By Alexandria Baker
For many people, the start of a new year is a time of change and personal growth. New Year’s resolutions are a popular tradition, which are often selected with care and commitment, and begun with an earnest dedication…and then completely forgotten about within a week.
What’s the point then? Why do people make such a fuss about making changes in their lives, if their perseverance is somewhat lacking?
New Year’s resolutions are mostly personal. They often involve commitments to better health, fiscal responsibility or improved relationships with others. Maybe for some, this is too broad a place to start.
Julia Dwight, a Business Marketing major at Western, has a simple resolution.
“Personally, I’m going to try and read at least one new book a month. I’ve fallen out of the habit of reading, and it’s something I used to love, so I want to bring some of that positivity back into my life.”
When asked why people often drop their resolutions, Dwight had this to say:
“I can’t really decide if resolutions are an outdated concept, or if people just choose goals that are unrealistic. I think people that make resolutions, and want to stick to them, need to think of things that are broad enough to where it’s not a daily commitment, but a general idea or way of acting that can enrich their lives over the long term.”
Junior Paige Donald is also generally in favor of the idea of resolutions.
“I think New Year’s resolutions are important. They’re a great way to try and better yourself and fun to kick off the New Year with. I mean, who makes a resolution to worsen themselves?”
Donald also had a resolution for the New Year.
“My New Year’s resolution is to be nicer to people, especially my friends. Whenever someone says something dumb, I usually reply with a salty comment back. But now, I’m honestly trying to stop and think before I say something rude. I want to work on my empathy more and ridiculing someone for saying something dumb isn’t the best way to work on that.”
Whether or not you have a New Year’s resolution, it’s never too late to commit to making a positive change in your life. With 2017 stretching before us, let’s all do our best to make this year a great one.
Image courtesy of publicdomainpictures.net