At the beginning of each year, I find myself setting the basic three New Year resolutions that many fail to meet. These include eating healthier, working out more, or even making my bed every morning. I will be the first to admit; I stick with my goals for a few weeks then end up falling off the bandwagon by Feb. 1. In a survey done by Discover Happy Habits, it was found that only 22% of people stick to their new year goals and only 54% of those people barely do so. This year, I am determined for it to be different and so far I would say that I am holding true.

When it came to setting goals for this year, I wanted to focus on traits that I found myself falling victim to throughout 2023. I would always say yes to people, let others use me for their own personal growth and not focus on what I wanted to do. These habits resulted in my first resolution: be focused on saying yes to myself and participating in things that I want to do. Whether it is staying inside and binge-watching “The Vampire Diaries” during the weekend, joining a new organization that will help my future or cutting my hair into a bob cut, my goal is to stop pleasing those around me all the time and focus on what makes me happy.

My second goal was to work on my tone when conversing with those around me and even with myself. If there is something that I have learned from my friends and family, it is that sometimes the things I say come off the opposite of how I mean them. This endeavor is still a work in progress, but the first step is self-awareness. Then slowly, but surely, working on it.

This goal is more prominent for how I talk to myself, which is something I noticed at the end of 2023. This ranges from saying I won’t be able to do something to telling myself I look bad in what I am wearing. I started taking a step back and thinking about what I am going to say before I say it and, recently, how it may be taken by others.

My third goal was to start meal prepping. Meal preparation is something that I have a constant battle with because the idea of eating the same thing every day around the same time is boring. When doing it the first time a few years ago, it was just chicken, rice and broccoli. I knew this year needed to be different and I had to switch up what I was eating so I could stick with it.

I tried meat paired with asparagus and roasted potatoes, chicken caesar salad wraps with carrots and even overnight oats. Dedicating over six hours every Sunday to cooking, not including the two hours alone of shopping for the food, became a chore rather than something I genuinely enjoyed doing. I kept up with this for the first two months then broke it for a McDonald’s McChicken and Dr. Pepper. Maybe I will give it another go in the future, but for now I will hope for my mom to continue to include me in her dinner plans.

Overall, I would say that two out of three of my goals are being followed. I was against setting them up at first but I knew that if I didn’t I would just spend my time hoping that it will change without making any efforts to do the change.

I have noticed that I am much happier once I stopped saying yes to everything and everyone. It feels like there is some weight off my shoulders more recently and I can actually breathe. It makes me reflect on how much time I have lost on the things I was passionate about to pursue others and their things rather than my own. I am starting to protect myself more while still having fun and enjoying everything my last semester has left to offer.