Isabel Lukas ’24 will be more patient with herself this year.
As Lukas enters 2023, she is determined to avoid putting too much pressure on herself “all the time.” Instead, Lukas aims to spend her time journaling regularly and having daily conversations with family and friends, ensuring she maintains mindful habits and valuable connections as the semester ramps up.
“I think setting aside more time to reflect on what I’m doing, how I’m doing it and the mindset I have when doing it will help me,” Lukas said.
For many University students currently readjusting to campus, the start of the spring semester presents a similar sense of excitement as the new year. And while students told The Herald that grades are still on their minds as they enter the new semester, school is by no means their only priority. For many, the upcoming year will bring personal changes that stretch well beyond academics.
For Anna Zhao ’23, 2023 will be a year of punctuality.
“I feel like things always go awry. And if I don’t account for (everything in the day), I end up late,” Zhao said, explaining that she’s entering the new year trying to figure out ways to tighten up her routine.
Ming-May Hu ’23, on the other hand, wants to keep a closer eye on her budget. “My goal is to be better with my finances,” Hu said. “I’m going to track all of the things that I’m buying and try to spend less.”
Several students are choosing to spend the new year focusing on the things they enjoy doing most. Anna Lapre ’25 said she wants “to read a book a month that’s not related to school.” She also plans to write in a gratitude journal every week, which Lapre has done in the past, but never consistently.
David Moon ’23 said he isn’t the biggest fan of New Year’s resolutions but has decided to tackle reading more regularly as one of his goals for the upcoming year.
“One of my biggest (resolutions) is to read books in genres that I don’t usually read,” he said. Though Moon doesn’t usually pick up memoirs, he read “Crying in H Mart” at the start of 2023, “which I really enjoyed.”
Aidan Harbison ’25 is embracing a different form of media in 2023, planning to watch more Korean dramas in the new year to help with his Korean language comprehension. “I’m not a big Korean drama person,” he said. “But I think they’d be really good (for) improving my Korean listening, so I’m trying to start watching them.”
Other students are exploring entirely new approaches to life. Andrew Sojka ’25 said he plans on practicing conscientious bravery in the new year, which he defined as “thinking about (his actions) beforehand and choosing discomfort.”
According to Sojka, conscientious bravery is different from regular bravery, which “just means doing things that you’re uncomfortable with that could also be blatantly stupid.” With conscientious bravery, Sojka is making the decision “to be comfortable being uncomfortable.”
Geneva Bass ’25 intends to make several lifestyle changes in 2023. Though less clear-cut than many of her other goals, Bass is entering the new year with a simple resolution: “to be happy.”
Whether she succeeds “will be determined on Dec. 31,” Bass said. “So I will keep you posted.”
Rya is an arts & culture section editor from Albany, NY. She is a junior studying English and Literary Arts, and her favorite TV show is Breaking Bad.
