For some, the New Year means a fresh start on the trek to reaching major goals. A New Year’s resolution can be a tangible goal or an opportunity to make small changes that one feels needs to be made.

“I believe in resolutions,” said Melanie Mather, a Weber State University junior studying creative writing. “I think the problem with some people is that they set their standards a little too high. If they made more reasonable resolutions and worked on them a little bit at a time, I think they’d have an easier time at keeping them.”

The WSU resolutions this year are big and small, and can sometimes be very personal to the individual student.

“Well, for one thing, I’d like to complete a story that I’ve been working on for the past six years,” Mather said. “I hope to finally get a first draft done. I resolve to be a little more organized. I resolve to read more often. I want to read at least 25 books from cover to cover. I resolve to be more mellow and soft-spoken, to have more patience.”

Many WSU students are taking 2012 as an opportunity to work toward the usual resolutions, like studying more, making healthier choices and saving up money. Others have taken another route entirely.

“Well, when I was younger, I used to stick to the cliche resolutions like lose weight and keep a journal,” said WSU psychology major Heather Edwards. “But now I don’t really practice the tradition too much. Mainly I just strive to just be a better person than I was the year before. Pretty vague, but it makes me feel like I’m working towards something important rather than focusing on the superficial stuff.”

Some students choose not to participate in New Year’s resolutions because oftentimes their goals are pushed to the wayside and forgotten early in the year. Other students believe that a New Year’s resolution can be a waste of time.

“I want to apply for the education program,” said WSU freshman Taylor Kinworthy. “That’s really my big thing. Resolutions aren’t that big of a deal for me. I just kind of do the year as it comes along.”

Some goals are focused on learning new skills or perfecting old ones. As 2012 began, students had an opportunity to reflect on 2011 and recall if they achieved their goals from the beginning of the last year.

“My goal was the usual: lose weight and everything, work out more,” Kinworthy said. “I did that most of the year.”

Others don’t recall what their goals were from the previous year.

“I can’t really remember if I had any 2011 resolutions, but if I did have resolutions last year, I did a pretty good job,” Mather said. “It was not a bad year.”

Whether the goals are big or small, some WSU students have set a path for 2012.

“I want to learn how to play the piano; that’s one of my resolutions,” said WSU music major Jimmy Hildreth. “I want to be more organized. I had a little trouble keeping my house clean this last year, but I’ve been working really hard at it to try and improve. I’m just trying to be a kinder person, be more Christ-like, I guess. Last year I made new friends, I told more jokes, and I’ve worked on getting to work on time.”