Duaa studies BSc (Hons) Clinical Sciences here at The University of Bradford. She tells us about her New Year’s resolutions and the resolutions you could choose to improve your time at university.
Duaa Abdulal, BSc (Hons) Clincal Sciences
The start of a new year is always a great time to switch things up and change certain aspects of your life. You have probably heard people going on about how everything is going to be different in the new year but that does not mean that you have to completely change your life. Everyone’s new year’s resolutions are personal, and you do not have to do what everyone else is doing.
Some of your typical new year’s resolutions include eating more healthily, exercising more, learning new skills, saving money and working on your friendships and relationships.
Those are all valid resolutions and you may decide that you are going to pick one of those but try and think about it properly. You want to pick new year’s resolutions which are relevant to your life and which are going to ensure that you are as healthy and happy as possible.
My New Year’s resolutions
My personal resolutions for 2020 are quite typical and they include:
- participating more in university activities and sports teams
- working on my time management
- spending more time with my family
All of my resolutions all lead back to how effectively I can organise my time so that I do not stretch myself too thin and so I can also enjoy my third year at university. University students who live away from home may struggle to stay in touch with their families and putting more effort into those relationships may be a new year’s resolution for some of you.
Academic resolutions
I reckon that one of the most common things that students say is “I’m going to get my life together next semester” and the new year brings about a new perspective on university life.
A lot of first-year students may view the first semester as a trial run and then the new year and second semester may cause people to take their academic life a bit more seriously.
One of your resolutions could be to organise your time more effectively so that you are more on top of your workload. Timetabling a safety margin so that you complete all your work way before the deadlines could also be a good new year’s resolution that may reduce stress during busy times of the year.
Another academic new year’s resolution could be to ask for help whenever necessary. I think a lot of university students do not think they can approach their lecturers with questions, but it is important to ask for help when you need it.
Personal resolutions
Being a university student can be challenging but you need to do everything you can to ensure that you enjoy your university life. There needs to be a balance between your academic and social life so that you can gain as much as possible from your university experience.
A personal new year’s resolution could be to join sports teams and socialise more with your peers. Another personal resolution may be to learn how to effectively live independently by learning how to cook. This could also tie into the eating healthily new year’s resolution. University is the best place for you to acquire skills which you will need for the rest of your life.
New year, same mistakes
The issue with making new year’s resolutions is that they can sometimes be unrealistic – so perhaps you could give yourself an initial deadline, such as till the end of January so that you can see whether you can realistically incorporate your resolution into your daily life.
It is very easy to give up on your new year’s resolution and there is nothing wrong with that but sometimes it is good to attempt to stick with resolutions that will really help you in the long run.
New year, new challenges
Everyone is so focused on making these new year’s resolutions for 2020 but we have to remember that each year brings about a new set of challenges. Therefore, it is vital that you are adaptable so that you can readjust your resolutions in order to accommodate for whatever comes your way in 2020.
Just remember that everyone’s new year’s resolutions are personal and there is no pressure to change who you are and how you live your life.
Make new year’s resolutions that make you happy and improve your life. It really doesn’t have to be a ‘new year, new me’ situation, just enjoy 2020.
Leave a Reply