We are almost one month into the New Year, and I have spent the majority of this month ruminating on one question. How resolute are New Year’s Resolutions?

I have never seen the purpose in waiting for a new year to get a clean slate. It has never made much sense to me how people only make it a priority to change themselves once the date changes.

I’ve never seen the purpose for New Year’s Resolutions, but that does not mean there isn’t one. People are always willing to change; they just need the encouragement to do it.

When our calendars are reset on Jan. 1, it is almost like an annual ritual that people must do in order to forget the past and move forward with their lives.

This ritual encourages everyone to start anew, just like the calendar. We all may physically still be the same people, but many have mentally moved on from the past year.

“Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind?”

These opening lines of the classic New Year’s song ‘Auld Lang Syne’ exemplify the very meaning of forgetting the past and moving forward.

“Auld lang syne” is an old Scottish saying that translates into “times gone by.”

This song is sung every new year to commemorate the times that have gone by. Once we revel in the New Year and put the past year’s troubles behind us, what is left?

New Year’s Resolutions are what fills that hole that is left behind. The past year’s troubles are gone, and resolutions are made so that these troubles don’t arise in the New Year.

How resolute are New Year’s Resolutions? They give the encouragement that people need in order to change themselves for the better. A New Year’s Resolution is a gateway for people to throw out their old selves and begin again.

Even though I do not personally feel as if New Year’s Resolutions are effective in my life, I still encourage anyone who needs a change to make them.

If you are unhappy with how your last year went, then you should do something about it. Make a resolution and stick to it.