The lights beamed down. Velvet curtains slowly pulled open. A hush fell over all conversations in the crowd. Sophomore Vangeli Tsompanidis stood backstage, about to walk on for his first play as a part of the Dr. Phillips Center for Performing Arts musical theatre group, Downtown Sounds. But his theatre life was not always this prestigious. It all started on a middle school theatre stage with a passion and a New Year’s resolution to pursue theatre in a more serious manner.

At the beginning of every year, it is common to make a New Year resolution: a promise that is made to start doing something different. It is around three months into 2017. Are people keeping their promises with themselves, or did they give up on their resolution?

According to statisticbrain.com, 41% of Americans usually make New Year’s resolutions and 72.6% of resolutions are maintained through the first week of the year. But by the sixth month, only 44.8% of those resolutions are actually maintained.

The reason people do not follow through with their resolutions is usually because they get lazy or give up. Depending on the resolution, some can be really difficult to keep up with. Sophomore Kate Medla takes AP classes and is on the soccer team, so staying true to her resolutions is challenging.

“This year, my biggest resolution was to really focus on school and try to get my grades as good as possible to prepare for junior year,” Medla said.

There are many ways people make resolutions, some make only one while others make multiple. Resolutions can also change throughout the year, depending on the person.

“To make my resolutions, I usually have them planned beforehand and on New Year’s day I will make it mentally known to myself to at least attempt to accomplish them,” Tsompanidis said.

Number one out of the top ten resolutions made in 2017 is to eat healthier or to exercise more. But, everyone wants to be the best version of themselves that they can possibly be, and that vision is different for all people. This causes resolutions differ from person to person (statisticbrain.com).

“I made a resolution to control my language when I get frustrated, mad and other emotions related to those,” Medla said.

It is common to make one dominant resolution along with a few smaller ones. The dominant resolution is where the makers put in the most effort.

Following through with dominant resolutions can lead to life-changing outcomes, such as Tsompanidis joining a prestigious musical theatre group, and he is not the only one who had such positive results.

For sophomore Kali Jobs, her biggest resolution this year was to try and be nice to everyone, no matter what.

“It is easier said than done, because if a person is being mean to you, your first instinct is to defend yourself or ignore them,” Jobs said. “You are being the bigger person if you show maturity and just stay kind.”

As far as staying true to the resolutions, some people, like Jobs and Tsompanidis, are doing just that. Sophomore Nick Todaro had a similar resolution to Jobs, but his did not go the same way.

“One of my resolutions was to be nicer, and it was not successful. I am still a nice person, but it is hard to be nice all the time,” Todaro said. “Some people make me angry, and others I just do not understand why they act the way they do.”

Sophomore Michael McNamara has multiple resolutions, including being more active and trying new things. He is staying true to the former by entering a 5k, but his promise to try new things is proving difficult.

“Trying new things is all about having the courage to close your eyes and feel your way through the world around you,” McNamara said. “To not try and expect and judge the world’s outcome, I really just go by blind faith and hope it works out.”

People make resolutions to improve themselves. Some resolutions can change your life, and some will not affect it at all. It is up to the individual who made the resolution to decide if they want to stay true to it or not.