By Sean Wetselaar
Forgive me while I engage in a brief, January cliché, but I’m going to talk about New Year’s resolutions.
If you’re a student, you’ve probably heard or read a thousand posts about the best ways to keep up with your resolutions, or how to maintain a tough new workout regiment in the new year. Or any other number of generic pieces of life advice.
These might seem silly to you (most of them probably are), but there is a nugget of wisdom to be gained here. Students are young, many are living on their own for the first time, and your university years are a time to think about the adult you — that includes habits like working out, eating well and lots of the other classic resolutions.
Thinking about who you want to be is definitely an important part of these years of your life. But I think it’s a conversation we should be having all the time, not just while we’re sleeping off New Year’s Eve hangovers. It may be an argument you’ve heard before — but I really believe that your time at university should be a period dedicated to bettering yourself, to moulding yourself into that asshole that you one day hope to be.
Try to think of it this way. If you’re at Ryerson, there’s a good chance that you’ve chosen a program based on a lifelong passion, or an area of study that has always inspired you. Take that inspiration and work at it. If you’re a writer, write every day. If you’re a photographer, live with your camera around your neck. If you’re an engineer, reconsider.
I know that sometimes honing your craft, or taking care of all those other parts of adulthood that sometimes get left behind, like diet, can be a struggle. And sometimes New Year’s Day is a good excuse to refocus yourself on the things that matter, like Cheetos.
But, two-thirds of the way through the month, it’s time to start looking ahead, and keeping those habits up all year. It’s been a good break, but the holiday is over.
I guess I just want to say this: Welcome back, Ryerson. Let’s get back to work.
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