While New Year’s resolutions are a breath of fresh air for all who seek improvements in their lives, around 80% of people across the nation fail to stick with their resolutions by February, leaving many to wonder: How can I stick to mine? Here are some Northwood students with their resolutions and tips.

Sophomore Yun Seo Lee

“My New Year’s resolution was to start smiling more, and so far, I think I’ve been pretty successful. I’ve always wanted to appear friendly in order to create a more welcoming atmosphere at school and in my community in general. I believe that a simple smile has the power to uplift sad spirits and spread happiness; it can create an optimistic attitude and supportive environment. I think a reminder for me to stick to my resolution is thinking of how it feels when someone gives me a smile because it encourages me to try to help others feel the same way.”

Junior Elisa Marconell

“I started my New Year’s resolution, which was exercising more, 20 days late. I’ve managed to run for an hour for two consecutive days, which I’m pretty happy about, and I’m hoping to continue doing so. I had to quit my sport due to my course overload, which meant that the only exercise I did was walking. It wasn’t until my coworker asked me to go to the gym with her that I realized that it was a good idea! If you’re pursuing a goal and feel like giving up, I’d suggest asking a friend to join you so that it’s more fun.”

Freshman Harrison Huai

“My New Year’s resolution was to invest more time into tennis. Personally, I wanted a drastic change in my lifestyle to accommodate my ambitions in tennis, and thus I set the goal of waking up early every day and practicing tennis for two hours, then practicing another two hours in the afternoon. Initially, this intense lifestyle change left me burned out, and I experienced the feeling of quitting that so many others who try to stick to their New Year’s resolutions do. Yet, I kept my long-term goals in mind and never quit, and I’m quite happy with the result because that has helped me make the Varsity Tennis team at Northwood as a freshman. If I could give one piece of advice for sticking to resolutions, it would be to look at the bigger picture and examine what you want to achieve in the long term, because putting that image in mind helped me stick to my goals.”