It is that time of the year again. Ah, yes, glorious January. The time of the year where every gym is ridiculously packed full, the grocery stores are sucked dry of their organic fruits and vegetables, and music instructors have a sudden inflow of new students wishing to learn how to play an instrument. And, as every year goes, by the time February 1st hits, all of these things will no longer be the case. This is due to the fact that, time and time again, New Year’s resolutions have been proven to be mostly ineffective. While we all feel that surge of motivation at the beginning of the year, the timing is poor and we often do not stick to what we want to do. One of the main reasons that resolutions are considered to fail is because they are not something that the person actually enjoys doing. While most resolutions are positive goals to reach for, they are often not something that the person actually wishes they were doing more of. So, in light of this fact, I am making resolutions for myself this year that I hope will work because they are activities I’ve already been somewhat doing, activities that I will enjoy, and goals that are feasible.
1. I’m going to eat more - While the myth of the Freshman 15 has been around for as long as I can remember, as I came home for winter break, I learned that many of my friends had actually lost weight during their first semester at college. While this was not necessarily the case for me, I found that I gained weight only because I was not eating like I should be. I was eating only two meals a day, where at each meal I would end up stuffing five plates of food down my throat because I was starving, and the only things that appealed to me were the unhealthy options. This often happened because I was too lazy to wake up a little earlier and eat breakfast in the mornings, I usually forgot that I kept snacks in my room, and I was too busy doing other things to remember to keep my metabolism going throughout the day. Therefore, as the new semester starts, I am going to try to keep my body working all day and try to give it as much nutrition as possible, while attempting to eat healthier options. I love food, so eating more frequently is not a problem for me.
2. I’m going to exercise with friends - While I actually enjoy exercising and have been fairly active all my life, there are certain things that are quite unappealing to me, such as lifting weights at the gym. But, while I want to diversify the types of exercises I do (since I basically stick to running), I am going to motivate myself by attempting to exercise more with friends. Within my dorm, I have friends who run, lift weights and go to unique classes at our campus gym (I even have a friend who just started teaching one), so I am going to try to reach out to these people more. Being a social person, I know that if I make these workouts a social activity, then they will be more appealing to me and I will have more fun while doing them.
3. I’m going to read more - I absolutely love reading, and I found that in 2016, I read a stunning lack of novels. Due to the hectic final semester, I had in high school, and my accustomization to college this past fall, I often found myself without the time to read, or simply not bothering to because I didn’t feel like it. But, over this winter break I have poured over hundreds of pages in just a few weeks, and I have revitalized my love for reading. Thus, as I return for my second semester, I am going to try my best to fill my free time with this passion and to keep my mind going. Heck, maybe I’ll even start carrying a book around with me at all times like Rory Gilmore.
4. I’m going to try to meet new people - I cannot say that I did not party my first semester at William and Mary. I tried to put myself out there and meet people all across campus. But, being a university, there are still thousands of people out in Williamsburg who I have not had the pleasure of meeting, and so I am going to try to get to know more of them. I am going to go new places, party with new people, and find new groups and get to know them better. I feel that this will enhance my experience at the college and I never know what great people I could end up meeting.
5. I’m going to rest...a lot - While I felt plenty well rested during my first semester, there is always more room for sleep. I love sleeping, and the fact that I have time between classes each day means that I have more time for napping. When I looked back on my first semester, the number of naps I took was pitiful. I know I can do better than that. So, for this upcoming semester, I am going to get some sleep as much as possible. I want to be so well rested, that students could mistake me for a cat.
I hope that as we enter this new year, you make some resolutions for yourself that you can actually look forward to, and that you actually will enjoy. We will all need as much happiness as possible as we look towards the future, so let’s make some resolutions that we can stick with.
