What Happened To Those Resolutions?

By  THEA VAUGHAN ‘27

Let’s be honest, when have all your New Year’s Resolutions gone to plan? Never, and if you say anything else, you’re lying. The one New Year’s Resolution that has ever worked out for me was to get a 365-day Duolingo streak, and I only got there because of many, many streak freezes. My failed resolutions include reading more, going on jogs, studying something cool in my free time, and going to bed before 11 p.m. Word has it that I’m not the only one who has failed at these resolutions. But, what exactly is it that leads to our downfall? Let’s take a look.

1. Homework load. Okay, yeah, it is possible to get all your homework done in a timely manner, but here’s the thing: I don’t want to. Seriously, I would rather run ten miles than write a paper, and I am no cross-country runner.

2. Social media. Admit Social media. Admit it, you spend way too much time scrolling through TikTok and Instagram. And that screen time limit you added? We both know you put in the screen time password and kept scrolling.

3. The bed is way too cozy. Especially at 6 a.m. Nothing is going to convince me to roll out of it to go jogging.

4. You never actually wanted to do it in the first place. Maybe you saw an influencer eating healthier on social media and thought, “Wow, I should do that!” and you added it to your list of resolutions and forgot about it. Maybe your friend told you how early they get up to be productive, and you decided that sounded pretty nice, despite knowing you like to set your alarm for fifteen minutes before class starts.  

5. Time travel hasn’t been invented yet. I’m sure this would solve all of the above. Since everyone at Exeter is supposedly a genius, can someone figure this out? Thanks..

This stuff certainly gets in the way of keeping our resolutions; however, now that we’ve identified the issues, we can overcome them. Your 2025 New Year’s Resolutions may not have worked out, but I know 2026 will be your year!