At the end of every year, thousands of people across America make promises to themselves that they will fulfill the wishes they desire. The start of the New Years serves as an opportunity for many to set new goals and create better habits.
Some common New Year’s resolutions are to lose weight, save money, learn new skills or hobbies and travel more. Junior Birkle Smith falls under one of these categories, with her previous New Year resolution to begin save money and stop spending it on clothes.
“I didn’t spend any money on clothes for all January, but by February I was bored of my clothes and wanted more,” Smith said.
Smith feels that it’s hard not to spend a lot of money on clothes in the winter because of how expensive hoodies and good quality pants are.
“I don’t know why I thought I could meet my goal since one of my favorite things is buying clothes,” she said.
Smith concluded that this year’s resolution is going to be more realistic and easier for her to make it come true.
On the other hand, junior Joey Kelly was able to maintain his resolution. Kelly’s goal was to spend more time with family and friends. He believed he was distant due to his rigorous classes and video games.
“I used to use all my free time just playing video games,” said Kelly. “But since the start of 2025 I really have been going out with my friends every weekend instead of staying inside playing video games.”
Kelly tried his best to focus on his homework on the weekdays so he would have more time to have fun on the weekends.
“Before I made my New Year resolution, I would just tell myself I would just finish my homework on the weekend, which left me no time to be with my friends on the weekend,” he said.
Making New Year’s resolutions are highly common, but it seems that students that are more emotionally tied and dedicated to their goals, have a better chance of achieving them. Kelly succeeded at his goal, while Smith had a harder time because of her tendencies and previous habits. When making new years goals for 2026, students should focus on making achievable and realistic goals to get the best outcome.
