We all know how New Year’s resolutions go: we set our goals with the best of intentions but as a month or two passes, these goals fade into the background. But there are some of us who are dedicated to our resolutions and hold strong over the course of the year. Now, two months have passed since the start of the year, and The Leaf staff has been hard at work—both on our newest edition of The Leaf, but also with our New Year’s resolutions. Some of us are going strong, some of us have given up, some of us have not even started on our resolutions at all—succumbing to the classic “I will do it later” mindset—and some of us did not even make resolutions.
Co Editor-in-Chief Ophelia Sidmore, 11, is one of the few members of The Leaf staff going strong with her resolution: read a book a week, or 52 total books. She has been sticking to her goal, having read eight books so far. Her favorite so far has been “Eligible” by Curtis Sittenfeld.
Several staffers set multiple New Year resolutions. Some of these include but are not limited to doing their skincare routine every night, playing sports, and exercising. So far, the people who put too much on their plates have not been largely successful in beginning the journey to achieve their New Year’s resolutions. The beginning weeks of this year have been “too cold” and the mornings before school are “too early,” so, having missed the first few days of the year for their resolutions, many decided not to follow through.
Brooke Vesio, 10, set one achievable resolution: to become flexible enough to do the splits. A very clear end goal in mind, but with one issue. She has all year to work on her splits, so the inevitable mindset of procrastination has taken over. Why start now, when you can always do it later?
Some of the staffers, myself included, did not set a resolution. Each of us has our own distinct reason for not doing so. From just not needing to make any significant changes to their life to knowing they will not follow through, perhaps some of us are just not resolved people.
Making resolutions is difficult, but implementing them is even more important. This is the most common struggle with The Leaf staff’s New Year resolutions. We can identify problems in our life, and what we want to make an effort to change, but the most difficult part is coming up with a plan to actually follow through.
