The Hoof is a satire column created to find humor in the daily life of Cal Poly students. If you’re looking for news, this is not it. If you’re looking for sports, this is kind of it, because we’re having a ball. Ha. Puns.
Ani Nazarian is an English sophomore and an opinion columnist for Mustang News. The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Mustang Media Group.
Hello Mustangs, and happy belated New Year! We all waited patiently, wanting to see midnight arrive, something that typically fills us with dread when submitting last-minute assignments on Canvas. As we enter the year of 2025, many of us have created lists of goals we would like to achieve throughout the upcoming year. Or some, like myself, live by the philosophy of new year, same me.
With each passing year, our resolutions seemingly become more and more ambitious, but subsequently harder and harder to achieve. By now, most Americans have already given up on their serious resolutions. This begs the question: have we had it wrong all this time? Perhaps we can benefit from approaching these goals with a different mindset?
Do not fret, my little learning colts and fillies. This year, I made it a goal to make more achievable goals, both for myself and my peers. I’m well aware that it is almost February, meaning most of you have probably already given up on your resolutions! So, rather than going on extreme diets, burning yourself out with piles of homework, and spreading yourself thin in your social life, I’ve found better ways to put yourself first and erase that pesky go-getter mindset!
Why stress over what you want to achieve, when you can eliminate achieving and stressing entirely? I’d like to delve into some of these resolutions, and some tips and tricks you can use to follow them well.
- Taking care of yourself
Putting the right things into your body is crucial to maintain your health and positive mentality. Eating what makes you happy in the long term allows you to feel better about yourself, both physically and emotionally. Although several of us choose to start following food regimens and diets upon the arrival of a new year, I insist we can all benefit by having a desert every now and then to break the ice. Of course, eventually, we’re going to have a “cheat day,” so we might as well start cheating from the beginning.
This may sound like a discouraging and contradictory idea. Still, I personally ate an entire chocolate cake as soon as the clock struck midnight and now have a complete chocolate aversion that not even therapy can reverse! After forcing myself to consume upwards of 1000 calories, I found that I would now rather jump off a cliff than eat chocolate or cake! Use this trick on any temptation to be sure you’ll stay away from excessive sugar the whole year long!.
- Taking a break from work
I’m well aware that, as college students, we believe that following the 25/35 rule is vital in order to achieve academic success. However, if we constantly work and never take time to relax, we are often more susceptible to burnout and producing sub-par work. This is why taking breaks every now and then is extremely important. I found that, even when I force myself to start doing my schoolwork and attempt to keep at it for hours at a time, I become easily distracted by my roommates, family situations, that menacing chocolate cake in the back of the fridge…
However, I found that starting the year without even touching one’s homework eliminates any expectations or hopes to improve academically. Without having a standard or anything to begin with, you aren’t letting yourself down! We are only torturing ourselves by creating to-do lists that are never met, implementing our schedules in our Google calendars that we don’t follow and writing affirmations in our planners that we probably will not practice. So, in this new year, try not to try! Your future self will thank you.
- Prioritizing your mental health
I have spent past years attempting to fit plans with friends into my busy schedule, which takes away from my time to decompress and recover. I’m aware that many others do this, but I found that one still manages to let people down in the process. Putting the loved ones in your life first is a beautiful way to show your affection, however, this should not be done at your own expense. I am advocating that, in 2025, we should all simply try to protect our peace and ensure no one gets let down or hurt feelings if we just don’t go outside!
Staying indoors all day has proven to be extremely physically and emotionally rejuvenating. If one makes absolutely no plans or prioritizations to see their loved ones, they can avoid seeing those they do not want to see and hurting those they do want to see! When no one in your life feels prioritized, you subsequently prioritize everyone.
These realistic resolutions may seem like ineffective tasks, but I can assure you they are fool-proof and tested, all ending in successful results. Once one simply stops trying at life, everything begins to work out.
I recommend you all go with the flow this year! Don’t try something new when you love doing something old. Don’t put yourself in a stressful situation when you can just stay home and scroll on TikTok. It’ll be banned soon, so be sure to get those hours in now, while you still can! I hope you all had a safe and lovely break Mustangs, and a successful start to this new year.