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Life

New Semester, New Me: Thoughts on New Year’s Resolutions

Kendall Miller
Madeline Myers
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Akron chapter.

Hi everyone!! Now that we are back into the swing of things on campus, I wanted to write about the importance of this new start. It is a new year, a new semester, and A NEW DECADE! Everyone might be focused on the new years resolution, but I am here to spread some unpopular opinions. 

I hate the term New Year’s Resolution. It gives people the impression that whoever you were the year before just did not cut it. That is not true. New Year’s Resolutions are scary and tricky and hard to commit to. We all know this already. You don’t have to change who you are and all of your habits to have a good start to the semester. Don’t change everything about you in order to prove to your social media community that you are living your best life. I know how tempting it is to wake up on January 1st of every year and get a gym membership and go shopping for all veggies or other plant based products, but will that actually make you happier in the new year… or just broke?

I like to think of new years as a way to focus on myself for a few days. It is the new year and you are able to start fresh in some capacity. That does not mean you have to force yourself to go to the gym or to take on a new habit or lifestyle. Use this time for the new beginnings to focus on yourself. Make small achievable goals. For example, if you never went to the gym before why don’t you make it a goal this year to go on more walks or try a new fitness class. Small steps are the way to save your money and to achieve the big goals. Maybe your goal is to read more books, so start by getting a library card at your local library. Its noncommittal and cheaper than going head first into a bookstore. 

Another thing I want to mention is to not be so hard on yourself. If you hate what you are doing then stop doing it. If you need more of a challenge then add the challenge. Listen to your body and mind and don’t stress out that Karen from down the street is on a fancy new diet and you’re not. Save the stress, save money, and save your mental health this decade and choose to set you New Year’s Goal to do what makes you happy instead of what everyone else expects you to do.

 

I am a middle child of a single mom from Pittsburgh, PA. I am currently studying English as a major and Philosophy as a minor at the University of Akron. I love reading, writing, hiking, camping, doing community service, and hanging out with friends and family. I have a spunky kitty names Charlie who runs my life!
Madeline Myers is a 2020 graduate of the University of Akron. She has a B.A. English with a minor in Creative Writing. At Her Campus, Madeline enjoys writing movie and TV reviews. Her personal essay “Living Room Saloon” is published in the 2019 issue of The Ashbelt. Madeline grew up in Zanesville, Ohio. She loves quoting comedians, reading James Baldwin, and sipping on grape soda. She fears a future run by robots but looks forward to the day when her stories are read by those outside of her immediate family.