It is the beginning of a new year. While time is fluid and a new period, detached from a precedent one, is a notion realistically abstract, it nevertheless seems to make sense in the minds of most of us; hence the wishes and the resolutions. Underlying them, there is hope.
It is remarkable to observe the effect that this incipient period of the year has on so many of us: it is a powerful trigger for taking people into a land of accomplishment, of success, of bliss. While all these start as castles in the air, it is up to us to build the solid foundations that will ground our castles.
"I think New Year's resolutions are a fantastic concept," College sophomore Maryam Ameen said. "Everyone should strive to make themselves better, especially when they have the New Year to start over."
Emory students' hopes are as diverse as the Emory population itself.
Some want to forge powerful memories, to tell stories.
"One of my New Year resolutions is to write every day this year. I started doing this halfway through 2013 and want to continue all the way through 2014! I keep a notepad on me and document the year one day at a time!" - Mark Igbinadolor, College sophomore.
"My New Year's resolution is to enjoy the little moments more often. I think that we as students get lost in our studies and our ambitions and thinking about the future, and we forget to enjoy the moment. On graduation day, I want to look back and be able to say to myself, 'I learned a lot, but I also had fun!" - Lena Sheorey, College sophomore.
Meanwhile, some want to be more appreciative and spread the love.
"My New Year's resolution is kind of simple ... It's that I want to write a letter to someone important in my life every week of the year. It's a big goal, so I'm not sure how easy it will be for me to do it the entire year, but that is what I want to do. I want to do it to remind myself to be grateful for all the people in my life and to not overlook the things they have given me." - Anna Duncan, College freshman.
"I want to spend as much time with my sister as I can because she's graduating from Emory this year, and I want to make more memories." - Maryam Ameen, College sophomore.
And others want to help victims and prevent tragedies.
"My New Year's resolution is to SAPA-train 100 new advocates and/or facilitators. I am going to try and sign up for two trainings a month to make this happen. I encourage everyone to make getting SAPA-trained a New Year's resolution of their own!" - Kiran Sonty, College junior.
Others want to build a stronger community and offer joy.
"[My New Year's resolution is] to be the most fly mascot in Atlanta and to spread the Eagle spirit across campus and beyond." - Swoop the Eagle.
Here at Emory, people are mostly trained to use their brains, but with an increasing intellectual power comes an improved, maybe new, ability to realize the importance of hope, and even better, the importance of spreading that hope to more than the self.
Resolutions might be better kept if the recipient of your hope is somebody else, or if your goal encompasses others. Why? Because the reward of the accomplishment will be doubled; it will be not only a personal success, but also a heart-warming gift for another.
If we have resolutions, let us widen their scope so as to involve others. Let us all work toward our goal with the image of others sketched in our minds. The hope, that "thing with feathers," will catch flight easier, and its flight will be more likely undisturbed.
– By Loli Lucaciu
Photo by Loli Lucaciu
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