Happy New Year from The Learning Network!
As 2024 ended and 2025 began, we invited teenagers in our writing prompts to reflect on the year that was and look forward to the one ahead. What resolutions and goals did they have for 2025? What good advice had they received that they’d like to apply to their lives in the year to come? What predictions could they make about how the world might be different this year? We’ve rounded up some of their responses below.
Thank you to those who shared their perspectives with us this week, including students from Winnacunnet High School in Hampton, N.H.; Nevada Union High School in Grass Valley, Calif.; and Minnesota.
Please note: Student comments have been lightly edited for length and clarity, but otherwise appear as they were originally submitted.
Spend less money
This year I feel more hopeful than I have in the past to keep my New Year’s resolution. My resolution is to spend less money on stupid things I don’t need (mainly fast food), and I’m going to measure that by only allowing myself to spend $60/month on fast food, clothes, and other nonnecessities until I go to college in August. The reason I feel like I am capable of doing this resolution this year is, I started to set goals for myself this past September (the start of the school year), and have since been able to complete most of them … If I forget about my goals and don’t constantly remind myself of why I am completing them, I will eventually just not do them and remain the same person I was at the beginning of the year. I think that you should always be trying to grow, and putting your list away can be a toxic barrier preventing you from achieving your best. This mindset is also why I feel like I can achieve my New Year’s resolution: I am all about grit and determination, not laziness.
Prioritize health
My New Year’s resolution is to run two miles 15 times a month, stay in the gym to work on basketball for 30 extra minutes, and to work out for an hour at least 10 times a month. I feel like I will be able to accomplish these goals if I dedicate myself to them. Other times when I set goals for myself, I never want to do them so that is why I never accomplish those goals. Taking the time for me to do what I want to do will be hard because even if I don’t want to do it, I will need to do it so I can be better than what I am now.
My major goal this year is to take care of myself both mentally and physically. I have never really prioritized my health, and have put it on the back burner, telling myself I’ll make a change sooner or later, but before I know it, 12 months have passed and I’m saying, I’ll try again next year. The biggest problem I have is that I convince myself my health is not as important as that of those around me, and I spend my time making sure I please them without having a care for myself. This year I want to change that …
Get more sleep
My New Year’s resolutions are: to get more sleep by going to bed earlier and waking up earlier. These resolutions are simple, realistic, and beneficial. Lack of sleep is the root of most of my problems regarding both athletic and academic performance. Waking up earlier stops me from rushing in the morning and forgetting things.
My resolution is to get at least 8 hours of sleep every night. I believe that this is an attainable goal because, a lot of the time, I stay up late scrolling on my phone. I need to hold myself accountable and put my phone away earlier. I will then see a change in my overall well-being and will be a better version of myself.
Read more books
One of my biggest New Year’s resolutions is to read more books. I want to read at least 20 books this year because I have bought so many that I haven’t gotten around to reading. I enjoy buying books at a higher rate than reading them, even though I want to read them. I just never find the time to read. Just like the article said, it’s supposed to be a gift to myself so I think that this is perfect for me. Reading is a gift to me and I would want to complete this task and try to do even better than 20.
Keep a tidier room
My main goal for 2025 is to keep my room cleaner. This ties into my other goal, which is to get rid of some of my clothes. I have a pretty big room covered in clothes because I have so many. Then when I try to pick out an outfit or look for a piece of clothing, they end up all over my floor and then I don’t have the motivation to pick them up! I think this is a possible and necessary goal for 2025.
Focus on school
My New Year’s resolution is to graduate on time. To do this, I will make sure my grades are good, I have all my credits for high school, and to make sure that I’m not going to give up on high school because of missing work. I agree with the article when it states that a resolution has to be realistic and you have to want to do it. That’s why I chose this as my New Year’s resolution. It is both realistic and I want to do it.
My New Year’s 2025 resolution is to really focus on softball so I can get a D1 scholarship and make my parents proud. I am also going to work out more so I can become a power hitter and become faster and get better at catching and pitching. I am also going to focus on school more, so I can get all A’s in every single class.
Make new friends
My new resolution for this year is to make new friends, considering I am going off to college in the near future. This article has got me thinking about my future and what friends I will make along the way. Don’t get me wrong, I love my friends and I’m very grateful for them but I’m kinda nervous for when we all go off to college because I’ve had the same friends for the past 5 years. I’m scared because what if I don’t make connections or my roommate won’t like me? But I’m gonna put my best foot forward and think positive about how I will make new friendships along the way.
Don’t wait for a new year to make changes
I don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions. Now, I don’t think that there is necessarily anything wrong with them necessarily. I just feel that if there is something I want to change about myself, there isn’t a reason to hold off until the new year or try to accomplish it by the end of the year. If there is something I genuinely want to change about myself, whether that is eating healthier or working out more, I should just do it at my own pace as opposed to giving myself a goal I want to accomplish in a time frame.
On the Advice They’d Like to Take Into 2025
Don’t be scared to make mistakes, think of them as a positive thing. You will always learn something new.
Start or end your day thinking about three things you are grateful for.
— Kara, MA
One time a person told me that if you take consistent action toward your goals, learn from your mistakes and keep improving, you can take on any challenge on the road to success.
Just because you’re in the storm doesn’t mean the game is over, you can always find a medkit.
Enjoy and strive for your own success, but don’t forget the community around you.
Be a good friend to yourself. Treat yourself as if it were a dear friend. We make progress with patience and calm, not criticism and meanness.
— Kate, Los Angeles, California
In 200 years, no one’s going to remember who you are so live life to the fullest. Live how you want to, do the things you want to, and don’t be afraid of getting into a little trouble.
The best advice I have ever come across is “everything in its own time.” This advice reminds me to be patient with time and to not rush into things. This year, I will let things flow how they should, and all my goals will come true at the right time. That is the mindset that I’m bringing with me this year, 2025.
— Alexia, New Rochelle, New York
On Their Predictions for This Year
New slang
2025 will bring about a new set of slang terms and mannerisms like those we saw with Generation Alpha. Words like “rizz” and “fanum tax,” synonymous with the current youngest generation, will soon be usurped as content creators keep trying to make themselves more relevant by creating the “next big thing.” On the one hand, these terms are not usually outdated so quickly with regular use and will still stay in circulation past when Generation Alpha are no longer kids. However, currently, kids have shorter attention spans; thereby, creators need to come up with more content like these words which becomes a craze to stay in popularity. This rate of change is a way that “word of mouth” evolves because the language used a long time ago changed much less frequently than the language of the now which can be seen changing on a monthly or annual basis. Furthermore, by viewing this rate of change, one can predict that the terms being used by the youth will start changing much more rapidly, and 2025 will bring about a whole new set of slang.
A different mind-set
For me, 2025 will be very different. 2025 is the year where I begin my journey to be an adult. It’s the year when I start looking at colleges, start driving independently, finding ways to have income and ways to make money. In 2025, I’m only looking to better myself and find ways to improve myself from 2024 … This current school year, still traumatized from last year, I am never going back to “just passing is good mind-set.” I’m learning to apply myself by trying different methods and tips to learn.
Health and happiness over success
My prediction for the upcoming 2025 year is that people will want to focus on their well being mentally and physically. They will be less focused on succeeding in school, their careers, and just overall being fiscally responsible … I can see a wave of active healthy people who are willing and wanting to try new activities.
A big year for gaming
2025 will be a huge year for the video gaming industry. Big franchises, such as the Grand Theft Auto franchise, will be coming out with a new game, GTA6. Another big game coming out in 2025 is Subnautica 2. My thought is that, compared to 2024, 2025 will have many more important games and games in general. With the announcements of highly respected games, it’s safe to say that the video gaming industry will see even more people playing its games.
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