As Christmas comes along, the start of a new year quickly follows.  As the time slowly counts down on the eve of the New Year, Dec. 31, many keep in the tradition of making their New Year’s resolutions.

With a new year starting, there are good and bad things about it.

“The best thing about the new year is that you can start fresh.  The worst is having to say goodbye to all the good memories that happened throughout the previous year,” ninth grader Mariah Alverson said.

“My new years resolution this year is to be a better student,” Alverson said.

“My new years resolutions is to get good grades all year,” ninth grader Emily Little said.

According to a New Year’s resolutions statistic from statistic brain, 45% of Americans make new years resolutions and only 8% of them are successful.

“Even though I’ve lost interest in the past, I plan on working hard this year to achieve my goal and be a part of that 8% of people who succeed,” Alverson said.

A New Year’s resolution could be anything someone wants it to be. It might be to lose weight, get all A’s in school, get organized or spend more time with friends and family.

“My new years resolution is to go to the wellness center to walk on a treadmill with Mrs. Wendle three times a week,” Lisa Plummer said.

While many believe in setting goals for the year, about 38% of Americans never make them, simply because they don’t believe in them, according to statistic brain.

“I don’t believe in them because whenever someone makes one they say they’re going to work hard and stick with it, but they always fail to achieve it,” ninth grader Salena Neeley said.

There are many things someone could do to help keep focused and achieve their goals.

“Some things you could do to help you achieve your goals are: set smaller goals that would take you to your bigger goal, be persistent and hang in there and find someone who has already achieved the same goal and see if they can help you,” Plummer said.

New Year’s  resolutions are made by millions each year according to the previous source.  Even the ones who don’t make them still have goals they hope to achieve.

“Although I don’t believe in them, I still have goals I would like to achieve throughout my life,” Neeley said.

The goals people make in life are what keep them going, if they believe in something hard enough they can achieve it.