Teamwork found to foil resolution failures

by Jessica Foster and John J. Robert

As the year begins, old frustrations collide with pointless promises of new resolutions, only to be broken within the month. Yet there is a solution among us- find a buddy.

Senior Katie Button noted the difference between having a friend make a resolution with you and attempting to go solo. “When you’re alone, you have to motivate yourself, and it is tough because there is no one there pushing you; you have to push yourself.”

While Button didn’t make a personal resolution, others, such as juniors Sara Byrne and Taylor Exline, have put the “accountability partner” idea into effect. They have pledged to each other to attend the new YMCA three times a week. Unable to keep resolutions from previous years, Byrne believes that with the extra motivation from Exline, she will be able to follow through for the first time.

Radio/T.V. teacher Tim Dench is an old hat when it comes to making resolutions. Every January he sits down and writes out his goals for the year, checking up on himself at the six month mark to see how much he has accomplished. Dench’s New Year’s Resolutions for 2009 are both business oriented and personal. One of his personal goals is to “find a new football team; I realize the Cowboys aren’t going anywhere.”

Speaking of cowboys, junior Kaitlin Malone, a 17-year-old barrel-racer, wants to “focus on being more effective, efficient, and accurate.”

When it comes to training with her horse, Malone prefers to train alone rather than with a buddy. “When you have someone constantly critiquing you, it is very frustrating. I can motivate myself better than anyone else can.”

Along with Malone, junior Chase Rapp has made several resolutions for the new year that he must do alone. He is striving to save two-thousand dollars in order to take a trip to Norway and Germany next winter break. Rapp has a job at Jay-C Food Store, and plans to put half of each paycheck towards reaching his goal.

Although some goals must be completed by oneself, assistant principal Rob Willman and senior Chase Rost share the notion that having a buddy “absolutely helps” someone stick to a resolution.

While some struggle and fail, and others push to succeed, the majority believes in the effectiveness of the buddy system. Supporting and motivating, a buddy is there to make the other keep his or her end of the deal. “Most people drop their resolutions because they are inconvenient and time consuming,” said Exline, “but if you find a buddy and stick with it, it will pay off in the end.”