“Time goes by so fast” is what we think when we realize that a new year is about to start.

We recall all the events that happened during the year and wonder how we survived, how we made it through and made it to another year. For a moment, we finally manage to put some distance between us and the past. We let go and wish for the best going forward.

We do that by making new year’s resolutions. We tell ourselves we will change our behaviors, and that we deserve better than the previous year.

Some of us want to make changes and a few of us are content with just showing gratitude. However, most of us have some types of strategies on how to start the new year.  

“Honestly, I don’t believe in unicorns and resolutions anymore” says Shen Yunzhu, liberal arts transfer student at Madison College. Her joke nonetheless holds some truth: resolutions are a matter of belief.

Just like unicorns, they exist in our minds. What makes them real is the resolve to pursue them. Shen Yunzhu’s strategy is to make weekly goals, which are more reachable to her than yearly goals.

It is a common tradition to make resolutions. The transition to a new year has always been an opportunity to make promises. A transition that ultimately symbolizes hope for better grades, better relationships, better health, more wealth, more happiness, etc.

“Happy new year!” We shout at each other when the countdown is over as if all of our misfortunes were left behind. Perhaps we are deceiving ourselves by thinking that a new year is a promise for change.

The expression “to walk your talk” illustrates why action must be associated with our resolutions. The fate of our goals is determined by our personal resolve — deciding firmly on a course of action.  

Sedgwick Smith, managing editor at the Clarion, explains that resolutions are made every day. According to him, his goals are not set forward by the notion of a “new year” but they are set forward by his resolve to firmly decide on a course of action every time he wakes up in the morning.

If we had to wait for every new year to make changes in our lives, then procrastination would be a national holiday. The uncertainty of a new year resolution is caused by the length of time it is laid on. Twelve months, 365 days, is enough time for anyone to break a promise at least once.

In my understanding, unicorns are not real just because we wish they are. They are real because we make them real. Thus, wishes should be associated with plan and action.

The question is not whether or not we have wishes for the new year. The question is whether or not we have effective strategies to accomplish them.