As the ball dropped on 2017, many AHS students are set on starting the year strong. Nationwide, people are using the new year as a chance to achieve a new goal, or renew oneself.

“My new year’s resolution is to improve my grades,” says AHS senior John Doleschy. “I don’t have a resolution every year though, because some years I am happy with myself at the end of the year, so I feel that there is nothing that needs to be changed.”

“In 2018, I want to focus more on eating healthy,” says AHS junior Meleana Strecher. “I know it’s a really common goal for everyone at the beginning of the year, but it is a really important one that isn’t too hard.”

Strecher isn’t the only one with the goal of being healthier in the new year. According to Juliet Eysenck of The Telegraph in the article, “The most common New Year’s resolutions – and how to stick to them,” of those with a goal for the new year, 38% of people want to exercise more, 33% want to lose weight, and 15%  want to take a more active approach to health.

Doleschy says, “I never actually stick to my new year’s resolutions. I feel like they’re something that everyone does but no one really sticks to. I always set the bar way too high and never end up fulfilling them.”

According to Carolyn Gregoire of Huffpost in, “New Year’s resolutions are bound to fail,” only 8% of people actually stick to their resolution.

With the likelihood of new resolutions to be unfulfilled so high, what are some tips to avoid failure and achieve a goal?

According to Zamenna Mejia of CNBC in, “Here’s the secret to sticking to your New Year’s resolutions,” “The key to sticking to a resolution is writing it down. If you have a record of it, you’re more likely to make it happen.”

Strecher says, “I have the same resolution every year, but I haven’t exactly achieved it yet so every new year it’s my mission to actually make it happen. Whenever I stray from it, I just give up on the resolution for that year all together and tell myself that I’ll try again next year. It’s not the best plan, but one day my healthy eating resolution is sure to come true.”

“I make resolutions some years, but I don’t really think they’re that important. If someone wants to change something about themselves, they shouldn’t wait till the new year to do it, especially considering that the whole concept of a year is a man-made organizational method,” says Doleschy.