Students express troubles keeping their new year’s resolutions

It never fails. As soon as the New Year comes along, folks start bringing up their newly inspired resolutions and goals. I’m not sure what is it about a new year that makes people spring into a new person wanting new adventures, but it’s nothing to be ashamed of. There is nothing wrong with bettering yourself, even when you choose to do so every January.

These goals can range from making better grades, creating more useful habits, cutting down on social time with friends to just simply getting more rest. However, for many college students, if not all, one New Year resolution will always be to do or be better through the spring semester.

For some students, health is a key point at the start of each year. It makes sense, especially after a month of holiday food. For senior Tyler Pettigrew, sociology major from New Orleans, focusing on health was key to having a better, more efficient school year. The best goals, though, are the ones people actually keep and honor.

“Since the beginning of the year, I made a decision to eat much better and not stress as much throughout the school year,” Pettigrew said. “Just being simply happy this semester is one of my resolutions, which I think, for me, starts with health and trying to stay stress free as much as possible.”

Health is something that is vital to one’s happiness. According to the American Heart Association website, stress contributes to heart disease, which is the number one killer of Americans today. AHA also adds that stress may affect behaviors and factors that increase heart disease risk such as high blood pressure, cholesterol levels, smoking, physical inactivity and overeating.

Others students focused less on health, and instead decided to delete things out of their lives. Sometimes, the most toxic things holding students back from their full academic and personal endeavors could be who and what they surround themselves with. Many students could be much happier simply by deleting some acquaintances from the equation.

This can be very challenging, especially when you have to leave someone you’re close to behind. Junior Ciera Eugene, secondary education major from Laplace, believes leaving some people in 2016 would help her have a clearer, successful year both academically and personally.

“I have to do better at surrounding myself around positivity, and keeping people who do not add positivity away and out of my life,” Eugene said.

Surrounding yourself with positive and supportive individuals is a great way to keep your spirits high throughout the semester. When people around you think you are capable of doing great things, you begin to think similarly. This is a great way to live happily and successfully accomplish your goals and aspirations.

College tends to become pretty stressful, but don’t let things get in the way of your goals that you set at the beginning of the year. Problems are going to occur, but it is how you face those adversities through the year and semester that matter.