I could “scrooge” the time-honored tradition of New Year’s Resolutions, but I know other can more effectively ridicule the process (mr. castles), and I don’t think it’s a bad idea on the whole, if perhaps inaccurately named.
Encarta Dictionary Tools says that a resolution is “determination: firmness of mind or purpose”. Now, we all know that 99% of all NYR fail. And yes, I did just make that statistic up, though you know it’s probably accurate. Regardless, we can agree that a large majority do fail, most due not to external circumstances, but a lack of will to complete it. Well that doesn’t sound like a “firmness of mind or purpose” at all. In the end, NYR are things that we hope to change, yet often are mired by short-sighted impulses. Therefore, I will make my own New Year’s Hopes, hoping that I’ll find the will to implement them.
Study More
I must say, for the few times I truly, truly got down to working and studying for school, it was darn incredible what I managed to do. Unfortunately, I manage to fool myself with studying, which is completely different, and significantly less effective. Now I know that many of you are crying out something like, “NERD. You’re a loser. You probably study a bunch right now.” Well, I wish I did. I’ll admit, I’ve had it pretty easy. My grades are very good, yet I know they could be better. It can’t hurt.
Practice More
Same thing, basically, but for tuba, not school. Both last year’s S&E and this year’s Region Band have basically been 1 week’s worth of practicing. True, I had looked at the music for both for over a month beforehand, yet most of it was just playing the parts I liked/played pretty well, which is worthless. When I actually practiced an hour’s worth of real practicing, it was incredible how much I could get done. Now if only I did that all the time…
Screw Around Less
Well, that kind of goes along with the others things, but it sounds different to me. It’s been pretty sad when I think of how much time I’ve wasted this break doing, what is in the end, nothing. I could have been much more productive getting ready for the SAT in less than a month or wvr, but I haven’t been doing as much as I should. I need to be more productive, which can be solved with the next Hope.
Find More Productivity Outside of School
Most of the work I do (which is little) can be directly related to school. Even AD, number sense, and CSC stuff is all related to school. That stuff does suck, and I probably will continue to avoid that, but if I’m not doing that, I should still be productive. I have my Java RPG to work on, books on quantum mechanics to read, etc. I definitely need to invest myself in those more, so I can actually get around to learning something.
Go to Sleep Earlier
Sadly, this one has already been broken. Oh well. Regardless, I’d like to get back into the schedule of hitting the sack at 930-945 (since it takes me a bit to actually fall asleep). While I do go to sleep much earlier than many others on a regular basis, in the end, I’m still tired in the morning, and it’s a self-perpetuating cycle. Begins at the beginning of the week. Sunday night, I stay up late, either because I’m not tired because I slept in and “caught up” from the week before (which really doesn’t work), or I have hw to do. Wake up for school tired, nap during classes a bit, and whine about it. Go home, screw around, do hw late, making me go to sleep late. Happens all week until the weekend, when I “catch up”, creating later bedtimes due to later wakeups, and only exacerbating the situation. True, this way, I actually go to sleep within 5 min of getting in bed, but it just doesn’t sound healthy.
Being Nicer
I realize that all of the above are for myself, so I’ll make an effort to reach out a bit. Now, I don’t think I’ve ever really been “mean”, per se, but I am a very sarcastic person. I know that often, in my more pragmatic states, I’ve been a little…uncaring to others. I also know, that just like everyone else, I also laugh behind others peoples’ back (though I always try to do it in a fun, non-harmful way). So, I will attempt to be more sympathetic to others, because even if I am just poking fun at you in a sarcastic way, mebbe it does hurt at some level.
And with that, have a Happy New Year’s, and good luck with your New Year’s Hopes.