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Matt Dionne
Editor-in-Chief
My new year’s resolution this year is similar to my resolution from last year, in that I don’t have one. I don’t believe you have to wait until the start of the year to make a change in your life.
Munirul-Haq Raza
News Editor
One of my new year’s resolutions is to be on time. I have a bad habit of being late for anything and everything, from appointments to labs, assignments, and many others. This bad habit has cost me a lot, from poor grades to money troubles. My other resolution is to be consistent in everything I do, as I have a bad habit of starting a task, like reading a book daily, but if I miss a day, it throws my schedule out of place and my routine breaks down. I am also trying to finish my dozen or so incomplete projects.
Anna Voskuil
Copy Editor
I find that too much of our lives is focused on seeking kindness, happiness, and our own dignity from the world around us, rather than spending more of our limited life span on finding said values from within. This could come from mindfulness, meditation, self-reflection, and therapy, to name a few. Where we are made to look out for ourselves, by ourselves. As for me, I have been praised for how giving, selfless, and conscientious I am—in many ways, I would say it has more harmed, rather than helped me, in the long run. It has led to: taking extremes in pushing down my emotions, convincing myself that I didn’t need help (when I knew I did), and the harming of my relationships, due to the fear that expressing myself would make me “needy” (thanks for that, anxiety). This year, I am determined to focus on self-advocacy, self-expression, getting the help I deserve (which I am), and most importantly, learn that it’s alright to be selfish from time to time. I think it’s about time we all did this—because if we can’t love ourselves, how can we love one another?
Emilie Miranda
Executive Editor, Online
On January 1, it’s easy to say we’ll try to stress less, exercise more, eat healthier, and be more diligent in our schoolwork in 2018, but when it comes down to it, self-care is hard. It’s time to prioritize ourselves: get enough sleep, find healthy routines that are easy to stick to and aren’t complicated, not overcommit or make too many promises, and make time for the people and things that make us happy. We’re supposed to cut down on the negatives in our lives and focus on the positives. But when it’s impossible to do that, we need to face our problems and not be too hard on ourselves in the face of adversity. A little positive thinking—and setting yourself up to be the best version of yourself—can go a long way.
Rowan Campbell
Creative Director
My family and I had a nice dinner together on New Year’s Eve. After sufficiently stuffing ourselves to the brim with mashed potatoes and turkey, we all sat back and shared our new year’s resolutions. After repeatedly hearing the same complaints and self-deprecating jokes about each person’s inability to follow through on their resolutions every year, I had an idea. When my turn to share my resolutions came, I decided to pose a question instead: what have you done in the past year that you’ve been really proud of? Immediately, the dynamic in the room changed. People smiled more. My uncle, instead of talking about his poor sleep habits, discussed the completion of his thesis, and his hours of studying. My mom talked about her long days of social work with children, and I talked about my weight loss. In the end, we left the dinner table feeling proud of the things we had accomplished, and excited for the year to come. So, instead of a resolution, I will pose this question to you: what did you do in 2017 that you are proud of?
Jodie Vanderslot
Health Editor
A promise I made myself is to write something, anything, every single day. I’m not going to confine myself to a specific topic or journal, but I want to get into the routine of writing for writing’s sake. I never know what I truly think or feel until I write it out, so I’m also hoping that with practice, I will get better at presenting my feelings in a thoughtful way, so that I can also convey them adequately in conversation. I also want to find a healthy balance—I often throw myself haphazardly into things, investing my whole being and all my time and thoughts into one thing; this year, I want to find a balance in doing the activities I want to do and that I have to do. I need to better regulate and monitor my time and invest it in things that are going to push me forward in my personal life, health, and future career.
Angelica Babiera
Arts Editor
One of the things I have a bad habit of doing is complaining about the little things. Whether it’s about the amount of reading I have to do for my class, or my daily chores, I always seem to find something to complain about. It’s not a pretty trait of mine, and I know my friends hate it. They would often ridicule me for my lack of positivity. It often seems as though I’m not capable of appreciating anything. So, in 2018, I will try to turn my complaints into positive remarks, change my perspective, and be more understanding and patient with my situation and the people in my life.
Basma Elbahnasawy
Multimedia Editor
New year’s resolutions for me are useless, you know why? Because if you really wanted to do something, you do not need to wait until a certain date to do it. But for the sake of this piece, my new year’s resolution is to upgrade my photography skills—perhaps take photos with better quality and resolution.
Additionally, I am also trying to manage my time and avoid procrastinating on my school work. I hope to evenly divide my time between work, school, and leisure. Also, I aspire to travel more often and discover new places this year with friends, family, and the people I love.
Dennis Bayazitov
Assistant News Editor
Truthfully, I’m not big on the whole romanticization of “new year, new me!” Surely we all recognize its manifestation every year: people set starry-eyed standards for themselves, then—after a brief period of “killing it”—are hard on themselves when they shockingly don’t flawlessly master their ambitiously-adopted habits. They get discouraged, then distracted, and soon abandon the feat altogether.
That being said, I cannot deny the convenience for self-development and goal-setting each new year ushers in. For those first few weeks, anyway, everyone seems so motivated and suddenly disciplined. It’s a contagious feeling—and an empowering one at that.
Every year, I just want to try and enjoy the process of gradually building momentum in achieving, admittedly, more modest—but regularly self-assigned—tasks and goals. I think being process-oriented, rather than being end-oriented, in employing that surge of annual motivation in a more manageable way takes pressure off ourselves and offers us a bit more contentment with each micro-victory.
