A Charger Blogger’s Guide to New (Academic) Year Resolutions

We’ve all heard about New Year’s Resolutions. You plan to join a new gym, start some new diet where sugar is evil and butter is outlawed, and you wake up at the crack of dawn to become one with the trees– and it all seems like it’s coming together. Right?

The author looks at her unused gym membership, knowing she hasn’t touched a dumbbell in six months. “Haha, yeah. Totally.”

I’ve spent three years of my life at this institution. I’ve studied, cried over those studies, ordered an emotional support coffee, and pretty much repeated the cycle with intermissions of work, sleep, eating, and whatever grass-touching I’m able to get in. And my biggest regret?

Not having enough fun.

College isn’t about partying 24/7– you know this, and I know this. To the faculty who are reading this, I imagine you aren’t going to dance parties in your free time. Yet, there is a balance to be considered here. Nobody can just work all the time. There is a need to sleep, eat, etc. No human in the history of ever has worked all the time for forever. It’s impossible, because you’ll go crazy and eventually die from the effects. As morbid as that may be, it’s the truth.

Now: how does this relate to New Year’s Resolutions? Well, it’s my final year, and I think it’s time I finally do some of the things I’ve held off for the past three years. If you feel called to brainstorm as you read through these, go for it! Grab your favorite pen and some paper, and brain away. Ready? Let’s go!

I love my friends. I’d probably take a bullet for them as much as I may call them an idiot. Being a pre-medical student, however, has really thrown a wrench in the socialization plan. Pre-med life is pretty much the equivalent of playing wack-a-mole, but the moles are yelling at you and you’re blind. It’s equally as rage-inducing as it is tear-infused.

Yeah, it’s great. Really. (Sobbing).

So, in the midst of hitting moles, you’re supposed to: eat, sleep, drink (water), and say hi to people. If you weren’t aware, socialization is very important to the health of human beings as a whole. In fact, according to Harvard Medical School, it was found that the group of individuals who socialized the most in a given population had 70% less cognitive decline (Godman). That’s crazy. Maybe locking yourself away from society is not a great idea.

With that being said, I’ve decided to say “hey” more. A week later, my counter was packed with bacon, scrambled eggs, muffins, and everyone’s favorite, French toast. The entire hallway smelled of brunch, and I was delighted. This was the first time I’d seen anyone for, like, a year because we’re all stupid busy, and there we were, laughing away. We talked about joint pain, how old we are (we’re all 21 or 20), what we’ve been up to, jobs, internships, what we do during our lives, and whoa:

Maybe this is what we were meant to be doing all along.

If you ask me how I am, I’ll usually say “I’m tired” or “My legs hurt” because leg days are the days where I make sure I’m hobbling down the Rec’s stairs. After falling off the health train, my goal is to improve my physical health to better my psychological and emotional health. Also, part of being an EMT-B is lifting heavy people, which, in America, is a pretty common phenomenon. So, if lifting heavy circles can make me a better provider, so be it.

Lately, my version of doing this has been building Legos and watching something on my laptop. It gives me the opportunity to let my brain use a different thinking pathway than homework, and it helps me start to wind down after a long day of running around campus like a headless chicken. I’ve found that when you give your brain ample rest and show it that it’s still able to do fun things, it tends to study better. I imagine there is some psychological magic behind this, but y’know what? The credentials are my nog, currently (Beatrice’s Nog).

Anyhow, I hope you all have enjoyed these little nuggets of my sleep-deprived brain because I like telling you about what happens in my 21-year-old life. Granted, there are definitely a few weird moments, but it’s fine. Everything is fine. Yeah.

Author: *looks at biochem calculations*
Brain cell: “Absolutely not.”

Thank you all for reading this article, and, as always, stay tuned for more, and I’ll see you in the next!!
With plenty of hugs, love, and peanut butter,
Bea

Godman, Heidi. “Get Back Your Social Life to Boost Thinking, Memory, and Health.” Harvard Health, 1 Apr. 2022, www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/get-back-your-social-life-to-boost-thinking-memory-and-health. Accessed 28 Aug. 2025.