Emma Frate, sophomore, said she has never followed through with a New Year’s resolution. Her most recent resolution fell through because she neglected to dedicate the time to it. She said resolutions are an excellent idea, but aren’t worth the effort for the most part.

“[Resolutions] are used to motivate people through the year, but [people] end up forgetting about them,” Frate said. “[Resolutions] can be a way to keep [your] habits [that you had] before, but say you’ll change for the new year.”

According to Inside Out Mastery, “43% of [U.S. citizens] expect to give up on their goals by February.” Furthermore, only 9% maintain devotion to their resolutions throughout the year.

Frate said she has never had the motivation to continue a resolution through the year. She realized the idea of resolutions is not as appealing if they require work before the new year begins.

“I said I was going to clean up my room or organize my closet [this year],” Frate said. “[But] I always forgot because it required work beforehand, like buying hangers and things [similar to that], to accomplish it.” 

Hannah Barthelmass, sophomore, said New Year’s resolutions can be used to frame next year’s mindset. She believes this aspect of resolutions is rewarding and said resolutions can increase productivity throughout the year.

“It’s good to have something to look forward to, for your future,” Barthelmass said. “It’s like a stepping stone to help you plan your year.”

Although Barthelmass believes it is nice to have something compelling to foreshadow one’s year, she admits that most people use resolutions to procrastinate. She said she used to stall her goals in previous years, and this past year was no exception.

“I said that I’d get my homework done on time as my 2022 New Year’s resolution,” Barthelmass said. “[However], my homework is [still] not done on time.”

Ebba Schroeder, junior, believes New Year’s resolutions can be helpful as long as they are prepared thoughtfully and display a clear-cut purpose. She thinks that if it is distinct and achievable, then it is worthwhile to try and follow through with it.

“If you say ‘do 10 pushups every day’, there’s a better chance you’ll follow through with it,” Schroeder said. “If you just say ‘exercise more’, then you’re [probably] not going to do it.”

Schroeder said this past year she attempted to follow through with her resolution. However, she stopped after a month and didn’t get the result she was looking for.

“It was a lot of work,” Schroeder said. “After a while, I didn’t want to [dedicate the time] to it anymore.”

According to a poll by TKC, 39% of KHS students have New Year’s resolutions for 2023 while 61% do not. Schroeder said even though it’s easy to give up on resolutions, the idea is still nice. She said good intentions can lead to successful results.

“I think resolutions are helpful as long as you do them right,” Schroeder said. “As long as they’re specific and attainable, I think they can be really successful.”

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