After much anticipation the New Year is finally here, and there is an aura of opportunity hanging in the air for everybody. For me, New Years is a time to look back and reminisce on memories of the passing year, like twerking and Gangnam Style, and a time to look forward and plan how you can improve yourself, be that lying to yourself about going to the gym or how you are going to dig yourself out of the academic grave you have dug yourself into.

Looking back, you may have a lot of accomplishments you celebrated on New Years, and if you are anything like me, you celebrate each achievement with a drink. You may have been so successful that you wake up the next day with no recollection of the previous year, which in itself is an accomplishment (you can pocket that one for this year). No matter how you celebrate New Years, you should see to it that you look back on what you’ve done so you can get an idea of where you are now. Once you know where you are you can look at where you’re going.

Still have no idea where you are going in life? Do you feel helpless to the forces that influence our lives? Unsure of where to start making improvements? Unfortunately I can’t help you. No one can. Though you are not alone, as there are countless students who are unsure of where they are going, and surely some of you will be going nowhere, which is fine (I guess). The only advice I can give is to use this opportunity of a New Year to feel compelled to do something about it. Be proactive, give yourself that push you need to jump-start your life. Often, we are told we have years ahead of us, but in reality, time is slowly ticking away, you don’t want to suddenly realize what you should be doing when it’s too late. Everybody has a skill or talent that they can use to be successful. What you believe to be success could be monetary, how happy you are or being able to support a family, at any rate the world is apathetic to the rut you are in, only you can make do with what you are given and turn it into success.

Now, after by far the most philosophic paragraph I have ever written, you may feel a sense of urgency to do something positive for yourself this year. Unfortunately there is no easy way to do this. Personally I believe the only way to truly improve your life is to work for it. Nothing is going to change just because it’s your New Years resolution. That weight isn’t going to suddenly fall off, and your GPA won’t magically raise. Of course, you probably know this, but some people feel like the world is going to hand them a golden ticket. This isn’t the case, the student who works towards that 4.0 or works towards that beach body for spring break is going to get that golden ticket and they’re going to meet Willy Wonka filled with success and chocolate, and you? You’ll be left at the gate of the Wonka Factory, filled with regret and chocolate. Hopefully you get the picture (though when I think about it, that’s a terrible example as Charlie was literally handed a chocolate bar with a golden ticket).

Regardless, it seems a lot of people take this time of year for granted, which is a shame because this is where a precedent is set for how the rest of your year will play out. My belief is that if you start your year strong and shoot above your expectations, you will most likely fail but still wane down to a point where improvements are made.