You’re watching the television, the seconds tick away… Five…. Four…. Three…. Two…. One… “Happy New Year!” the friends and family around you exclaim. New year, new you… Right? Well, on average, Less than 8% of people actually stick to their resolutions each year, so the thought that your habits may not change during the new year is not all that odd.

I surveyed 32 students at Pentucket on what their resolutions for 2023 were. Of those surveyed, 43.8% said they did not have a resolution at all. For the other 56.3%, these were the common responses:

The most common resolution concerned academics; 34% of the 19 responses wanted better grades. One of these anonymous respondents said “My new year’s resolution is to stay on point for my academics.”

Additionally, 36% of the 19 responses had health related goals; one response received was from an anonymous junior who said, “I want to work on my mental and physical health. I tend to prioritize things that should probably be the last thought, like social media and downtime.”

Out of the 19 responses, 15% had social life related goals. One anonymous response said their new year’s resolution was to “be a kinder person, friend, daughter, family member and partner.”

About 5% of the 19 responses wanted to travel more.

The remaining 10% of the 19 responses were unrelated to the question.

All in all, most people would say they’ve had a new year’s resolution, but many would say they did not stick to them as well. I interviewed junior Zoe Dunn on her experiences with her past resolutions. I asked her if she had ever stuck to one, and if so, to please explain, she responded with “When I was in sixth grade, I had a resolution to lose weight since I wasn’t in the best of shape.” She additionally said,” It was my first genuine time trying to actively lose weight, so it definitely was a learning process.” I then asked her how the process went, she said “There were definitely instances in which I felt like giving up, but I ended up successfully losing the weight.”

Zoe was also asked about her experiences with failed resolutions, she said “ Last year, I had a resolution to keep my room clean. I kept it clean for a good month before the habit fell through and the resolution was in the past.”

Resolutions are all too familiar to many people around the world, and it’s pretty common for them to fall through within the first few weeks of the new year. All things considered, it can be hard to keep new habits going, so don’t be too rough on yourself if you don’t stick to them.