of knowing we are not alone is so power-ful that even if we fail to keep them, it still fills us with positive energy. Thankfully, our society has always known this and carried this concept forward for us.
Sumi Viswanathan, by email
Talking the Moonwalk
This letter is in reply to Vir Sanghvi's article (Don't Believe the First Moon Landing? Buzz Off, Jan 1). I agree 100 per cent with Mr Sanghvi. The moon landing was a great scientific and engineering achievement, and a pioneering step in space travel. Mankind accomplished things that were hitherto unimaginable to us outside of science fiction novels. To dismiss it as fake and filmed is, in my opinion, to deny the astounding and, frankly, miraculous wonders that the human race has achieved.
After all, could our forefathers have predicted that we would step on the moon? And that we would not stop there.? That we would then spend space probes to Mercury, Venus, Mars and even Jupiter? That we would even reach Titan and Phobos, the moons of Saturn and Mars respectively? Asteroids and comet's? Do moon-landing sceptics believe all of this to also be fake?
To deny the moon landing is to deny that mankind has progressed at the speed of light in the space of 50 years and shows no signs of stopping soon. It is akin to denying our own intelligence and capabilities, our pursuits of the mysteries that lie outside our world. To deny it is also to deny the years of effort and research that went into making it possible, and therefore an insult to every single person involved in the process. To deny the moon landing is to deny that one day - one that I believe is fast approaching - we will go even further, and explore outside our galaxy.
And it all started by reaching for the moon.
Yasmeen Zahoor, by email