A new year brings new goals and second chances for some students at Bakersfield College. Students hope for new romances or try to revamp their image to help them prosper in the upcoming year.
Ruben Monarrez, 21, is one of those students. Monarrez is a theater arts major here at BC who was hoping to lose weight to help him land more diverse roles in plays. He lost a total of five pounds as of Jan. 31, attributing his weight loss to a healthier diet and light cardio.
“I mean, it’s been cool so far, except I do miss candy. But that’s life, right? Got to sacrifice to get ahead,” said Monarrez.
Another BC student Damien Hillcoch, 25, chose a less practical resolution, going with his plan to take over the world, “I don’t see the big deal; I just want to rule the world like Pinky and the Brain,” says Hillcoch.
According to Statisticsbrain.com, 45 percent of all Americans make New Year’s resolutions. Considering there are over 310 million people in the U.S., that means 125 million people made resolutions this year alone.
From losing weight, which ranks number one on the list, to falling in love, people all over the U.S. find many things they want to resolve in their lives following a new calendar year.
However, only 8 percent actually achieve the goal they set for themselves.
This number seems even smaller considering that 62 percent of all people who actually attempt a New Year’s resolution give up on it after the first couple days.
Those numbers meant nothing to BC student Kristina Dietrich, 19, however. Dietrich began the year as a high school dropout who still needed to pass the 9th to 12th grades. Her resolution was to receive her G.E.D. and go to college. After taking the test twice Dietrich passed and enrolled in BC during the second week of the school semester. “All I wanted to do was get my G.E.D. and help people. Now I can. I never thought of myself as dumb, either. I just needed to stick to it, “ said Dietrich of her resolution.