High-schoolers make academic New Year’s resolutions

January is the time of the year where many are picking up their pens, grabbing a journal, and writing a list of things they want to do or accomplish. Of course, these New Year’s Resolutions vary greatly among each individual, but many also fall into the common categories of work, love, and health. According to the Statistic Brain Research Institute, the top-ranked resolution last year was “Lose weight,” the fifth was “Stay fit and healthy,” and the ninth was “fall in love.”

Not surprisingly, high-school students’ goals center on academics. In an interview with high-school upperclassmen at BASIS Independent School – Silicon Valley, juniors and seniors told JSR what their 2016 resolutions are.

“This year I made a resolution to bring up my grades,” said junior Katrina Le, “because as a junior, grades are extremely important for college applications.” Another junior, Amy Zhong, had academic-center resolutions as well, but rather focused on keeping a balanced life of both education and health.

“I want to be able stress less about school and studying, but at the same time I want to be productive in my education and community. I’m trying to find a balance,” said Zhong.

As half the school year is over, many juniors may still be adjusting to the hectic school-lives, continually studying for exams in order to get accepted to their dream universities. Thus, juniors at BASIS Independent School – Silicon Valley, a private STEM school, are focused on achieving a successful academic record. On the other hand, Stephanie Kim, a senior at BASIS Independent School – Silicon Valley, says her resolution is to exercise more.

“I’m going to be traveling a lot this summer with my family because I’ll be graduating high school. Over the school years, I haven’t been able to travel much, so this year I’m going to do a lot of it. That’s why I need to exercise to prep myself for all the food I’m going to eat,” said Kim.

Seniors are currently finished or almost finished with sending their college applications; thus many are finally able to relax after the stressful 4 years of continuous studying, exams, and essay-writing that will determine their future university. Thus, in comparison to current juniors, their resolutions may be slightly less academically-oriented.

In addition, according to the Statistic Brain Research Institute, 47% of people usually have education-related resolutions. Seeing a small representative group of high school upperclassmen at a private high school voice their resolutions, education, indeed, remains a high priority for many students.