On Dec. 31, I sat in my childhood living room surrounded by family and watched eagerly as the old clock sitting on the mantle ticked its last tock of 2011 and rang in the start of 2012. I took a deep breath as the champagne cork popped, the noise makers clanged and my family began to celebrate. In that instant, it dawned on me I was entering into my last semester at USI.

Of course the beginning of a new year is always an exciting time. Most people myself included, use it as an opportunity for a fresh start. In the weeks leading up to January, people first make lists filled with bad habits to break, challenges to face and dreams to finally make come true.

Unfortunately for most people, the majority of the resolutions declared in the lists made at the beginning of the year are left unresolved by the end of the first month. Diets are abandoned, cigarettes are purchased and credit cards are swiped. Can-do mentalities are transitioned systematically back to can’t do anything about it mindsets.

Why it is that we choose to constantly make resolutions so numerous and outlandish that we can’t possibly abide by them?

For the past seven years, losing weight was at the top of my resolutions list, and it wasn’t until last year that I actually accomplished it. It was by no means an easy task. Food was no longer fast, hydration no longer came in a can and stress relief suddenly came in the form of an elliptical machine rather than a bubble bath.

Even though it took me longer than a year, I managed to lose 150 pounds.

I honestly believe that resolution success comes in the form of perseverance. People need to cut themselves some slack. Rather than making a list of 20 resolutions and trying to fulfill all of them by the end of the year, they should choose one and stick with it until it’s resolved, no matter how many years it may take.

In the days following my own new year’s graduation revelation, I began to wonder what my resolution for this year would be. Having finally conquered the one that had haunted me for what seemed like forever. I decided that I needed to pick one that was a little different this time around.

I read a quote by Norman Vincent Peale and it said “Change your thoughts and you change your world.”  I decided then and there that my resolution this year would simply be to think positively. I figure I’m definitely going to need the optimism as I begin the dreaded transition into the real world this April.