Typically, the first-of-the-year promises we make to ourselves fall flat pretty fast. Hours we could’ve spent working on quads or writing “that manuscript” are questionably better spent tending to lovers or nursing Netflix addictions.
Still, a month into the new year, many students haven’t given up on their resolutions just yet.
Ponderously looking up and to the left, sophomore Kirstin Winke worded her New Year’s resolution very slowly and carefully.
“My resolution is to avoid wearing long pants while going out, so workout clothing and pajama bottoms don’t count. If I’m hanging out or going to the movies, I’m going to wear a dress,” said Winke. “I’m going to look nice for the most part, as often as I can. Skirts, rompers, and cute shorts are acceptable, too.”
Owner of many dresses, Winke said she now has an excuse to buy even more; however, it wasn’t a love for consumerism that led her to ditch the denim.
“I didn’t know what I wanted my resolution to be, so over winter break I took a BuzzFeed quiz,” said Winke. “It told me I shouldn’t wear pants, so I took it and ran with it.”
Winke said the closest she came to breaking her resolution was the fateful day she wore leggings. She then backtracked and said leggings aren’t technically pants.
For most, her resolution sounds like an inconvenient and uncomfortable goal. Boys, who have no way of knowing firsthand how poorly tights and the middle of winter pair, especially look aghast upon hearing this news. (I can only wish more Chimes stories received similar reactions.)
Yet, regardless of the wow-factor Winke’s resolution holds, ask yourself this: How often does a student a) make a resolution and b) stick to it?
Answer: I don’t know.
Capital students on Facebook and in dining areas didn’t have a lot to say on the matter. All I seem to know is that the people who agreed to speak with me set obstacles before themselves.
For instance, sophomore Kelsey Pinckard made a promise to herself to meditate every single day this year; so far, she has stayed true to her word.
Making it a point to slow down for at least 15 minutes each day, she hasn’t skipped a day since the start of the year.
“I usually do it in my room when I’m alone and have a minute to catch my breath,” said Pinckard. “I find it a lot easier to do in the early evening, around 5 p.m., so that it’s not too close to nighttime.”
Any unseasoned meditator who has tried the classic lotus position with eyes closed near bed time surely understands how easy it is to give in to sleep. When meditating, the goal is to not think about anything.
Seeing as reaching nirvana is very close to impossible, Pinckard said she first focuses on her breathing as a way to center herself.
“I try to repeat things, focus my energy to my chakras, think of a loved one, or focus on a candle flame,” said Pinckard. “I sometimes even envision my loved one [and] then myself embodied in a white light. This is called God’s White Light.”
Why did she choose meditating over, say, daydreaming?
“I guess I started meditating when I started seriously doing yoga, four years ago. I just haven’t always been consistent with it,” said Pinckard.
Yoga, the apparent gateway exercise, certainly conditioned Pinckard for the eleven months of meditating ahead; she answered my interview questions while posing with body balanced on arms and feet balanced off the ground.
Perhaps the secret to keeping a resolution is a balancing act; one must weigh the good and the bad a situation has to offer and decide what steps are best to take.
See, first year David Fuller didn’t like his first year of smoking, so he decided to quit.
Asked why he started smoking in the first place, Fuller said, “That’s actually a good question. Unknowingly, it was probably a coping device.”
He, of course, is not alone in his resolution; young adults arriving, enjoying, and exiting college commonly allow stress to dictate their diet and living choices.
However, unlike most students, Fuller’s smoker friend just had one of his lungs collapse due to reasons (surprisingly) unrelated to smoking. He said this event is what caused him to look to second semester with hopes of quitting.
Fuller, who used to smoke four cigarettes a day, now doesn’t buy packs of his own. With American Spirits or Parliament as his smokes of choice, he turned to smoking Black and Milds to help cure him of his taste for tobacco.
“I quit cold turkey for an entire month before college, but the first week into school I started again,” said Fuller. “Literally, there’s nothing good about smoking; it’s unattractive.”
Fuller said it’s been two days since he last desired a smoke—two minutes later, he lights a cigarette on his way to the photo shoot portion of the interview, ready for his close up.
