As we bid farewell to 2024, it’s time to welcome 2025. The start of a new year provides everybody with a new beginning and a chance to set New Year’s resolutions. New Year’s resolutions offer people the right set of circumstances to reflect, reset and set intentions for the year ahead. Whether it’s excelling in academics, improving personal habits or fostering relationships with others, the start of a new year gives people the perfect opportunity to set new goals. Lots of students and staff at CHS are planning to take advantage of this new start to make positive changes to their lives.
CHS custodian Carl Taylor is viewing this year in the most positive way he can. He made a commitment to prioritize his happiness throughout 2025 and to start every day with a positive attitude and a smile on his face.
“The most important thing is to not look at the past,” Taylor said. “Cause when you look at the past, you can’t focus on the time ahead. And if you live every day like you did in the past, you’re not going to change your future. You just gotta make every day count.”
CHS sophomore Juniper Rooze also wants to make the most out of 2025 by improving how they view and treat themself. Rooze wants to achieve this goal by finding time every day to fulfill their own needs.
“I think taking a break is a big thing I want to achieve this year,” Rooze said. “I kept myself running for most of 2024 and ignored my own needs. So I want to give myself not necessarily alone time, but just chill time to keep to myself and unwind. It’s like a car – if you keep going and going and going, it’s going to run out of gas eventually, and you’re going to break down. That’s why you need to take a break and fuel yourself with self-care.”
Rooze not only wants to better themself but also wants to make the most positive impact that they can for the people they’re close to this year.
“I want to offer as much support as I can for the people I love,” Rooze said. “I just want to be there for them if they need to talk or want advice. Because if you’re going through something and you’re alone, it’s 10 times worse than if you have somebody there to support you. And even if you do want to be alone, just knowing a person is there to help you is comforting.”
CHS sophomore Kai Camara also wants to improve and strengthen the relationships between herself and the people around her this year. She wants to focus on ensuring that she’s surrounding herself with only people who will make a positive impact on her life.
“I want to make sure I’m surrounding myself with the right people,” Camara said. “Because who you hang out with influences who you turn into. And if you hang out with a bunch of negative people, then you start to become negative and view yourself negatively as well.”
But students are not only focusing on mental health and healthy relationships; many students are hoping to excel in their studies during 2025. CHS sophomore Aiko Shirato is entering 2025 with a positive mindset towards her schoolwork. Shirato’s main goal for 2025 is to improve academically.
“I hope to use my planner a lot more and stay more organized this year,” Shirato said. “I get really stressed out when I’m not organized, so I’m trying my best to give myself solutions to stay put-together. I’m hoping that this will help me do better in my classes and feel less stressed.”
Even though there are many positive intentions that one can set to attain at the start of a new year, there are many negative associations with the concept of New Year’s resolutions. In the past, resolutions for the new year have often been associated with unhealthy and unrealistic expectations and habits that are not feasible or beneficial for one to accomplish. Art teacher Hannah Crabtree never sets New Year’s resolutions due to the negative stigmatism around it.
“I don’t do New Year’s resolutions because I think there’s a lot of baggage with the whole new year, new me concept, and it’s really associated with diet culture and all these really absurd pressures we put on our bodies trying to make sure we’re being productive enough or being the quote-on-quote ‘right way’,” Crabtree said. “I know there’s definitely merit in using the momentum to get disciplined and start a new habit, but I have a lot of aversion to it just because I know there are a lot of really complicated things wrapped up into it.”
Despite all the negative stigmatism around New Year’s resolutions, lots of students and staff are trying to use the new year as an opportunity to improve themselves in any way they see fit. As the new year is here, the possibilities are endless for improvement. Are you going to use this opportunity as a chance to better yourself?
