It’s January at Northwestern, and the ‘Cats are returning to campus with renewed energy. As the new year begins, some students are setting resolutions for 2024 — while others resolutely avoid doing so.
Weinberg senior Jacob Platnick said he has sworn off New Year’s resolutions.
“Back in 2018, I resolved not to make any more New Year’s resolutions, and I’ve kept to it,” Platnick said. “I try to reflect on the past and look forward to the future regardless of New Years.”
He said he didn’t think he was going to keep unattainable resolutions, so he was better off not making them at all.
Weinberg junior Saya Ryan has a different method to making resolutions. On Dec. 31 of every year since 2020, Ryan said she recorded a video of her answers to the same set of questions. She said it helps her reflect on how she has changed in the past year and transition into the new one.
Ryan is a transfer student and came to NU this year, meaning she has only spent one quarter on campus. Her New Year’s resolution is to explore Chicago.
She said the effectiveness of New Year’s resolutions depends on the person.
“It can be productive if that’s what works for people,” Ryan said. “But if they’re just doing it without much thought, and they don’t actually stick to it, I don’t necessarily think it’s that productive.”
Some say the most effective new year’s resolutions are SMART goals, which Forbes describes as specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. By establishing these parameters, Forbes says, people can find more focus in their goal-setting.
Weinberg freshman Daphine Mutangabende has some specific academic goals, but she also has some fun intentions set for her second quarter on campus.
“One of my New Year’s resolutions is to get better grades and be more organized, so I’m being more intentional about my calendars and stuff like that,” Mutangabende said.
She said she also hopes to spend more time in Chicago on the weekends instead of focusing solely on her classes. To do it all, she said staying organized is key.
“I feel like moving into a new environment first quarter was a little bit hard for me,” Mutangabende said. “I was new to all these things, so it felt a lot like pressure. But I feel now that I’m a little bit more organized and intentional about how I’m going about my classes and my life. I think it should be easy. I hope, actually.”
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