There is a season and a time for everything. You may or maynot have wished on Santa or visited the Disney World in the din of the fiesta, but that is in the past now. It is about time we gave 2016 a serious thought. A New Year is upon us and with every New Year comes a list of resolutions. While many resolutions fade as the days and months pass and a new year is no longer new, remind yourself that failing to plan is planning to fail.

Resolve to avoid getting caught up in school drama. Some high school experiences are wonderful. Others, not so much–like the popularity contests, backbiting, and social insecurity.  The happiest and most well-adjusted students I’ve met don’t engage in the negative dramas of high school.  They’re happy being themselves and are nice to the kids other students aren’t nice to. They don’t gossip or speak badly of their friends or worry about what’s popular.  It’s hard to disassociate from the social dramas of high school, but you’ll be much happier if you do. 

Resolve to find the purpose of a high school education. As you go from class to class, realise that the goal of high school is not specifically to teach you about geometric proofs or the deep symbolism found in literary pieces. High school is meant to give you the fundamental skills to be successful in life – to be analytical, to think beyond the obvious, to think creatively to solve problems, and to interact with others well. These are just a few of the goals of these six years. So look for deeper meaning to your everyday tasks and you may find a deeper enjoyment for school.

Resolve to work hard and actually mean it. Whether you have perfect grades or are just trying to find your footing, there have probably been times when you should have worked a bit harder. Over the next few days that you have off, think about what "working harder” means to you and create a plan to follow through. It might mean starting earlier on essays or doing more math problems for practice. It might also just mean making sure you complete all of your assignments.

Resolve to quit something worth quitting this year. Almost everyone has something in their life that’s not making your life any better, or that’s actually making you unhappy or unhealthy.  Identify one of those things in your life, quit it and replace it with something that improves your life. If you are tired of hanging out with kids who aren’t nice to each other, quit the group and find nicer friends. The message here isn’t to quit and do nothing. It’s to replace the thing you quit with something more positive and productive. Happy and successful people do that all the time.

Choose to be more responsible. When you make your parents do things for you that you can and should be doing for yourself, you’re making it easy and maybe even necessary for them to run your life. If you are having trouble in a class, don’t make your parents contact the teacher. If you have questions about a college’s application requirements, don’t make your parents get that information for you. These are things you can and should be doing for yourself.  So start doing them. You’ll be happier, your relationship with your parents will improve, and the colleges will be appreciative of your independence.

Resolve to create an impact. One of the best ways to feel good about yourself (and frankly, to get into a reputable university) is to find ways to make an impact.  You don’t have to be the smartest kid in your English class to participate and contribute to class discussions.  And you don’t have to be the editor of the school magazine to contribute an article.  Titles, leadership positions and awards aren’t the only ways to demonstrate that you’re valuable and appreciated.  If you make efforts to contribute and try to make an impact, you’ll feel good about how you’re spending your time–and people around you will take notice.

Resolve to treat your teachers and administrators with respect. These are the people who work day in and day out to make sure your day is as seamless as possible. Yes, you may occasionally or oftentimes disagree with them. You may believe that you are being treated unfairly or that one or the other is being unreasonable but the reality is that, unless an egregious act was performed against you, no one will really care. Admissions officers don’t care about the minutia of your relationships with your teachers, but you will likely need to eventually get teachers to write you letters of recommendations. Plus, remember that teachers talk to one another so it is not OK to treat one teacher poorly and hope it never comes back to haunt you.

Resolve to ask for help if you need it. Rely on the expertise and experience of those around you – your teachers, your friends and your parents to start with. You might need help with something very specific like a math problem or something more fundamental like how to be better organised. While it can sometimes be difficult to ask for help, even from those people you are closest to, don’t try to do everything on your own.

Finally, resolve to stick to the resolutions made. It is the hardest, albeit the most rewarding thing to do.

The writer is a lecturer at The Adventist University of Central Africa