The tradition of making resolutions is a defining trademark of the New Year's holiday. Every year, I see people post their vows of how they will change themselves mentally and physically, and I always seem to cringe at the idea of actually making a resolution to change my life forever. Now, don't get me wrong because change is a rocky idea that all people need to face each new challenge life gives us. I just don't believe that change can be scheduled and initiated for the first day of each new year. After all, the changes in my life have been helpfully random, so I could never want to schedule out the defining moments of my life by swearing to resolutions.

The term "New Year, New Me" has a nice ring to it and even appears plausible on the surface. However, I have rarely seen a resolution posted on social media that was followed through beyond the first month of the new year. People mention their desires for health, peace, and happiness, but that usually seems to be as far as the resolutions go. Now the only exception to this is the occasional person who commits to a new diet or workout routine.

The problem with striking out to achieve goals is that people make them as if they can plan out their entire lives like a map. As human beings, we control as much of our lives as we can, and even then, we still feel like we have no control sometimes. People do make noticeable changes from year to year, but I guarantee that a great portion of the events that changed was unexpected in some way. Truth be told, the most important parts of our lives play out much better when people step back and see which direction life takes us.

In my life, I have learned from multiple people that we have to take things one step at a time. I grew from wanting Barbie dolls, books and good grades to wanting to write books, exercise more, and (still) get good grades. There were times when the unexpected caused me great joy and others immense pain. Both of those contributed to the personal growth I still yearn for to this day. The ideals that could result from bettering myself have very little to do with declaring my goals on social media.

The truth is that all people are always going to be searching for gigantic prospects such as peace, happiness, and a healthier lifestyle. Those are the biggest ideals that people search for, so I don't see the point of declaring a resolution that comprises of variations of those concepts year after year. As long as we live, we aspire to grow and change for the better. Although we try and try to manipulate what we can, sometimes what we cannot handle turns out to teach us and give us what we want without micromanagement of goals. While I do not endorse New Year's resolutions, growth and change are two concepts I will always stand by.