New Year’s resolutions often don’t stick. I myself have promised to eat an apple a day, watch less TV, and dedicate more time to practicing a foreign language. And yet, by the end of January, I spend my weekends eating popcorn while watching playoff football and speaking primarily in English, even during Spanish class. Nevertheless, along with my peers, I continue to make resolutions before the ball drops in Times Square each year.
So long as I don’t fail Psychology, I’ll be headed away from home next fall, and I hope to spend as much time eating my mom’s cookies as possible. Senior Phoebe Krueger expressed a similar sentiment saying, “I want to spend more time with my family before leaving for college and make the most of the time I have left with them.”
While some seniors will hold onto the things they love in the upcoming year, others will try to relax and let go. “Next year, I want to learn to accept the things that come my way,” senior Carmen Pastrana said. “I can’t control every outcome in my life, and I want to be okay and comfortable with that, especially when things don’t go how I expected them to.” I, for one, will try not to let the Bears’ unexpectedly terrible season ruin my spring.
Of course, there are still students adapting to life in the Upper School who hope to make the most of their short time at Latin. “My New Year’s resolution is to connect with new people and take advantage of new opportunities I have as a freshman in sports and academics,” freshman Ariel Goodman said.
I also encountered Latin students who, like myself, went with more traditional lifestyle resolutions. Sophomore Cristiano Tricoci said, “I want to spend more time focusing on my school work,” while his older brother and senior Luca said, “I am going to try and be on my phone less.” Freshman Daisy Krueger said, “My resolution will be going to bed earlier since I’ve found myself napping a lot this year.” Like Daisy, I have begun taking midday power naps this semester, but it is actually one of my goals to continue that trend.
Another popular self-betterment activity that people all across the globe make their resolution is working out more. Latin is no different, as I met students who hope to focus more on athletics and personal health. Sophomore Marlo Leik said, “I want to work on my serve and play more tennis,” and junior Charlie Steffen “would like to spend 15 minutes before bed each night stretching and foam rolling to stay away from injuries.”
However, not everyone believes in using 2023 as a reason to promise themselves a new way of thinking. Senior William Bremen said, “Generally, it seems New Year’s resolutions are just a bad, temporary excuse to change.”
Senior Jake Pollock agreed. When I asked for his resolution, he said, “I don’t have one, I already do everything I want to do. Alpha male.”
Whether you believe in using the new year as a means for self-improvement or not, everyone can agree that senior Anton Schuster’s resolutions are keys to life for anyone.
“Practice mindfulness: Life can make you anxious sometimes, so I should be more grateful for what I have in the moment.
“Start new hobbies: it’s second-semester senior year, so I don’t have many responsibilities. I already have plenty of passions, but why not try or expand on the ones I have? Instead of piano, I’ll try guitar; Instead of Taekwondo, I’ll try Jiu-Jitsu; Instead of baking, I’ll try cooking.
“Read more: Pretty simple. The only book I read for pleasure is the yearbook, and I’ve never read a book for class. I don’t want to read books like 45 Rules of Power, but rather classics or philosophical books like Don Quixote, The Stranger, and Into the Wild.
“Start working on my future: I’m a big boy now. I have lots of career goals in mind for myself; it’s time to start working towards them.”
The students I encountered, especially Anton, have inspired me to give New Year’s resolutions another shot. Maybe I’ll follow through with my plan to try a new food each week, or maybe I’ll revert to eating buttered noodles daily, but at least I’ll give it a try. Happy New Year Latin, and good luck with those resolutions!