Every year, gyms across America are packed on January 1, filled with people hoping to kickstart their New Year’s resolutions. While fitness goals are some of the most popular resolutions out there, they’re far from being the only kinds people set for themselves. Some students are already taking on campus with the same New Year’s mindset, while others are staying away from the controversial topic.

Senior marketing and sales major, Jaelyn McCourt, is a student who consistently sets New Year’s resolutions. She even completed eight out of 10 of her goals for the past year and wants to continue setting resolutions in the future.

“My New Year’s resolutions this year are as simple as practicing Korean three times a week to as big as going to graduate school or getting my own apartment,” McCourt said. “I like having small goals and big goals. Goal setting is a big part of my life and goals align my focus.”

A lot of students hear the term and think that their resolutions must be big and geared towards academics or job-focused. For McCourt, she said she believes the reason many students don’t stick to their goals is that they think too broadly.

“People think they need to have goals that are hard to obtain and if people would make smaller, realistic goals they would be more effective,” McCourt said. “For example, a popular New Year’s resolution is to go to the gym five times a week. Instead of five times a week, aiming for three days a week is a more realistic approach, and you’re more likely to see results.”

Junior early childhood education major, Sarah Juba, is another student who thinks that New Year’s resolutions can be important if made correctly. As a college student, she said her resolutions help her to stay on track and look at her progress from year to year.

“College is hard enough as it is, and I think it can be important for college students to try and make a resolution to get into a healthy mindset before the upcoming semester,” Juba said. “For instance, I think that taking mental health days in college can be a resolution for them so they don’t get burnt out by the end of the semester.”

Some of Juba’s resolutions for the year are to go to the gym one more day a week and read 50 books throughout the year. She normally follows through with her resolutions since she makes new goals each year and never lets herself make too big of goals.

“I think that they [New Year’s resolutions] are a good way to get people motivated into trying something new for themselves, but they can be a little repetitive,” Juba said. “You can say you are going to work out and eat healthily and do it for a week then stop. Then you do it again the following year. A resolution doesn’t have to be anything huge; it can be as little as getting into a routine or trying a new food once a week.”

McCourt and Juba start each New Year off with new resolutions but junior global cultural studies major, Alyssa Beers, takes a different approach to achievements. Beers prefers to make her goals throughout the year since New Year’s Resolutions aren’t something she grew up with.

“I don’t make New Year’s resolutions, not for any specific reason,” said Beers. “My family just never really made it a big deal. I think that if you have the motivation and the drive then go achieve whatever it is you wish to. But, there’s not a reason to wait till the beginning of the year to start things you want to do.”

While Beers isn’t one for resolutions, she’s all for making changes on one’s own terms, especially as a student. It’s how she guides her own life and she suggests it to help grow inside and out.

“You don’t have to set a goal specifically, if there’s something you want to do then be impulsive, do it, live life to the fullest,” said Beers. “Don’t let social trends control what you do with yourself.”