New Year’s Resolutions have become quite repetitive in recent years. Year after year, working out more or losing weight is at the top of numerous people’s lists. I can also assure you that responsibilities, like getting better grades next semester and procrastinating less or joining more clubs and getting more involved on campus, are on many college students’ resolution lists.

People usually associate resolutions with something that deals with doing more or doing something better, which can be both satisfying and productive, but that is not the only aspect of a resolution.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a resolution as the act of answering or solving. Sometimes we forget about this part of a resolution’s meaning. Instead of focusing on things we can solve, we focus on new ways of life and introducing new things into our life for the next year.

For example, as I mentioned before, people usually set new goals or go on a new diet for the New Year. While this is great and all, and something that people should continue doing, we should also start paying attention to tensions in our lives that may need to be solved.

Rekindling old friendships or mending relations with someone you used to be close with is also an important task to think about when making a resolution list. In today’s fast-paced world, we are constantly on the move and sometimes forget to stop and think about things in our life that can use a little work, or solving.

New Year’s Resolutions aren’t just about bettering ourselves, but they’re about keeping an open mind and bettering our relationships, too. It is hard to be the one to reach out and fix issues that we may have with others or just in life, but the outcome is rewarding more times than not.

Being able to recognize the problems in our life, no matter how big or small builds character and leaves us with a clearer head. And who doesn’t want to start off the year with a clear and positive note?