Who says you have to wait until January to get started on your resolutions?
If you’re a university student, drafting up a long list of goals in the new year doesn’t actually make much sense, because you’re probably more than occupied with those pesky post-Christmas exams.
In any case, whilst you’re still a student, September can feel like more of a new year than January does, given that you enter into a new academic year, studying new things and perhaps living with new people.
Doesn’t it make sense, then, for us to take the end of summer as our chance to become a better version of ourselves, whilst we’ve still got some residual sunlight to keep us motivated, rather than forcing any personal transformation in dreaded January, otherwise known as the most depressing month of them all?
Sure, there’s never a wrong time to commit yourself to self-improvement, but September certainly seems right.
A new academic year is like a blank slate: you have new modules to start, new hobbies to try and new friendships to develop. But this is not only a time of great promise for starting something new, it can also mark a chance to leave behind old habits or relationships that are no longer serving you.
After a summer away from the routines of university, it can be a lot easier to gauge what aspects of your life might be best to leave behind, than to try to figure this out right in the middle of the academic year.
If you’ve decided that you want to go to the gym more, socialise more, party more, all those things are on the cards, and you can begin this new chapter exactly how you mean to carry it on.
However, none of this is to say that you have to start reinventing yourself once September rolls around.
If you’re already pretty satisfied with your life at university as it is, there’s really no need. This is rather a reminder that resolutions do not belong solely to January, and before busy uni life starts up again, it could be fruitful to think about what kind of year you would like for yourself, and start putting things in place to bring this vision into fruition.
Whether it’s something small like making a list of varied dinner ideas, or a bigger change like joining a new society, September gives you a chance to start afresh, and make this year your best. And if that doesn’t quite go to plan, January is still a pretty good back-up!
Image by Marcos Paulo Prado on Unsplash
