New Year, New Ridley?

The dawn of a new year is a better time than any to start anew and redirect your life in a more fulfilling direction that aligns with your goals and values. Although different cultures' new year celebrations differ in time, each variation shares the common themes of rebirth, renewal, and transformation. For example, the holiday of Diwali, which marks the beginning of the new year in certain regions of India, will take place this upcoming October, as will Rosh Hashanah, the new year in the Jewish faith, while the Islamic New Year will take place in late June. The Lunar New Year, celebrated across East and Southeast Asia, took place on January 29th this year and marked the transition from the Year of the Dragon to the Year of the Snake. The chronological system of measuring temporal progression that situates the shift from the old year to the new on the first day of January is the Gregorian calendar, adopted across most of the Western world around 1582 when it was given official precedence over the Julian calendar by the Catholic Church. Despite the differences in the timing of various observances of the “New Year” across the world, their similar provision of a distinction between what was and what will come to be renders them the perfect time to resolve that the mistakes, mishaps, or misfortunes that may have characterized the past few months of our lives do not need to be brought forward into those to come. Although there is no wrong time to pursue a change for the better, mustering the will to change may appear less arduous when a concurrent seasonal or chronological change is also transpiring or when so many others are mapping out resolutions of their own.

Here are some of the resolutions shared with the Tiger Times by members of the Ridley faculty:

Mrs. Tredway’s resolution is “To read more, especially before bed” to avoid excessive screen time, increase active engagement with literature instead of passive engagement with onscreen narratives, and increase quiet time spent reflecting.

Mrs. Smajda from the Guidance Office’s resolution is “To get back into a morning yoga routine.”

Headmaster Kidd’s resolution is to “Join Samo in the 1000lbs club!”

Mr. Martinez’s resolution is “To keep working on his squash skills.”

Mr. Doyle from the Mathematics Department’s resolution is “To make golf a priority” by training consistently and to “Call an old friend once a week.”

Ms. O’Rourke’s resolution is to “Mark assessments faster.”

If you have a New Year’s resolution of your own, I’d like to encourage you to keep at it – and if you haven’t made one yet, remember that there’s nothing preventing you from doing so now! Here are some recommendations for people who hope to achieve their personal goals for 2025: try to associate your goal with your values so that it gains more significance in your mind and try not to feel beholden to a mindset that presumes nothing other than complete fulfillment of your goal is worthy. Progress is progress, and it’s admirable to take the initiative to change your life and act, regardless of whether you’re able to see your resolution through in exactly the way you initially envisioned it.

Some studies have indicated that treating resolutions as a social exercise to improve your peers’ perception of you can be detrimental to your likelihood of following through on your goals, as it may give you a “false sense of accomplishment.” Of course, holding yourself accountable to your goals by making other people aware of them may also increase your likelihood of maintaining your commitment to change instead of discarding them as though they were a passing whim. Since each path has its pitfalls, I would recommend pursuing the one that you think suits you best. If you’re on the fickle side and find yourself pursuing personal projects that you don’t consistently follow up on, maybe letting a trusted friend or family member know about your goal could help it feel more tangible and thereby facilitate its completion. However, if you have sufficient intrinsic motivation and feel that treating your resolution as a covenant with yourself would make it feel like more than an exercise in social appearances, then perhaps keeping it to yourself may be the best course of action.

Happy 2025, and good luck to those of you engaged in personal reinvention, whatever form it may take!