“New Year, New You”

Right around New Year’s people start to talk about their “New Year’s resolutions.” What exactly are they? Look up the phrase and you’ll instantly get hundreds of search results filled with articles on which ones to make and how to keep them. New Year’s resolutions are a tradition most commonly held here in the Western hemisphere where people resolve to make a life change for the better over the course of the new year. That all sounds great but according to the Huffington Post and Forbes (magazine), only 8% of people actually achieve their New Year’s resolutions.

The percentage of uncompleted resolutions is so high due to the fact that many people don’t pick the “right” resolutions. Making sure that you know for a fact you’ll be able to achieve your goal is very important. People struggle with choosing resolutions based on how the community or others will look at them for it. If you’re only doing something because of how you want others to perceive you, you most likely have a bigger chance of failing. Or simply their resolutions are just too complicated. The ones that complete these goals usually have realistic ideas on what it is they want to accomplish.

Here at Ferguson, many of the students have different opinions on what New Year’s resolutions mean to them. Some student believes that making a promise to change an aspect of your life is just simply dumb or useless. Others believe that they are reassuring when it comes to a specific goal and are nice to have. With all the positive and negative views on New Year’s resolutions, there are always a good amount of people that don’t have specific feelings on resolutions.

“I don’t think resolutions are good or bad, I just feel like people don’t actually fulfill them.” said Junior, Karla Antillano. Although they can help some people, many don’t usually stick to what they say they’re going to do.

Fulfilling New Year’s Resolutions can be extremely hard when you’re lacking one key value, motivation. When it comes to sticking to a plan or having to change a habit, it can get a little rough for individuals with no drive or discipline. Making sure your mind is in the right place when starting something new is critical when it comes to wanting to accomplish a goal for the whole year. Without a good mindset or dedication, it’s difficult to want to be concerned about completing a plan.

“A lot of people just don’t care, they don’t have the willpower for it.” said Freshman Ryan Dougery

Having unrealistic proposals is also a huge factor as to why many people don’t follow through with their plans. Starting off with huge resolutions isn’t always the best option for some. It’s better to start off not so drastically because it will be easier to accomplish. Alejandro Sierra is a freshman who wanted to become a professional snowboarder. He had started that resolution two years ago and just recently accomplished his target.

“You should start small and hope for change.” said Alejandro.

Completing resolutions may be hard but that doesn’t mean our fellow falcons don’t have awesome goals that they plan to achieve. Some of the students here hope to improve SAT scores and work harder this new year. While others just hope to better themselves as individuals and gain the confidence to try new things.

It’s heartwarming to know that the positive energy is all around students. This new year is a perfect start for all those wanting change in their lives. New Year resolutions will never be easy, but with the proper determination and enthusiastic mindset, accomplishing a goal will be less challenging and more pleasurable one step at a time!