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For senior Hailey Chen, finals meant frequent naps in the afternoon coming back from school followed by long hours of studying late at night. She felt herself slipping into a cycle, and caffeine was the only solution. Coffee became more than just an energy boost for her — she relied on it to keep her awake. Despite acing her exams, she soon felt many of the adverse effects taking a toll on her health, making it harder to rest when she needed to.
“I’d be most productive between 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. to midnight,” Chen said. “But then came the revenge bedtime procrastination where I’d just stay up because I couldn’t sleep, and I’d end up watching random YouTube videos instead of getting anything productive done.”
Chen sought to stick to her resolution by adhering to a strict rule: no caffeine after 3 p.m. She says matcha or black tea would be her choice in the morning or afternoon, and as the year progressed, she would drink coffee, but only before 3 p.m.
Despite her rule, Chen still experienced many of the downsides of her intake, often having difficulty going to bed until the early hours of the morning. This compelled her to make her New Year’s resolution, which she says has been largely successful so far.
“I plan my day more accordingly around my natural energy dips and peaks and plan my sleep around that,” Chen said. “I think it’s a very important part of time management. I drink coffee now maybe once or twice a month. Otherwise, it’s just tea, and I’ve been sticking to it pretty well.”
For Chen, New Year’s resolutions are a relatively new but valuable practice. She only began taking them seriously in her junior year but has found them to be an effective way to achieve meaningful change.
“So far, they’ve been working,” Chen said. “I think resolutions are a great way to practice setting and achieving long-term goals. If people can handle big responsibilities like managing finances or rent, then sticking to a New Year’s resolution should be easy work for them.”
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English teacher Melissa Clark’s New Year’s resolution spans back to a friendly reading competition with her husband years ago. Initially, Clark just wanted to read more books than her husband, but it quickly became more about filling her time with reading instead of scrolling on her phone.
“Instead of doing that, I could read for 40 minutes instead,” Clark said. “With all the time I’ve lost, I wanted to recenter myself with something that I’m passionate about.”
Since then, Clark’s resolutions have been similar from year to year: to read more for fun, and ideally, to read more books than the previous year. Each Christmas, Clark and her husband buy each other books that the other wouldn’t normally read — ranging from science fiction books to young adult novels.
“I know as an English teacher, I should be reading all the time, but sometimes I get home tired and I don’t want to read anymore, so I’m trying to push myself back into reading,” Clark said. “I have to teach very serious novels, and I don’t want to read them for fun sometimes, so I’ll read some silly fantasy books, or my husband will find me a graphic novel or something like that to read.”
However, time constraints and family responsibilities have significantly impacted Clark’s ability to read as much as she’d like. Since becoming a parent about a year ago, she has found it harder to make time for reading amidst her busy schedule.
“I have a daughter now, so ever since having her, my list has significantly dropped just because I don’t have as much time,” Clark said. “When I do have time, I don’t want to do it because I’m tired. Last year, I did not read as many books as I wanted to, but I’m still like, ‘Hey, I did it.’ I think making a little progress now is still just important.”
Clark believes resolutions are helpful and attainable, but it’s first a matter of making sure that a resolution is specific and realistic from the start. She also emphasizes the importance of accepting potential failure and being able to adapt and move on.
“Be flexible and be understanding with yourself, and just know if it’s something that you really want to do, you’ll probably end up doing it,” Clark said. “Any little step in your resolution is better than doing nothing at all. So putting in a little bit of time and effort into something you really want to do is important.”
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AP Government and Politics and U.S. History teacher Ben Recktenwald holds a very different perspective about New Year’s resolutions: he believes they are less about self-improvement and more about setting oneself up for frustration.
“I feel that New Year’s resolutions are just asking to disappoint yourself,” Recktenwald said. “I’ve read and heard in numerous places that gyms in America see a huge surge of people joining around New Year’s, and then a month later, they all quit. So why would I put myself through that grief? If I want to change something about myself, I don’t have to wait for Jan. 1 to do it.”
Recktenwald says his belief also stems from personal experience. Before COVID-19, Recktenwald fell into the same pattern he critiques, getting a gym membership at the beginning of the year.
“I was one of those people, and then by February, I was like, ‘What the hell am I doing?’” Recktenwald said. “I’d been to the gym maybe once in all of January. I realized how much money I was wasting — hundreds of dollars a year — and decided it wasn’t worth it. Honestly, I wasn’t going to go, and I knew it.”
For Recktenwald, the difficulty lies in forming good habits, a challenge he feels isn’t unique to him since he believes good habits are much harder to build than to break. He says developing consistency, whether it’s with exercise or something as small as flossing, is a universal struggle that isn’t solved by setting goals at an arbitrary date.
Instead of focusing on rigid resolutions, Recktenwald values a more flexible and forgiving approach to self-improvement. While he doesn’t follow a formal system for achieving goals, he believes in addressing issues as they arise, adapting as needed rather than sticking to an inflexible plan.
“If I realize I’m doing something kind of stupid, I’ll try to figure out how to stop,” Recktenwald said. “But I don’t have a system for achieving goals. Maybe that’s why I’m not great at sticking to things.”
Despite his own misgivings, Recktenwald supports others who embrace New Year’s resolutions. For him, it’s a personal choice. If someone finds value in setting goals for the new year, he’s happy to support their efforts, even if it’s not a method he finds effective for himself.
“Everyone’s free to make their own decisions,” Recktenwald said. “If someone tells me about their New Year’s resolution, I’ll make small talk and say, ‘That’s cool.’ I’m not going to call them an idiot for trying.”
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Senior Ronak Shenoy’s New Year’s resolution provides him an opportunity to reflect on his behavior. This year, Shenoy has set his sights on a unique challenge: cutting out swearing and being more aware of his language.
“Sometimes I use strong language to express my emotions when I really shouldn’t,” Shenoy said. “It’s unprofessional, it’s unclean and there are better ways to handle your emotions. Just thinking about what you want to say really helps your relationships with people.”
Shenoy’s motivation stems from a desire to create a more respectful and professional atmosphere in his interactions, whether with elders or younger kids. To ensure he stays on track, Shenoy has devised a practical plan with the help of his friends.
“I have some friends from church, and we keep each other in check when we hang out,” Shenoy said. “But for myself, I try to pause for just one second before I say something and review what I’m about to say to make sure I’m not saying anything crazy.”
Despite his progress, Shenoy admits that sticking to his resolution hasn’t been without its challenges. Specifically, when playing sports or getting hurt, he sometimes still impulsively says words he does not desire to and later regrets. However, Shenoy says finding substitute words has resulted in significant progress.
This marks the first time Shenoy has taken a New Year’s resolution seriously, and he sees it as an important step toward self-improvement, noting the positive effects of his resolution.
“When I talk to my parents or elders, it creates a more respectful atmosphere if I’m able to speak without swearing,” Shenoy said. “And when I’m around kids, I don’t have to worry about accidentally saying something I shouldn’t. Now I can just focus on setting a good example for them.”