I hate New Year's Resolutions.  I have never been one to engage in the practice of swearing to do something on January 1 only to be disappointed by my lack of effort three weeks later.  In fact, I make these crazy promises to myself all year long - why should I force myself to make (and inevitably break) another just because it's January?

Specifically, after I completed my first semester of 1L year, I told myself I would do about 1,000 things differently the next semester.  I promised I would read and type up the barbri outlines at the beginning of the semester so that I would fully understand the "forest" of the course I was taking before I even heard about the "trees."  This never happened.  I swore that I would do work over winter break - yeah right.  I did nothing for any course in which I was enrolled and almost completely forgot to purchase books.  But, apparently, I am not alone.  As of this morning, when asked "Did you study over winter break?" 63% of people who voted on Westlaw said "Absolutely not!"  27% responded with, "Yes, a little."  (Gunners.)  And the 10% that said, "Yes, a lot," are just plain liars.  Last, I promised myself and my non-law school friends who live in the greater DC area that I would go out more second semester.  This actually happened.  Second semester is significantly easier than the first, so I was able to fulfill this promise to myself and my friends.  One out of three isn't bad, right?

One of the most popular New Year's Resolutions is a pledge to lose weight.  Many law students gain the obligatory holiday 5 while home on break, but the effects of this behavior may have more consequences than merely requiring the purchase of a new pair of spandex.  A well-known dating site, http://beautifulpeople.com/, actually kicked off those of its members who gained an unacceptable amount of holiday weight.  What did they consider to be an unacceptable amount?  Who knows?!  It appears as thought it was as little as 5 pounds for some, but more for others.  Caution: Be careful of any unwanted holiday weight, it might prohibit you from meeting your soul mate in more ways than you realize.

Another popular New Year's Resolution is to go to the gym more.  This is one of my least favorites because, as someone who regularly attends the gym, I am annoyed when there is an influx of "exercisers" the first few weeks of January.  These resolution-ers rarely know what they are doing, are constantly in my way, and the females tend to prance around in too much make-up and too little clothing.  Excuse me, work-out Barbie, you are at the gym.  This is not a fashion show.  Surprisingly, however, the men can be even worse.  They come in grunting like they just stepped off the set of "My New Haircut" with their Jersey Shore nicknames and lack of sleeves on their shirts thinking they own the weight room.  Yes, your thigh might be the size of my body, but that doesn't mean you have a right to monopolize the free weights.

All in all, if you don't keep your New Year's Resolution, don't feel guilty about it.  I hate them anyway.