A new year focusing on happiness

Historians trace New Year’s resolutions back to the ancient Babylonians who made promises to please the gods at the start of each year. Promises including paying off debts or returning borrowed farming equipment, and other goals that are quite different from typical resolutions today.
For students, especially at this midpoint of the school year, New Year’s Eve is a great time to reflect. Hewlett High School students can think about the past semester and decide how they will improve academically or resolve a personal issue.
This year, 2016, I would like me and my peers to focus on happiness. Goals such as joining the gym or studying efficiently are important, but happiness should not be forgotten. As a senior, I am looking forward to focusing on personal goals during the “second-semester” when many seniors are diagnosed with “senioritis.”
To my fellow seniors, I recommend not embracing senioritis, or perhaps embracing it in a productive way. Senioritis is described as an affliction of students in their final year of high school or college, characterized by a decrease in motivation or performance.
If seniors find themselves bored with extra time, I think this year is a perfect time to achieve long-term goals, or discover new endeavors. Even though many seniors will succumb to laziness with their schoolwork, I hope that they can at least stay active within the community and their extracurricular activities. As other seniors and I approach the next chapter of our lives, where most of us will attend college and live for the first time without our parents, it is crucial that students spend their time wisely and prepare for our new independence.

Besides the activities I am already involved in, I hope to spend more time re-fostering my love for reading. Within the business of high school, I have lost my hobby of reading. I would also like to spend free-time learning new skills or information. If students each day spent 15 minutes fewer on their phones, I think we could all accomplish something.
It is almost unbelievable that it is 2016, that I started high school almost four years ago, began writing for the Herald almost three years ago, and will attend college in less than a year.
Resolutions made on New Year’s Eve are often broken, but sometimes the hardest part of resolutions is revising them when we fail. I know that 2016 will bring exciting challenges and new experiences, so my resolutions might change throughout the year. However, keeping an underlying goal of staying positive will bring success at each benchmark, whether big or small. Despite differences with the ancient Babylonians, I think we are all ultimately aiming to stay happy as we celebrate New Year’s.