I’m trying to decide if New Year’s Resolutions are even worth it this year. Part of me says, “Yes, fool, they are. You’ve gotta have goals.” Part of me says, “Hell, no. You never follow them, you never keep them, so why make them?” I have this internal debate each year about this time–in fact, usually on the 27th. It’s partially habit, I guess; but you might be surprised to know that I haven’t made resolutions for the last few years.

There are a lot of reasons behind that. The main one is that, frankly, I’ve ceased to care about NYR’s. I am a goals-oriented person, but it seems so silly to let the turn of a solar calendar rule my goal-setting time. I’m constantly setting goals–making some, missing others–and so the process holds no special power over me.
For some strange reason, though, I am compelled to do them this year. Why, I’m not quite sure. I think that part of it is because I seek to do some goal checking. Perhaps more of it is just the desire to be a better man than I am now. I’ve done a lot of that through my writing; writing about myself makes me examine myself, warts and all. I’m certainly not happy with bits and pieces of me, but you know, on the whole, I’m happy with the totality. Sure, there are things I’d like to be doing better: better study habits, better fiscal responsibility, better eating and exercise habits. But on the whole, I am fairly happy with who I am.

Or at least I think so right now.

I think, perhaps, that the biggest part of the push involves the fact that, in less than five months, I will have completed my Bachelor of Science in Engineering in Mechanical Engineering [with Aerospace Concentration]. Unlike a lot of people, I am not afraid of jumping out into the real world. In a lot of ways, I’ve been there already; with the help of my parents, I’ve been slowly edging that way since I was 16 or so.

I think my desire to write NYR’s comes from the fact that I am ready to hit the real world, and maybe I haven’t quite decided what I want to be yet. In some ways, I have; I plan on being God’s Instrument, wherever that takes me. But in many others, I haven’t.

Perhaps a good NYR would be to resolve to decide …