Her Campus Logo Her Campus Logo
jakob owens SaO8RBYC0bs unsplash?width=719&height=464&fit=crop&auto=webp
jakob owens SaO8RBYC0bs unsplash?width=398&height=256&fit=crop&auto=webp
/ Unsplash
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at WMU chapter.

Everyone says “New Year New Me” every single year, and eventually they end up being the same exact person they were last year. They don’t stick to any of their resolutions, they don’t cut any people off that did them wrong, and they don’t change. I’m here to tell everyone that not vowing to change is okay, too.

 

If you don’t feel like you’re not the best person you should be, then maybe you should change. But if those changes you need to make are only subtle changes, then you can still be the same you that you’ve always been.

 

Examples of subtle changes include vowing to eat healthier, writing in your journal more often, doing your homework earlier, etc. These are changes that won’t change you into a “New You” and therefore will let you keep your personality, friends, and extracurriculars without changing them.

 

Examples of changes that can change you into a “New You” include cutting every bad friend off, completely switching a diet or religion, changing your hair and entire wardrobe, and moving houses/schools. These are all things that can individually change your personality and mindset, and could possibly make the year worse off for you, instead.

 

Here’s why: when you commit to a goal like those above, there’s no way to track the progress you’re making. Cutting every ‘bad’ friend off at once might hurt you more in the long run since you have no one to lean on during the friend breakup. Switching into a complete new diet could potentially harm your body and make you skeptical about trying a diet again. Chopping your hair off and buying a wardrobe you initially liked but now don’t will just make you regret doing them. Every action has a consequence, and not everyone thinks about them when they begin.

 

So do yourself a favor, and set reasonable goals for the New Year.

I'm studying English and Art at Western Michigan University. I aspire to be an author. I want to move to Australia after college. I love reading, writing, and working out. My favorite artists include Eminem, Red Hot Chili Peppers. Highly Suspect, Modern Baseball, and The Front Bottoms. I currently waitress, but I'm hoping to get an internship next summer for editing. I'm from Paw Paw, a small town about half way between Kalamazoo and South Haven. My favorite season is summer, because that's when my birthday is. 
Johanna is the campus correspondent for the WMU chapter and a senior at Western Michigan University. She is studying journalism and political science. She hopes to spend her life writing and influencing the world around her with her words. A member of the Western Michigan University Marching Band, Johanna has been in love with music for as long as she can remember and tries to balance out her busy life between writing and playing music.