I’m not really a fan of New Year’s resolutions. Let’s be honest: most of the time they don’t work, and all you hear is how long someone kept it up before they couldn’t anymore. The most common ones are always the same every year, and it seems like the only topic on any radio station right after the new year begins. What’s worse is that the most common ones are always the same as the ones that are most commonly broken. People just can’t seem to keep doing what they’ve resolved to do for more than even a couple weeks.

New Year’s is really just an excuse. A promise that everyone can make to themselves each year that they know isn’t going to happen. In all reality, if a person really wanted to undergo some type of self-improvement, they wouldn’t wait until January 1, they would make a change every day for all 365 days in the year. It’s dumb. The concept that someone can just wake up one day and be changed from a simple thought they had. It’s ridiculously absurd. That being said, let me tell you about my first and probably last New Year’s resolution.

Don’t get me wrong, I still don’t think they’re a great idea and that they work even a small portion of the time. But this realization for me was sparked by more than just a whim and the thought of a new year; it just happened to be around the time where I figured, why not give this whole resolution thing a try for once and see what happens? The spark for this one time plan came from a conversation I was having with a friend. His comment that made me think so much about this was that he doesn’t really enjoy waking up each morning. He’d rather not wake up at all and just continue to just sleep. Now, this may sound like a depression issue, but I assure you that in context it really wasn’t. But still, that’s kind of depressing in itself. The fact that someone wouldn’t be excited for a fresh start to a day is alarming. How can you not want to wake up and live a new day? A day you’ll never get back and a day that’s different than any other you’ll ever wake up to again. So because this conversation took place a very short time before the new year, I made it my resolution to enjoy waking up. Enjoy the feeling of tiredness as my alarm clock makes the most annoying sounds ending my slumber.

I kind of have a new appreciation of alarm clocks now. While they used to be the sound that forced me to get up and begin an hour of complete grogginess in which I could hardly perform basic functions, they now represent something different for me. They represent a new day. A new twenty four hours to do whatever I want and try to make a difference. I don’t really mind that whole feeling of tiredness in the morning now, and what’s more, I don’t really feel it as much either. When I wake up and have to reach over to pound on my alarm clock, I’m ready for the day so much faster. I’m still no morning person by any means, but at least I’ve come to appreciate that the beginning of the day is just the start to another piece of the puzzle.

So I guess my point is appreciating the days. Cliché is probably an understatement, but then again, when isn’t a New Year’s resolution? I’m still not a fan of them by a long shot, but I’ve come to realize that sometimes even the possibility of change for the better is a good thing even if it’s just once a year. Change for a single day, or a single morning, is better than nothing because each day is its own. So appreciate today, because today is the only day that includes the memories of the past, the delight of the present, and the possibilities of the future.