Welcome back everyone! School is officially in session; you’ve moved into your new dorm, campus is bustling, and you’ve seen all your friends. Now it’s time to get back to your regular routine from last year! Or maybe not. Maybe you had one too many drinks, didn’t do enough homework, skipped a few classes, didn’t work out at the gym enough. Then so what?
Well if you are like me and want some things to change this school year, make yourself a New School Year’s Resolution, or even more ambitiously, a New School Year’s Resolution List. The following list is my personal list for the 2017-18 school year, but it doesn’t have to be yours. Only you know what you need to change and make this school year more productive and rewarding for yourself.
#1- ADVOCATE FOR MYSELF
First and foremost, I need to stick up for myself more, which is something I’ve struggled with my whole life. I hate to be someone who “makes a big deal” out of things or causes confrontation of any kind. It can get to the point where if I accidentally order a small coffee instead of a regular and notice it right away, I don’t correct myself because the order had already been typed in, and I don’t want to ask the employee to re-do it. I often let others choose what to do or where to go, whether it’s friends, family, or people I’ve just met. I’m a really dependable person, and sometimes others can take advantage of that, and I let them. I need to remember that my time is just as important as everyone else’s, and that I have to do things that are important to me. I’m deciding that this will be the year I follow myself, not anyone else.
#2- PROCRASTINATION
My second biggest problem last year was procrastination. I would procrastinate for hours on end, alone or with friends. The only reason I felt I could do this was because I knew I would finish all my work, whether it was at 3 p.m. or 3 a.m. This isn’t healthy at all, especially if I have an early class the next day, or I’m eating lots of food to keep myself awake. I want to create a better sleep schedule for myself and hopefully this will give me more energy throughout the day and make mornings more manageable.
#3- GETTING FIT
I hate exercising so, so, much, but last semester a friend and I were able to go about once a week for many weeks. I was also involved with a club sport that I’d like to be more active in, so this goal can go hand-in-hand with the second one. If I have more time, I would really like to exercise more and become more involved with the club sport in order to get fit or at least get closer than I got last year. I want to become better at exercising, and, like becoming good at any skill, I need to practice.
These are my top three New School Year Resolutions, which I will continually remind myself of over the course of this semester. Hopefully we can all get through the first semester without cheating on our resolutions!