As the ball drops, new wishes and resolutions are made in hopes of becoming a better “you.” However, in all honesty, about 75% of us high schoolers are far too lazy to follow through with these resolutions for 2015. Sure, we can buy a bunch of fruit or a gym membership and become healthy, but with skyrocketing grocery prices (I have my expertise working at Market Basket on the weekends) healthy seems to get replaced with “cheap.” Broke high school students and laziness are the main causes of why resolutions fail. I’m here to tell you that resolutions should not be based on using money or energy, they should start just by being nicer.

High school has become a ruthless world; you wear grey on grey and you could be shamed for life. You could say something weird, or out of the ordinary, and you could be branded as a “nerd” and be subject to social isolation. Instead of being so quick to judge, simple acts of kindness can lead to you becoming a better you, and it doesn’t take much. Instead of vulgarity, expand your vocabulary and have some emotion in what you’re saying! Think before you speak! Saying nice things such as “I LOVE your top!” or “Wow that sounds so cool!” may sound cheesy, but rarely do we get that kind of genuinity from someone other than our close friends, and even then, not so much. It can create a moment where certain students that you don’t normally converse with feel like they belong.

Being nice as resolution for 2015 can also create a domino effect, or a “pay it forward.” Wouldn’t it be great if we were kind to people, and they helped another smile. A simple smile can take the place of a thousand words, and can make someone’s day go from dreadful to seemingly pleasant. A smile a day can keep the ever-growing stress that teenagers face and put it somewhat at ease. A few words of kindness can start a ripple effect. Whether we know it or not, if we are generally in a good mood, we tend to spread that to others; and vice versa. So instead of being the emotionless ruthless teenager social media sometimes tries to form us to be, try being nice. Stop trying to be mean for favorites and retweets, be kind and it can go a long way. Heck, it can even save a life, along with your time and energy. Resolutions like these don’t seem hard, but they certainly aren’t the easiest of tasks either. But in the long run, they will create nothing but good vibes in the years to come.