New Year, New Me (Until Half Term): Why New Year’s Resolutions Actually Matter – Holly L
As January rolls around inevitably each year, the same ancient tradition repeats itself. Someone announces that they are ‘turning their life around’, another promises to wake up at 6am every morning, and at least three people claim that they won’t ever be late to roll cal again. But by February, most of these resolutions are quietly buried, forgotten, never to be spoken of again.
So the real question is, why do we bother?
New Year’s resolutions have gained a reputation for being unrealistic promises that we make while half asleep during the Christmas holidays. They are often viewed as pointless, doomed to fail, or simply another excuse to buy a new planner. But perhaps the real problem isn’t the resolutions themselves, it’s how we misunderstand them.
A resolution is not meant to transform you into a completely different person overnight, it just won’t. Despite popular belief, you do not wake on January 1st and suddenly be motivated, organised, and everything else in between. (If you do, please tell us how). Real resolutions are not about perfection; they are about intention.
At school, time moves strangely. Weeks blur together, days are measured by what it is for lunch, and life often feels like an endless cycle of prep and lessons. In that sense, the New Year offers something rare: a break. A chance to take a breath and decide what you want to change, even slightly.
Resolutions don’t have to be dramatic. They can be as small as getting more sleep, putting your phone down before bed, or deciding to actually complete your prep earlier than the night before the deadline. These are not headline worthy goals, but they are realistic ones, and those are the resolutions that last.
There is also something hopeful about the idea of starting again. The New Year reminds us that mistakes from last term don’t define us forever. You can grow, improve, and yes, fail and try again. Even if your resolution lasts only until Mid-January, it still meant that you cared enough to want change.
So maybe New Year’s resolutions aren’t about becoming a ‘new you’. Maybe they’re about becoming a slightly better version of the same, tired, overworked student that you were last term, just with a bit more intention and slightly fewer late preps.
And if all else fails, you can always make the safest resolution of all: Survive the year. Honestly, that one is ambitious enough anyway.
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