As students are returning to school, many of the resolutions include school.

“I will do better in my classes” or “I will pass Spanish this year” grace many a journal, with “graduate high school and get accepted to college” as the wishes of seniors across Hall County.

However, are there any resolutions that can stick a whole year?

Society pushes health and wellness, but experts recommend setting attainable goals that can be tracked in detail, to make sure that accomplishments are rewarded and the resolve sticks for 365 days.

“Choosing a concrete, achievable goal also gives you the opportunity to plan exactly how you are going to accomplish your goal over the course of the year,” according to About Health, an online psychology website.  

The key to setting goals is to start small and plan for only one major resolution.

This can include traveling to a different country, reading a certain amount of books, meeting new people or creating a piece of art.

Plan out the resolution into daily goals, and reward yourself when you achieve those goals. Go to Starbucks, spend some time with friends, sit in your hammock or watch another episode of your favorite Netflix rerun. Little reminders of how good it feels to stick with something will make you more likely to carry the resolution all the way to the end of 2016.

The most important thing to do is to write down each and every New Year’s resolution that comes to mind. You can then dissect each resolution into how you will achieve it, by when it should be complete, what you will need to accomplish your goal and if you need any help in being successful.

Resolutions don’t have to be concrete. It’s all right to have ideas for the new year, or an emotional change that you want to see happen.

“My resolution is to love myself. I want a fresh start and to leave everything in 2015 behind,” said Randa Reed, a senior at Chestatee High School.

Ask others for help as soon as possible, because the longer you drag out the decisionmaking process, the less motivated you will be when you can finally start your resolution.

By writing down each new resolution, you can look back on it throughout the year, check off individual goals and use the opportunity to reflect on how your year has been so far, how you would like it to continue and what changes you have noticed in yourself through these new resolutions.

Remember, it is completely fine to add resolutions after the new year has already started. I started a new one on Jan. 4, and I’ve already caught up on the days that I missed.

It’s a commitment that takes strength and determination, but a New Year’s resolution is one of the few chances that you will have as you grow older to decide what you want each year to be about. When we can’t change where we work, or the people we are around, we can always look forward to fulfilling our New Year’s resolutions.