That time of year has come again: a couple weeks have passed since New Year’s, and your ambitious resolutions have fallen through. For me, my annual resolution to eat healthier has already fallen victim to Belgian chocolate. Too often, these resolutions lead to disappointment because we set our hopes too high. This month has five excruciating Mondays, so I figured we all need five ways to brighten up our lives a little. I’ve come up with some Mid-January resolutions that are a little easier to stick to while still delivering some pretty gratifying results:
1. Learn Something New
I recently signed up on DuoLingo, an app that lets you learn another language at your own pace. Right now I’m learning Dutch by practicing for 15 minutes a day, a far cry from Kenyon’s intensive intro language classes. Even if, like me, you don’t have a lot of time to spare, doing a little bit of whatever you want to learn every day can make a big difference without using up all of your time. Plus, learning something new can be really gratifying, especially if it’s something you’ve always wanted to try.
2. Keep Up with Friends
Whether it be friends from home, friends from the other side of campus, or friends in Mount Vernon, we’ve all let some connections slide in times of stress. I remember a few days at the end of last semester when I didn’t see anyone but my roommate because I was so obsessed with studying for finals and writing end-of-term papers. Over winter break, it was so nice to catch up with my friends from high school and to text my Kenyon friends every day. I can’t wait to see the latter every day in Gambier, and I’ll be trying to keep up better with the former than I did last semester.
3. Listen to Music You Actually Like
I’ve spent a lot of time listening to whatever was on the radio, but since I have been introduced to the beauty that is Spotify, I’m having a lot more fun listening to music I can choose. You don’t have to have Spotify or Pandora to enjoy the music you like (although I really recommend them), just don’t resign yourself to what everybody else is listening to. Last semester, for example, I found out that I really, genuinely, like Frank Ocean. Trust me, it makes your walk across campus a lot more enjoyable when your jam is always playing.
4. STOP PROCRASTINATING!
For many of us, school has already started back up for the spring semester. The first few assignments present a choice: do we dutifully complete them before the deadline, spending a little time every day to space out the work? Or do we wait until the last couple of hours, fueling our erratic burst of studying with shots of Five-Hour Energy and Village Market gummy bears? Plenty of students suffered from the ill-effects of procrastination last semester, but now the opportunity to reset our work schedules presents itself anew. In the end, completing assignments on time can make a world of difference in the amount of stress you’ll face this year.
5. Take Time to Be Appreciative
After spending four months here in 2016, I’ve decided that Kenyon is the best place on Earth (for me, at least). Even if you aren’t as embarrassingly obsessed with our college as I am, take a few minutes out of your day to acknowledge something about it that makes you happy. Maybe you had a great conversation with a professor at office hours. Maybe the eggplant parm exceeded all of its past iterations. Maybe you watched a movie with your roommate, or you took a nice picture of Middle Path. Whatever it is, don’t let these little moments pass by. We are at one of the best college campuses in the country, something I have to remind myself of at times. Last semester went by so fast, and I know that this semester will probably follow suit. Instead of letting it pass us by, let’s appreciate what we have in the moment.
These resolutions won’t help you lose weight or write a novel (or will they?), but even the little things can make the bleak midwinter a little brighter.