It’s a common idea that when people say they are committing to starting the new year with New Year’s Resolutions, they end up following them. According to LifeProtect 24/7 in their article about new year’s resolutions, only about 31% of people end up sticking to their resolutions, and 81% admit to having failed by February. 

Most people normally make resolutions in hope of reflecting on past mistakes and wanting to improve, having clear goals in mind, and a general idea of what you hope to accomplish is important when wanting to improve and change one’s ways.   

Miss Downey Princess, Miah Mount, 11, in 2023 plans to change her mindset by challenging herself more and more every day. She is wholeheartedly committed to following through with her goals. She would also want to refrain from doing anything that goes against her beliefs to help her stay motivated and have a positive mindset. She was able to realize what her struggles were and hopes to overcome them this year. 

“Something I struggled with was being around people/ friends that encourage me and treat me with the same respect and love that I give in return,” says Mount. “I am also going to consistently attend church and surround myself with people who build me up instead of breaking me down, and support me.”

FTA vice president and sophomore class secretary, Aolanis  Navarro, 10, hopes to manage her time better, have a better sleeping schedule, and find a passion this year. She also wants to look into possibly joining a sport to see if that could be her passion. Navarro plans to see life in a different way because she realized that there’s more to life than just having a good career. As well as Mount, she hopes to come over her struggles of the past year.

 “One thing I struggled with is controlling my emotions. I’ve had difficult moments in the past years and controlling my emotions is where I lack, and I feel like I need to take breaks with things like friends or school to not overwhelm myself, and keep myself in control,” says Navarro. Her quote of the year is from Albert Einstein, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid’ his words are so powerful and very much so true.”

Michale Ochoa, junior, inspires to try to be active this year. Admitting to spending a lot of time inside, staring at computer screens, he wants to start to spend more time outside. Ochoa, like many people nowadays, feels like he spends too much of his time on his technology and hopes to change that. 

“My new year solution is to try and spend a bit more time outside. And to help with my goal, I’m taking my dog for a walk more often.” Ochoa says. “Last year, I struggled with spending too much of my day looking at computer screens. I will change this year by hopefully disconnecting while I am outside. I am wholeheartedly following my resolution because my parents are helping me stick to it.” 

While there’s no telling if someone will actually manage to successfully come out of the year with accomplished resolutions, it’s important to try, not completely giving up on your goals if you slip up a little bit.