For most, 2020 wasn’t all they hoped it would be. However, 2021 represents a clean slate and many kicked the year off with a new year’s resolution.

Junior Eric Bartczak never set a resolution before, but this year gave him the extra push he needed to become motivated.

“I feel that if I set a new goal for myself it will help push me to accomplish that goal and help set me up for a better future,” said Bartczak. 

2020 wasn’t any ordinary year, with COVID-19 forcing people to spend more time than ever isolated indoors. 

“I feel like COVID made me spend more time at home which provoked me into being on my phone more, which helped me shape my resolution into spending less time on my phone,” said Bartczak.

Due to the heavy isolation in 2020, Freshman Jack Reilly set a resolution to help combat the desolate feeling of social isolation.

“My resolution is to make more friends because I felt like I really lost touch with a lot of people during the pandemic,” said Reilly. “It was really hard to stay at home all the time by myself, so I’m hoping that will change this year.”

Setting a resolution isn’t new for Reilly. He makes it a point to set a goal each year.

“I think that it is really important to set goals because it lets you improve yourself every year,” said Reilly.

Although new year resolutions are popular, not everyone chooses to take the same route. Senior Rileigh Fischler decided against setting a traditional resolution.

“I didn’t really make a resolution because I don’t tend to stick with them,” Fischler said. “So, I just decided to work on myself in ways I felt were needed.”

Fischler decided to take a non-traditional approach to new year resolutions, to help herself achieve more goals.

“I just make small goals that I try to reach frequently throughout the year, rather than making just one big goal,” said Fischler. “By February, most people forget their resolutions anyway, so this helps me stay on track and do more.”

Setting a resolution and seeing it out can be difficult, but for some, it is a helpful tool to get motivated and achieve goals. 2020 was a hard year for most people, so setting goals for the new year are more important than ever.