Making New Year’s resolutions is a common tradition people take up at the beginning of the year. Marking the time for a new beginning, people use January 1st to motivate themselves to make changes to their lives, big or small. Commonly, people set goals regarding going to the gym, eating healthier, and saving money, with Sophomore Clara Mueller noting that “usually people just talk about dieting.” However, these goals usually fizzle in a few months and are forgotten until December.
Being freshly in 2025, people still have their goals and resolutions in mind.
Ben Connell (Senior) says he made a goal to be “more outgoing” in 2025. Similarly, Claire Dawson (Senior) spoke about their own social goals this year, saying they want to “experience new things” and “be more accepting of change.”
More attainable and tangible goals were also mentioned. Griffin Gangi (Freshman) said he wanted to “eat good food in Rome” and get his dad a “good birthday present,” and Lily Dominikowski (Sophomore) said she set a goal to “lower her screentime.”
Not all resolutions need to be repeated themes of dieting and going to the gym. Ben Connell (Senior) remembers his friend saying that he wants to “raise his cholesterol levels.” Tyler Weigand (Senior) said he heard of someone saying they wanted to achieve their “dream calf size.”
However, many Northside students did not end up making resolutions. Eden Weiss (Sophomore) says she does not usually set New Year’s goals because she “never [does] them and [ends] up feeling guilty.” Similarly, Walter Belton (Freshman) says that “most people don’t complete them anyway, and it’s a bad omen.” Many students said they avoided making resolutions because they were not going to go through with them, discouraging students from setting goals.
According to a poll by CBS News, the percentage of people who say they will take part in New Year’s Resolutions dropped from 43% in 2021 to 29% in 2024, showing how less and less people are willing to set goals.
In Forbes, New Year’s Resolutions Are Setting You Up To Fail—Here’s The Fix, Jason Walker explains that goals are usually too vague and hard to commit to. By creating realistic habits and attainable, manageable resolutions, people will have an easier time following through. Holding yourself accountable and encouraging yourself along the way can also help.
Though many people at Northside explained that they did not make resolutions, they were challenged to come up with one on the spot: Liz Worley (Junior) said she would like to “watch more movies,” Cecilie Garcia (Junior) said to “not spend a lot of money off campus”, and Conor Moloney (Junior) said he wants to “learn how to do a wheelie on a unicycle and grow six feet tall”.
