By Destinee Tyler Scott

Opinion Editor

I think it’s pretty safe to say that I’ve made a lot of bad decisions this year. Between planning for the future to my dating life, I haven’t put much thought into anything. Spontaneity became my best friend this year, and although it may have been fun for the time being, it’s not a lifestyle I can live forever. So, as 2019 ends and 2020 begins, I think it’s time for me to get back to my roots and I believe many people can relate. 

Throughout college, many students get caught up trying to navigate their new lives and exercise their newfound independence while also trying to find themselves. Sometimes it’s easy to get lost or completely erase what you already know and value. Whether that’s prioritizing your schoolwork over your social life or even suddenly questioning whether or not you actually like your major. Sometimes these looming decisions and thoughts make us forget who we are which can build up and lead us to make the wrong choices throughout the year. 

A new year allows us to reclaim our roots by reminding us why we’re on a certain path. It makes us take a step back and analyze all the things we did over the past year and all the decisions we’ve made. I’ve already gotten a head start on this process and have begun taking steps that I feel will get me back to my happiest and healthiest self, like finally scheduling a gynecologist exam and making an effort to make new friends. Although these are small steps, they will have a big outcome — so if you’re anywhere on the same boat with me, take small steps to begin reclaiming your roots in the new year.

By Dana Livingston

Staff

I am convinced that, although the holiday season brings the world lots of joy as we get closer and closer to the new year, it also leads up to the time of year when we lie to ourselves the most.

As the end of this decade quickly approaches, I’ve started to look back at 2019 and my life as a whole. The end of December has always been a time during which I reflect on the year and the type of person that I would like to be in the future. For me, as is the case for many people, part of the process of becoming the person that I’d like to be in the near future is making a New Year’s resolution. What goal or standard would I like to set for myself this year?

But here’s my problem with New Year’s resolutions; many times we set goals as our resolutions that are unrealistic. We tell ourselves, “new year, new me,” although it takes more than a year to become the person that you may want to be.

In my eyes, most resolutions, due to their unrealistic nature, only lead to a future sadness that comes around right about the end of December when looking back on what I wanted to accomplish. Sure, goals within set time frames are healthy and may be realistic, but a year is oftentimes not enough time to complete a goal aimed at changing your life.

No, you probably won’t find the love of your life within a year or start living a stress-free life because life really doesn’t work out that way. It would be more realistic to try and take the stairs every so often or eat a fruit or vegetable a day. But what I’m really saying is, let’s make our “resolutions” to stop waiting for a new month or a new year to turn over a new leaf. Grab hold of the reins of life today and steer yourself in the direction you’d like to go.

By Sara Rodia 

Staff

Every year countless people make New Year’s resolutions, and every year countless people break those New Year’s resolutions by the end of January. I’m not going to lie, I tend to be one of these people, but this year my goal is to make a New Year’s resolution and actually stick to it, and I encourage all of you to do the same.

New Year’s resolutions are really a fantastic concept. Everyone has habits, activities, etc. that they’d like to change or something that they’d like to accomplish, so setting a New Year’s resolution to try and change or accomplish something in the new year is a fantastic idea. 

My New Year’s resolution this year is going to be to try more new foods. I’m a pretty picky eater — think about the most basic foods and that’s essentially what I eat — which inspired the idea for my resolution.

Another key point as to why I am making this my resolution this year is that I am studying abroad next semester. One of the biggest parts of learning about a new culture is the food, so I want to broaden my horizons by trying new foods in the places I visit!

This resolution is something that will benefit me and is actually attainable. Making a resolution that is attainable is an important part of creating a New Year’s resolution. You’re much more likely to keep a resolution that isn’t too far-fetched than you are to keep one that is.

A New Year’s resolution is a great way to achieve something you’ve wanted or fix an action or habit you’ve been meaning to fix, so going into 2020 I implore you to make and keep a New Year’s resolution!