As we went around the table on NYE and shared our resolutions, my mom proudly proclaimed, “I don’t believe in resolutions! I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing. Life is good.”
We all kind of looked around at each other and were like, “Okay Mom.”
Granted, my resolutions were to travel more, be more honest about things I want and don’t want to do, and, or course, to save money.
and 
and 
But, on the eve of going back to school after the break, and knowing that the next seven days before final exams are going to be…. something else, I got to thinking, maybe my mom is right.
My mother’s philosophy is “Everything in moderation.” While I tend to adopt a more hedonistic lifestyle, my mom is right, life SHOULD be about balance.
Recently a new IG account blasted the stress students experience in schools. They are not wrong. School CAN be stressful. But it’s NOT enough to complain about it – what are you doing to make things more manageable for yourself?
- Are you staying organized about due dates and projects, or waiting until the last minute?
- Are you limiting your screen time, or are you glued to your phone and/or TV?
- Are you being active and going outside, or are you sedentary and bored?
- Are you hanging around people who build you up, or are you surrounding yourself with toxic people?
It always makes me sad when we wait until it’s too late to learn valuable, common-sense lessons. I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting about honesty, vulnerability, and accountability. At the end of the day, the reality is what it is. At the end of the day you NEED to ask yourself, what CHOICES are YOU making to be HAPPY and/or SUCCESSFUL?
I’m not sitting here telling you it’s easy. It’s not. There are just only so many things YOU can control – and I hate to see you needlessly frustrated.
I follow a WA English teacher on Twitter @MonteSyrie who shared the following quote, “I won’t make you learn, but I will help you learn. That is my commitment. The rest is up to you.”
As your teacher, I have a job to do. As my student, so do you. So, let’s work together and achieve great things! Not because it is a New Year – but because it is the right thing to do, for YOU!
I liked this a lot because It made me question myself with school. I complain a lot and I think I need to stop and start taking time for granted. Also, we all need a resolution in life whether its little or huge. Yours were similar to mine but I also want to get higher than a 3.6 this semester and a 4.0 next. You are a great teacher and honestly when I walk into school I think your class is the only class I can not walk out annoyed or tired. You also know how to make learning fun and not boring.
You’re the best! just sayin 🙂
Happy New Year!
I think it’s true when people say new year same me because no ones really going to change and if life is good you shouldn’t change.
I honestly don’t know how I feel about New Years resolutions ,because I always seem to find myself going back to old habits. I start the year off doing good and with everything I planned to do but then I end up doing exactly what I was trying not to do. To elaborate; I decided that I need to put my school work first and leave everything else behind. I chose to do this because for one I live in a household with very high expectations. My dad expects his children to be the highest of the high when it comes to education. He always tell us “I came to this country to study and succeed, I didn’t get the results I wanted but I want those results for you.” I understand that parents always want the best for their children but it doesn’t mean they have to be perfect to get what they want. I always say to succeed you always have to start with a problem to solve then you will get the ending you want. With my father and mother they beilive that if you do it right the first time that you will do it perfect. As you can see we have totally different mindsets. I tried very hard to start 2019 with my only resolution and I’m starting to think that there is no point. I don’t want to memorize what I learn I want to understand it. But with my dad on top of me all the time saying get A’s or else this and this will happen; I can’t really understand anything I learn. This hurt me really bad because now Finals are in two days and I’m struggling to remember anything I learned because instead of learning I memorized and forgot all about it the day after. If I keep typing I might not be able to stop so all I’m saying is that New Years resolutions may be a short time solution for me and I think it’s time me and my father have a talk about his expectations. My brothers went through hell and back with him and they ended up being doctors . Which may sound like a good thing, but I know for a fact that they didn’t like the way they became the doctors they are.