Do Students Succeed At Keeping New Year’s Resolutions?

With Christmas coming on December 25th, and New Year’s following after it, sophomore Chloe Relford admits she has tried resolutions for the New Year in the past, but hasn’t stuck to them past February or March.

“This year, that’s going to change,” says Relford.

Relford says New Year’s resolution this year is to finish her sophomore year with a grade point average of 3.6 or higher, and to not give up “when I feel tired or don’t feel like doing my homework. Pushing myself through and giving it my all because in the end I know that it will be worth all the work.”

How she plans to do that is simple, but not easy. Relford says she plans to come in and see her teachers at least twice a week if she has questions, whether she has to come in early to school or stay late.

Sophomore Alyssa Graves, on the other hand, says she has never had a New Year’s resolution. I have thought about, she said, but I’ve been to busy to even try.

This year she has chosen something not to “extreme, but doable,” for her first year, she said.

Her goal is to volunteer more, whether that be through Arrowhead’s Key Club, or with her friends and family on their own time. She plans to serve meals with her family at the Hartland Food Pantry over the Christmas season, to give back.

To pursue her resolution, she states that she will try to “step out of my comfort zone and do outreach activities that I would not normally participate in.”

Jeanette Pavini from the Huffington Post,10 Tricks to Help You Actually Keep Your New Year’s Resolution’s, states ten things can help you keep your New Year’s Resolution. Number three states you should schedule time for your resolution. Other tips in the list include employing the buddy system, stating your goals, keeping records, or maybe even getting an app that keeps you on track.

“Sometimes we are all so busy, it’s hard to find time to do things we want to, let alone resolutions that challenge us. So, schedule gym sessions in your calendar like you would a meeting or dance recital,” Pavini wrote in her article.

Relford said in the past her resolution was to eat healthier, and she would have people watch her eat and keep her on track, but she gave up on the resolution, simply because it was too hard. She said it seems unreasonable because “my family and friends could not see me 24 hours, seven hours a week, and I would sneak stuff.”

That’s why Relford would give this advice to people who have never done a resolution, like Graves: “choose something reasonable for your resolution, something you are willing to work for to get great results. Another thing, make it something you are really passionate about, something you want to continue for the rest of your life, not just something you probably will give up in a few months, until you think it’s too hard.”