Colorful party hats, vibrant streamers, and picturesque balloons are all around. When the clock strikes 12 on January 1 people’s cheers mark the start of a brand new year. This start to a new year is also a time when  many individuals strive to maintain a new optimistic view to keep resolutions for the following year.

The start of a new year tends to be the ideal time for high school students to set new goals for themselves, but whether or not these personal milestones are realistic enough to be sustained is something that many struggle to realize.

Regular realistic resolutions

In an attempt to further improve her lacrosse skills, Em Davison, junior, told herself that she would work on her technique every day, however she struggled to to execute the goal.

“There was this one time that I made a resolution that I’d play lacrosse and do wall ball, where you take your lacrosse stick and a wall and pass back and forth with the wall, every single day,”  Davison said. “But, I’m not that motivated, it’s cold, [and] I don’t want to be outside when it’s snowing, so that lasted two days,”

In Davison’s experience, New Year’s resolutions that have lasted have been realistic,  but her goal to play lacrosse everyday was not-thus causing it to be unmaintainable.

“I think, for maintaining a resolution, [you have to] make it realistic because if it’s unrealistic it’s probably not going to happen. Reflecting on it every once in awhile and having easy ways you can check up on how you’re doing are key. In FAME we talk about smart goals, and a resolution is similar to goals in that aspect because you need to have ways you can measure [each of them],” Davison said.

Small habits stick

The promise to work out three to five days every week are types of resolutions that individuals like, Brianna Miller, sophomore, have kept in order to lead a more healthy and fit lifestyle.

“My New Year’s resolution is always to get fit. One year, I decided that I would become a gym person:  I would go to the gym and meet my friends there,”Miller said. “ I just thought that would be so cool, and we could all support each other. I don’t even have a YMCA membership [though, so it didn’t really work out.”

Miller’s experience with keeping a successful New Year’s resolution is based on how drastic the change of the resolution is going to be in one’s life.

“I think it depends on whether the resolution is more casual rather than a drastic difference you want to make in your life,” Miller said. “People are going to stick to the small resolutions that they make, especially ones that they can actually achieve in the span of a year or maybe even two.”

Go big or don’t bother!

In contrast to Miller, over the years on New year’s eve, Luke Moore, senior, has been able to implement some drastic fitness related resolutions to bring changes into his life.

“I used to lift a lot more freshman, sophomore, [and] some of my junior year. Freshman year I had a goal where I wanted to bench 135 pounds at a time, and then I’d move it up. I’d want to bench 155 pounds,” Moore said. “I got to where I could bench 210 pounds because I kept my goals to be at a slightly higher weight.”

Although he has been able to stick with this fitness goal,  Moore has had his own struggles with very unrealistic goals too.

“There was one time in middle school when I was trying to do this muscle gain diet. I was 135 pounds in eighth grade, and I was on a diet for a bodybuilder that was 225 pounds. I was eating 6000 calories a day. It lasted about five days, and I felt horrible. I mean, I could have cut [the amount of food I was eating] in two thirds, and I would have been fine. Honestly, I’m surprised I even stuck to it for five days!”

The balance between setting a goal that is easy to meet and one that is extremely unrealistic to maintain, is one that Moore says he has been able to address by keeping realistic resolutions that will stick for at least three months.

“It sounds super corny and cliche, but I think it’s important to accept who you are. There are always ways to better yourself,” Moore said. “You shouldn’t completely change yourself to something you don’t want to be to please everyone else.”