Junior Jacob Beels knows he is far too lazy to create a New Year’s Resolution. He finds them unnecessary and knows he wouldn’t be able to complete them. 

While New Year’s Eve is commonly viewed as a “fresh start” with the next year just starting, Jacob is one of many individuals, including some students at FHC, who have never participated in making New Year’s resolutions. They don’t join the vast number of people around the world who promise to lose weight, start exercising, eat healthier, or commit to some other important objective. While their reasonings around foregoing this tradition may vary, their thoughts tend to be pretty similar.

This year, resolutions just weren’t at the forefront of Jacob’s mind.

“I kind of forgot about [resolutions] this year,” Jacob said. “I don’t think [I’ve done a resolution before]. I might think about one, but I never actually do one.”

Jacob’s motivation to attempt a resolution was non-existent this year, but he makes up for his initial laziness by setting goals throughout the year where he deems them fit. 

“It doesn’t usually happen at New Year’s,” Jacob said, “but [I set goals] when I think of something that I should do more in the future. Then, I start it.”

Jacob is still unsure about how he’ll handle his goals in the future; he hasn’t ruled out the possibility of a New Year’s resolution should he need to put enough pressure on himself to reach a difficult goal, though. 

While Jacob believes making resolutions is a great idea that works for some individuals, he still has yet to decide if he falls in that category. Along with Jacob, junior Samantha Franklin shares a similar sentiment.  

“Most New Year’s resolutions fall through, and I don’t need to know statistics to know that’s true,” Samantha said. “But some people are so close to making that change in their life; all they need is an opening or the last push to make that possible.”

Although Samantha, much like Jacob, doesn’t create a resolution, she still likes to set goals to improve herself when she notices something she wants to change. Samantha has to let herself make the adjustments she deems necessary when it is most urgent. If she forces herself to invent a specific goal to work on, she is less likely to follow through. 

“The times where I’ve actually been able to follow through with an amendment [have] been a random day of the week where I feel like making a change,” Samantha said. “If I wait until the [next] year to change, it’s never going to happen.”

Although she has never tested a New Year’s resolution, she doubts she’ll ever feel it’s necessary. While Samantha is dedicated to pursuing goals on her own time, sophomore Sam Logan has found his goals ineffective.

“I’m usually very unmotivated,” Sam said. “I probably should [set goals], but I don’t. I just don’t feel like it.”

Sam fails to create resolutions because he suspects that he most likely won’t follow through, and he doesn’t want to commit to something he can’t complete.

“I know if I make a resolution [that] it’s not going to end up getting done,” Sam said. “I haven’t ever really tried doing a New Year’s resolution.”

Though there are a variety of reasons students choose to avoid making resolutions, incompetent desires and indolence have struck many students.

And while their reluctance can be shocking, resolutions often stem from others doing them as well; having friends and families not doing any sort of resolution often leaves others reluctant to try them out as well. Samantha has experienced this kind of influence from New Year’s resolutions first hand.

“I guess no one in my family does [resolutions],” Samantha said. “I’ve never really thought about it.” 

Although this may be a trend that ends with her family, Jacob is also in a similar situation. 

“I can’t think of anyone [that does resolutions] off the top of my head,” Jacob said. “There’s no one that has mentioned it to me.”

While neither Jacob nor Samantha have consulted with their families’ about their choices surrounding New Year’s resolutions, the option to abstain from resolutions is truly personal. 

These students are a few of many that make the choice to skip New Year’s resolutions. They have each found that their goals are better left to be handled at the appropriate time or, in some cases, never. 

“If you’re willing to make a goal on an average day of the week,” Samantha said, “it keeps you in a determined mindset.”