As the hectic, holiday festivities came to a close, the new year made its grand opening. Students and faculty came back from winter break, and the community is excited for the season of change with the new year. Society uses this crucial time to evaluate itself, and people figure out how they can better themselves and their lives. Some people went crazy, promising themselves they won’t eat sugar all year! Others made smaller changes, like doing one nice deed for someone every day. On the other hand, there were people who didn’t follow the traditional trend at all. Regardless, there was something for everyone during the New Year’s holiday.
Atholton students and faculty were interviewed on whether or not they felt the ritual of making a resolution was ‘legit’.
The general public had mixed views, so we got the scoop from our very own here at Atholton.
Eleventh-grader, Natalie Lewis, enjoys the tradition of new year’s resolutions because “it gives people an opportunity to achieve things they didn’t get to in the year before.”
New Year’s commemorates that we made it through another 365-day calendar year. During this time, it is a common ritual for people to try changing an undesired trait or behavior to improve their life. Many at Atholton believed New Years was the perfect opportunity to revolutionize themselves, but others felt differently.
According to Forbes, only eight percent of Americans are expected to follow through with their resolutions this year.
“Speaking from personal experience,” said Ms. Dear, an Atholton substitute and former teacher, “I make one every year and I never stick to it.”
And what good is a resolution if you made it but never kept or thought about it? Tenth-grader, Taylor McManus, said she found resolutions “irrelevant,” because people “always forget what their resolutions are.”
Nikki Tajaddini, a tenth-grader, expressed she wasn’t able to be nicer to her sister for more than a few days. Obviously, eating healthier was a no-go for many. Sophia Glaros, a senior, said she has made the resolution every year but never got through a full year of doing it.
Despite all this, on New Year’s day, fitness gyms had lines going down the street full of those who promised themselves they would be in the gym every day to work off all the holiday treats they ate. Disappointment swirled throughout the air as people realized how hard it really was to change a bad habit.
New Year’s Resolutions started over 4,000 years by the Babylonians when they began promising their gods they would return borrowed objects to pay back their debts. Ever since then, the ritual became known for making a change each year.
After speaking to Atholton students and faculty, many said they did not think the tradition was worth their time.
The idea of making a resolution was bashed, neglected, and overlooked. “But,” said Glaros, “I’ll probably still make one anyway.”