2021 was definitely a year to be talked about. From capital riots to Kim Kardashian’s divorce, it seems as though people couldn’t catch their breath through the year. With the year close to an end, many people are beginning to think about their New Year’s resolutions. 

New Year’s resolutions are written goals that help people build better habits and make plans to improve their lifestyle for the new year. Some students at DGN have already completed their lists, and are eager for 2022 to start. 

Senior Sandy Brindl is amongst the few students who have started their New Year’s resolutions early. Although she hopes to continue working towards her goals all of next year, she felt as though starting early will allow her to already have good habits going into 2022. 

“Applying myself and training harder for volleyball is definitely at the top of my list, with me playing at the collegiate level next year, I want to make sure that I’m giving 110 percent every day,” Brindl said. 

Brindl has been a part of North’s volleyball program all four years and has committed to Millikin University to continue her volleyball career. 

“I think that starting on my goals early will allow me to build a good relationship with my habits and apply myself,” Brindl said. 

Physical education teacher and track c0ach Gabriel Harris has prepared major goals for 2022, including spending time with his family and improving himself as a coach. 

“I’ve always kept these goals in the back of my mind, but I’m hoping that I can apply them for the new year,” Harris said. 

Harris also hopes to improve his cardiovascular endurance. As a track coach, he notes the importance of keeping your heart and circulatory system healthy. 

“I want to incorporate more aerobic exercise in my daily physical activity,” Harris said. “Endurance exercises have lots of benefits that can improve my daily life.”

Junior Gabriella Mazzara has also chosen to focus on health and wellness for her New Year’s resolution. To improve her lifestyle, he hopes to cut out any negative impacting habits. 

“My New Year resolution is to eat healthier and increase my physical activity,” Mazzara said. “I feel like the first step of eating healthier is disciplining myself to make food at home, that way I save money and add lots of nutritious foods to my meals.” 

Sophomore Noah Battle took a different approach for his goals for the New Year. While he wants to primarily focus on improving himself as a football player, he also thinks it’s important to disconnect more from social media. 

“I think I can work better towards my other goals if I manage how much time I spend online,” Battle said. “I want to put that time into improving myself, so it’s a big goal for next year.”

Senior Ava Gallwas chose to improve how she manages stress and schoolwork overload. She is amongst the many students taking AP courses, and notes that sometimes the schoolwork can be overwhelming. 

“I want to try and do better with time management,” Gallwas said. “I think it’s a really important part of staying on top of harder classes.” 

She also hopes to improve how she manages stress to make sure that she doesn’t fall behind. While there are many different ways to approach stress, Ava is excited to try yoga as her destresser. 

“I’ve read a lot about how yoga is very relaxing and I think that it would be a great way to do my school work with a clear mind,” Gallwas said.

With a few weeks left in 2021, people still have time to think about their goals for the new year. Some people don’t exactly know where to start when it comes to goal setting, so,f you’re out of ideas, check out what other people are doing for 2022.