Welcome back, Ducks, and happy new year! I hope you all had a restful winter break, and I wish you all good luck for the Spring 2023 semester.
This will likely be my last semester at Stevens, and will definitely be my last semester serving as the Editor in Chief of The Stute. Already, the feelings of confusion, excitement, anticipation, loneliness, and motivation are setting in. It’s quite strange seeing freshmen taking introductory classes and joining new clubs on campus knowing that we are at very different points in our lives. It’s also strange knowing that for the first time in my life, I have millions of possible choices and paths I can follow once I graduate. But I don’t want to bore you with my own existentialist thoughts about leaving Stevens, so they’ll be revisited at a later time. Rather, I want this editorial to focus on the new year, and setting up goals.
Possibly, 2022 was your best year; perhaps it was your worst. Or maybe it was drenched with mediocracy. Whatever 2022 may have brought you, the start of a new year seems to mark the start of a new “era” of your life. Often, the new year is riddled with phrases like “new year, new me,” “new year, new goals,” “new year, new attitude,” etc. The (seemingly ironic) sentence structure “new year, new ______” provides us with an easy way to set goals as broadly or specifically as we choose. And the concept of new year’s resolutions has been mocked and ridiculed as a goal or dream that we are meant to desert. This could be the reason why some goals are often abandoned, sometimes even by the end of January. There’s no blame to be placed for this because keeping up with goals is no easy feat; after a few weeks, we are once again met with the harsh realities of life and are reminded of obligations that can take priority over our goals. Sometimes, we’re so adamant about accomplishing a goal that it becomes a chore rather than an exciting change we want to implement in our lives.
Therefore, this year, I’m trying something different by reframing my goals into something I’m looking forward to doing instead of something I have to accomplish. Instead of just having a list of goals, I now have a list of my goals interwoven with exciting plans I have for myself in 2023. Specifically, there are plenty of things I’m looking forward to doing in 2023 — graduating, going on a Spring break trip with my best friends, reading more books, trying out new recipes, seeing Taylor Swift in concert, finishing up my projects as EIC, adventuring more in New York City, and working out more, to name a few.
Overall, this short, noncomprehensive list undoubtedly has me “looking forward” to 2023. While I cannot predict that this new method will help me accomplish anything and everything I set my mind to, I can certainly say that I am much more enthusiastic to keep up with my goals, especially because they seem more like plans I should be excited about rather than tasks I have to complete before the end of the year. So, if you’ve already let go of some goals one month into the new year, try reframing them (it can’t hurt). Goals don’t have to be something you hate doing. Even if they’re challenging and test the strength of your body or mind, you can still try to find some enjoyment in attempting to accomplish your goals.
I hope that 2023 brings everyone all that they’re looking for, and then some.
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