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New Year, New You: Miami students tackle New Year's Resolutions

What’s the difference between 2020 and a nightmare? One ends in the morning and the other feels like a never-ending cycle. 

Throughout the past year, the nation endured a number of challenges. 2020 was the year that felt like the same day kept happening over and over again like in Harold Ramis’s movie “Groundhog Day.”

Even as 2020 came to an end, the outlook of 2021 was still unclear. So what does this mean for 2021 New Year’s resolutions? Where does one even begin? 

New Year’s resolutions are supposed to be a time to set goals for yourself and work toward your dreams. However, for multiple reasons, even in a normal year, most resolutions break down early. 

For 2021, more adaptations have had to be made than in any other year. 

Ashley Crotty, a first-year nursing major, has put running on her New Year’s resolution list. She plans to stay on track by running a certain amount each month.

This idea came from her cousins. A few years ago, they had a goal to run in a 5k race every month. However, this is extremely difficult to execute given the pandemic.

“With 5k’s not going on in person, I am trying to figure out how I can tweak it so I can do something like that,” Crotty said. 

So far, she has not yet completed a 5k. However, she has stayed disciplined to her running.

“I just run when I get the chance,” Crotty said. “Even if it’s not the full distance, I can work up to the full distance.”

Crotty acknowledges that she is the type of person who likes to finish what she starts, and January 2021 put her discipline and drive to the test.

Not only is the act of creating a goal more difficult due to the necessary adjustments, but so is the actual work needed to reach her objective. 

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The most difficult part, Crotty said, is “just keeping myself motivated to actually run the full distance when I don’t have the actual race to sign up for.”

Similarly, Caleb Adelman, a first-year digital media major, had a New Year’s resolution to go to the gym and work out. 

He decided on this goal after advice from friends and what he calls his “previous unstable work-out ethic.”

Still, he’s been successful so far. In order to remain disciplined, Adelman does things like putting a reminder in his phone. 

He said this year wasn’t different for him and he is just as motivated this year as in any other. 

Adelman has stuck to his goal so far because he’s “really wanting to do it.”

New Year’s resolutions can be a great way for people to start working toward their goals. However, others don’t participate and believe it is not the best way for them to reach their greatest potential. 

Valerie Walsh, a first-year public health major, has never created a New Year’s resolution. Instead, she gives herself an opportunity to tackle a goal every day and change it as it becomes relevant.

“You can make changes any day that you want,” Walsh said. “It doesn’t have to be associated with the year.”

Even though some people find motivation with the fresh start of a new year, Walsh said that it isn’t her source of motivation.

“Not having a New Year’s resolution makes it so it is more sustainable,” Walsh said. “If you have a goal, you’ll be better motivated to complete it rather than just relying on the fact that it’s a new year.”

Also, implementing smaller steps to achieve an overall goal every day can be a great way to refrain from becoming overwhelmed. 

Despite all the extra stress entering the new year, some students are still coming up with New Year’s resolution plans, setting daily goals or even just trying to get through what seems like an endless loop of déjà vu.

Even after the year that was 2020, Miami students are still committed to making 2021 the year of change.

knoreme@miamioh.edu

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