Every year we make New Year’s resolutions. However, our annual inability to uphold these resolutions has started to defeat the purpose of making them in the first place.

After experiencing years and years of neglected and forgotten resolutions,I have come to question what the point of these New Year’s resolutions have become.

We all make our resolutions in order to better ourselves, but as the months slip, our resolutions can fade. Maybe there is a lack of time; too much stress or you just plain forgot.

No matter how great, or bad, New Year’s eve goes, the majority of us wake up in the morning with not just a hangover, but the hopes of changing something about ourselves. 

After asking fellow students and friends, I started to notice a pattern: People are oddly pessimistic when it comes to their resolutions.

“Most people seem to set unrealistic expectations and then continually fail to meet them until they quit entirely,” said alumna Melissa Renfro. “Though the New Year is just as good a time as any to resolve to change yourself for the better, what about the other 364 days a year?”

The problem with a set day to modify ourselves is instead of deciding to make these choices for ourselves, we are stuck in the habit of needing to make a resolution because that is just what you do on New Year’s.

Although it is always good to start making a change for the better, no one should have to wait until New Year’s to decide to make a change. Another pitfall is it gives people an easy excuse to delay their decision until New Year’s. 

“The reason I did not make a resolution this year is because I feel like you can make goals any time of the year to improve yourself,” said Shante Nwanaebi, a junior government, criminal justice major. 

When we make resolutions, we need to make them for ourselves and only us.

If you want to lose weight, lose it for you – not the hot guy in English class. If you want to quit smoking, quit for the right reasons so that you can keep that promise to yourself not just for the year, but also for life.

“It’s a good way to get something started,” said Alex Jacobson, junior business major. “It gives you an excuse to get started.” 

However there is a way to make sure one veers away from making a resolution that will be broken.

Throw away your traditional view of New Year’s resolutions. They are dated and inefficient. Think about your resolution beforehand and pick one that actually inspires you to follow it. Do not go with one of the trendy resolution, it defeats the purpose of making one in the first place. 

It’s a waste of time to wait all year for Jan. 1 to roll around in order to make a change. If you see something in yourself you wish to change, there should be no specific date set for you to change it.

Resolutions are meant to empower and give us the opportunity to change. They can be worthwhile, so long as we change our perception of what the point of a resolution is and most importantly, do not treat them like a favorite trend that comes and goes with the seasons.

Instead of falling for the quick answer when someone asks what your resolution is, do not be ashamed to say I did not make one. Any day is just as good as Jan. 1 to alter some habit about yourself that irks you.

Chanel Saidi can be reached at [email protected]