There are some traditions that I always try to follow but I can never stick. Giving something up for Lent before Easter is always one because when I say that I won't consume coffee, soda, chocolate, or French fries, I inevitably end up forgetting and then forgetting about my promise all together. Taking advantage of Daylight Savings Time is another, because each year I declare that I will wake up at my usual time, thus setting my internal clock back an hour and giving myself more time to get things done, and every year I also inevitably sleep in that extra hour on Sunday morning because I "deserve it."

But the worst culprit of all is New Year's Resolutions. Everyone has them, but only the extremely strong will commit themselves and complete their task accordingly. I have probably had the same few resolutions for the past five years or so, and I can honestly say that I do not think I've accomplished any of them.

1. Eat healthier.

Okay, so maybe this exactly like the Lent situation all over again. I eat well for, say, three days into the new year, and then my mom reminds me that we still have leftover cookies from all of our gatherings, and I just can't refuse. You can't let it go to waste, right? And what can I say: this girl loves her pizza and ice cream.

2. Exercise more often.

This obviously goes along with the eating healthier thing, but exercising is so hard. Why would I spend time walking on a treadmill when I could be doing other exciting things, like shopping, watching movies, and going out for coffee? Those are sort of like cardio, right?

3. Read for pleasure.

For some reason I always think, This year will be different. This year I can make use of my winter and sumer breaks and read at least 100 books. No problem! And of course, I ready maybe a hundred pages or so and get distracted by other things. Traveling, work, spending time with family...there's just not enough time in the day for me to accomplish all that I want to (especially with the thousands of books I want to read.

4. Be more positive.

I consider myself a fairly optimistic and happy person when I'm around people. However, when I'm all alone at night, or in the comfort of my own home with my family, anything can happen. Complaining about so-and-so's selfishness; making fun of people for their shallowness and stupidity, throwing small temper-tantrums when other people don't see things my way. I consider these some of my secret hobbies, and no matter how hard I trip, I know that underneath my facade of rainbows, I will always be sarcastic, sassy, and a teeny bit cynical.

5. Stop correcting people

Okay maybe I'm just too proud. Or maybe it has something to do with my obsession with song lyrics and grammar (thank you, English major). But whenever somebody mistakes the lyrics "I wanna have groupies" for "I wanna have boobies" (FACTS, PEOPLE. I HEARD THE PUSSYCAT DOLLS PERFORM LIVE), or when somebody writes "then" when they mean to write "than," I cringe. I know it's stupid, and people sometimes don't know that what they are saying is wrong, but it's so hard for me to stop myself before telling them the right way to say or spell something. Of all the resolutions, this is the one that I probably break the most easily and the one that I should probably work on the most...

These are going to be my resolutions yet again, and I will try really hard to make them happen. Who knows, maybe this year will be different... (Yeah, right).

What are your New Year's resolutions?