Every year people come up with goals for the next year. Working out, getting better grades, and eating better are common resolutions. It seems like a good idea but we often seem to forget all of our resolutions once the new year starts. We also tend to set insanely high expectations for ourselves, making it harder to reach our goal. It seems more common that we ditch our resolutions than to follow them through. However, there are some Oakton students who are determined to follow their resolutions thorough.

“My new year’s resolution is to be more kind to the people around me,” said Sam Lesser (9). “My motivation is that I want to make a person smile everyday.” said Lesser. It’s good that we all make resolutions every year because they can help us grow to become better people, And in some cases improve the lives of others. “I don’t have a plan on how I will keep up with my resolution but I am going to try my best,” said Lesser.

Zoe Sauger (9) is one Oakton student who plans on following her resolution through. “My resolution is to save my money, and not spend it all at the mall,” shared Sauger. “I’ve done new year’s resolutions before but they never work out,” said Sauger. It is better that we try and set our goals small so that we have a better chance of achieving them. “I’m going to achieve this goal by setting up a bank account for myself and not bringing all my money with me to the mall so I don’t feel eager to spend it all,” said Sauger. By setting a realistic goal you are helping yourself succeed. There are ways you can make sure that your goal is right for you.

In elementary school, one of the things we focused on was goal setting and the best way to achieve a personal and academic goal. We were told to create S.M.A.R.T goal. A S.M.A.R.T.  goal is a goal that is specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timebound.  You start by creating a plan of how you will maintain your goal. You set it up so that it is specific to you and your needs. You make sure it is attainable by not putting too much on your plate and making sure you will be able to accomplish your goal while still challenging yourself. This goes along with the realistic portion, and making sure that your goal is not so crazy that you won’t be able to achieve it. Lastly is the time bound part, you need to be sure that your goal can be accomplished in the near future.  If you make sure that your goal fits that criteria it should be that much easier to accomplish it. No matter what method you use to accomplish your goal if you try your best you will succeed. What matters the most is that you have a healthy and happy year.

Although many people don’t plan on making resolutions for the new year they can be important. The new year is a fresh start where you can be the new and improved version of yourself. You get to start over and be the person you really want to be. No matter is you achieve your goal or not what matters is that you tried. It sounds cliche but it’s true. By being brave enough to try something new and maybe step out of your comfort zone you are becoming a stronger person.