Every year, millions of people nationwide make a set of goals for themselves for the New Year, and 2010 is no different. From eating healthy to kicking procrastination habits, Boston University students are trying hard to keep their resolutions for this year and the new decade.
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‘I’m trying to improve my time management,’ Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences sophomore Nina Burke said. ‘I have had no struggles yet, but the school year has just started.’
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According to a Jan. 10 Miami Herald article, New Year’s resolutions were first created by ancient Babylonians who believed that what a person does on the first day of the new year will impact the way they behave for the rest of the year.
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Research shows that three-quarters of people keep their resolutions for more than a week, and 46 percent are able to last for beyond six months, The Herald said.
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Many people make resolutions involving food, either by dieting, eating less or simply skipping deserts here and there.
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College of Arts and Sciences senior Federica Salvi hopes to eat healthier this year by omitting sweets.
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‘Let’s just say it’s going OK,’ she said.
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Tyler Blum, a College of Fine Arts junior, said he had a previous resolution that involved food.
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‘I told myself I wouldn’t add salt to my food for a year and I did it for a full year, so now I add salt on occasion,’ he said.
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SAR sophomore Dafna Goldwasser said she wants to feel better by cooking healthier.
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‘I cook every day,’ she said. ‘And I always try something new.’
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CAS freshman Kelly Dickinson has other aspirations.
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‘I want to be less socially awkward,’ she said. ‘I’m really, really trying.’
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Meanwhile, School of Management sophomore Mark Chandoo hopes to become more active in the BU community.
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‘I want to further involve myself in the university,’ he said.
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The United States government website, USA.gov, reports some of the most popular New Year’s resolutions include getting fit and attempting to reduce stress.
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Research shows that about 80 percent of people who make resolutions on Jan. 1 give up by Valentine’s Day, according to a Jan. 2009 article in The New York Times.
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Catarina Khang, a School of Hospitality Administration junior, said she has tried hard to keep resolutions in years past, but generally gives up earlier than planned.
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‘Generally I fall off my resolution by the end of January when New Year’s resolutions wear off,’ she said. ‘And I don’t pick it up again until Lent when I re-try.’
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