Top Ten New Year's Resolutions for the College Student

Is it really that time of year again? Finals, holidays, and the infamous New Year's resolutions that often get forgotten before the last of the holiday decorations get taken down -only to haunt us the next year when we torture ourselves by writing them again. This list is specifically designed for the college student, although the list's themes of experiencing new things and taking advantage of opportunities apply to people in any life situation. These goals are both reasonable and far from cliché (although if you wish to lose weight, watch less television, and/or exercise more, feel free to add those on your own). So, without further ado, here are ten New Year's resolutions, specifically designed for the college student. Let's make 2010 a memorable year.

10. Turn in a paper a week before it's due

I know it sounds foolish, but this is absolutely liberating. Aside from developing better work habits, enjoy getting that killer assignment out of the way early and take a well-deserved week off without that paper hanging over your head.

9. Try Karaoke

It's a well-documented fact that if you don't try it in college, you never will. I don't have the documentation, but trust me on this one. It's a blast.

8. Get to know your professors

Many college students go through an entire semester without so much as meeting with one professor. Not only do these people hold the keys to your performance in school, but they have also gone through everything that you are currently experiencing and have some valuable insight regarding finishing things on time and doing well on assignments. And believe it or not, they want you to succeed as much as you do, and most of them are very interesting people.

7. Take a class outside of your major that sounds interesting

I had a friend recommend courses in Economics even though I was an English major, and I took the advice on a whim. It may be the best decision I made in school. Aside from being topical and relevant, I enjoyed the classes so much I used Economics classes to fulfill most of my electives.

6. Go to an event on campus you have never attended before

There are so many things happening on college campuses that most students don't even stop to read the flyers that cover entire bulletin boards and walls of buildings. However, entertaining, enlightening events take place on campuses that the general public has to pay to attend, and you only get four years to take advantage of free musicals, sporting events, and dance shows. There is no better time to find out if something in the layers of flyers for campus events contains anything of interest to you.

5. Eat at every restaurant your meal plan allows you to

Most college students have meal plans which allow you to eat at various places both on and off campus. While eating at a dining commons may be convenient, think of your meal plan as a gift card to every restaurant in the area-it would be foolish not to try them all.

4. Contribute to the school paper

Free college newspapers are, in my opinion, one of the best places to read the news of the day. After graduation, you will have precious few opportunities to read news in print from sources that have little to no ties with the corporations or governmental powers that are being written about. Furthermore, getting involved with the school paper is usually a fairly easy task, and the skills you learn will help you down the line even if you don't want to write for a living.

3. Approach that guy/girl that you like

Hey, this is one of the last places you'll be where if he or she says "no" after your last class together, you probably won't see this person again anyway. It only gets more risky after this.

2. Stay up all night studying, at least once

Doctors may not recommend this one, but the body's response to an all-nighter is truly astonishing if you have never experienced it before. If you time it right, you can take the test at the height of your second wind and then crash afterward.

1. Find the fraction of 1% of you that separates you from the rest

Okay, for the most part I stayed away from clichés. But college is the time when we (hopefully) figure out what we want to do with our lives and (for the most part) separate ourselves from the people who have provided for us our whole lives. Group mentality rules in college just as in high school or anywhere else, but that doesn't change after graduation anyway, unless you make it. Finding people that support what you want to do and who you are is half the battle, and the other half, which is actually figuring out who you are, is much easier after this.