Resolutions
The Macquarie Dictionary defines a resolution as a 'resolve or determination'. Hence it is with the dawn of a new year (and flood of post-Christmas motivational articles, you know the ones like 'A new year, A new you') that many (myself included) suddenly become determined to resolve their woes.
New Year's resolutions are our annual reassessment to collectively determine and address the flawed areas of our lives. Most commonly this results in increased attempts to minimise recreational spending or maximise one's general recreation.
This year I thought (rather cleverly) I would stay general, with a higher chance of pursuing my resolution. I decided I would simply 'stay motivated'. The mere fact that I am submitting this article on deadline is a testament to societies general feeling towards New Year's Resolutions. In essence they are promises we make ourselves with no real intention of commitment. The first week of January you might renew your gym membership or hide your credit card, avoid the confectionery aisle when shopping, or like me dust off the home gym and spring clean the wardrobe but by Australia Day the pavlova and lamingtons are in abundance and the Tooheys is free flowing. Nothing is resolved, with much of society in the same boat and with Valentines Day on the horizon, resolutions are generally forgotten now until the last day of December.
Ironically, New Year's Resolutions are far from resolute, so it is with this logic that I propose replacing your New Year's Resolution with a 'New You Resolution'. A promise you intend to keep to yourself to become the person you want to be. Whether it is your first O-Week or your final, university is the place to develop that New You. We all want something out of university whether it is just a solid education or life-long friendships and it is all there for the taking; it just took me a year to realise this.
It was a new year, new city, a new schedule and new faces everyday. I knew no-one, had no real idea of where I was going or what I expected. I felt completely conflicted and didn't have as much confidence as I would have liked. My units were from all faculties and just when I was comfortable with the friends I'd found, my units changed and so did theirs. I had always read university was a place where people questioned themselves, who they were, what they wanted, what direction is the right one, but never thought this would refer to me.
If I could have been told anything in starting university, it would not have been 'Dr. Phil is not a reliable reference' or 'If you join the gym with a friend you can get great deals' like I was informed. It would have been this; prepare yourself for questions. To question your ideas, to question your opinions (and to have them questioned), to question yourself and of course to question your source reliability (sorry to inform you but Wiki no longer cuts it). More importantly, know that it is okay to search for answers. Know it is okay to go and ask for directions, it's okay to go and sit next to someone in a lecture hall, it's okay to go to your lecturers or tutors, it's okay to be nervous and anxious and excited and confused. It is okay to join clubs or the Global Leadership Program and ask Macquarie Mentors questions and to get lost. It is okay to take some time to enjoy university (after all it is a fun place!), to go to the gym or lake or Uni bar and get to know the place and people you will be spending the next few years with. Most importantly, know and remember there is always a resolution to your questions or worries or concerns - you just have to know where to look and not be afraid to ask for directions if you get lost along the way. Start your new year determined to be confident, to resolve your problems and become that New You. I know I will be and will be better off for it.
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