New Years is said to be an end of a chapter and a beginning of a new one. People try to always say that in the beginning of the new year they will somehow change something about themselves or something they do. “New year new me” as it is often said. New Year’s Resolutions are meant to make people feel better about how lazy they were the year before.

One reason why New Year’s Resolutions are stupid is that very few people actually follow through. According to a University of Scranton study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology, only 8 percent of Americans who make New Year’s Resolutions actually succeed. The ratio of succeeding to not succeeding is hardly even worth the math. This should not be surprising, because because the truth isyou don’t really get to control what you do every day for the next 365 days.

According to a survey done by INC. Magazine 71% of people make a resolution to diet or eat healthier, 65% want to exercise more, and 54% of people wanted to lose weight. A lot of New Year’s Resolutions have to do with losing weight or going to the gym or trying to eat healthier. People who already go the gym regularly know that at the beginning of year, the gym is packed with people who’s New Year’s Resolution is to get into better shape. But, as time goes by and we get further into the year, more and more people stop going. It just shows the little follow through people have on their New Year’s Resolutions.

When I think about the year 2019, all I see is the next few months of school leading up to summer break. I have an idea of what it will be like. But, what I don’t know is what’s going to happen. Or what even could happen after those few months. I could break my leg, move, etc. There’s lots of things that could happen to move your whole life around and get in the way of your goals for the new year. So setting a goal for something that you don’t even know you can fulfill, to me, is useless.

If I were going to make a New Year’s Resolution, I would make one that seems a little more realistic. Such as, waking up 30 minutes earlier each morning so that I actually had the time to go slow and do what I needed in the morning. I don’t have to leave my house or get anything to do it. I just have to set an alarm and stick to a schedule. It’s not something that’s going to change the routine I have every day.

These New Year’s Resolutions are also unneeded pressure on yourself for uncharted territory of the new year. Like I said, you don’t know what the new year has in store for you. If you have a lot of stress on your plate with school or work these resolutions are just added stress for yourself to try and do something you probably don’t even need to do.

So, in reality making a New Year’s Resolution is unnecessary for people who don’t know what their new year is going to be like or what obstacles are going to be thrown their way. Their resolutions are just getting in the way of getting what they need to get done. And the pressure you put on yourself to keep up with them, I think it’s ridiculous. In conclusion, the unrealistic New Year’s Resolutions are a stupid tradition that people need to stop perpetuating.