Every new year brings with it the chance to leave certain things behind and start afresh – to reflect on our behavior during the past year and make decisions to try to change, retain or let go of things in the coming year. This is exactly what the purpose of a New Year’s resolution is. With roots dating back 4000 years from the Romans to the Babylonians, a New Year’s resolution is a promise of self-improvement made to oneself while transitioning into the new year.
However, human routine is stubborn and breaking into it is hard. I have tried and failed. But as a force of habit, I made a few resolutions for myself this year and was curious to know what my fellow Bruins resolved to achieve in 2017.
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“Well, my new year’s resolution is to not fail so badly that I get kicked out of UCLA. So basically, get all A’s this year to counter my grades from last year.”
– Brian Cesson, first-year film and television student
“This year, I want to spend more time with my family.”
– Manan Mehta, first-year pre-business economics student
“I want to get an internship or a job this summer by talking to and networking with people who are interested in the same things as me. And I want to keep working towards achieving my goals and make sure I do not skip any step.”
– Jonathan Xu, a first-year pre-business economics student
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[Related: Strategies to actually fulfill your New Year’s resolutions]
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“My New Year’s resolution is to generally improve myself in certain aspects. This may be whether to do more adventurous things like skydiving or probably just reading more books!”
– Samir Ahmed, a third-year linguistics student
“My new year resolution is to be more actively involved in the community, and also to carve out a clearer path for my career.”
– Insiya Raja, a second-year political science and economics student
“My new year’s resolution is to spend more time with my friends. I’ve been so focused on school and work the last couple years I have lost some connections. This year I am setting aside certain days of the week to specifically focus on my friendships.”
– Jennifer Gethers, a fourth-year German and linguistics student
“My resolution is to go to the gym a lot and strengthen my knee since I have had three surgeries. I want the rehab exercise for me to feel comfortable and courageous enough to play soccer again, at least for fun.”
– Janavi Patel, a first-year biology student
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[Related: New Year’s resolutions for every UCLA athletic program]
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“My resolution is to reconnect with old friendships and maintain them. I am graduating this spring and the relationships I’ve built over the years are really important to me. So, I want to build up on them and stay close to them.”
– Cassie Arroyo, a fourth-year economics student
“My resolution for 2017 is eating an apple every day and drinking more water. I take an apple from the dining hall after lunch and eat it while walking to campus. Also, I bought a one liter bottle of water and I drink all of it twice a day. Let’s hope I can keep this up!”
– Eda Gokcebay, a first-year pre-business economics student
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In order to keep up with the fast pace of life, one has to constantly reinvent themselves. However, sometimes it is not the extent to which one changes that matters, but the act of recognizing that lifestyle change is important. Hearing the tall orders of resolutions students at UCLA have set for themselves, we’ll check back in fifth week to see whether these resolutions are being kept.