When the time comes to say hello to a brand new year, it is common for people to use that moment to make some positive changes in their lives.

At Seattle Pacific University, students across campus have begun the new year with their own plans on how to make 2024 an opportunity to be a better person. Raquel Wesley, a second-year art student, hopes to leave the new year an improved individual in many aspects.

“I’d really just like to do as well as possible both athletically and academically,” Wesley said. “I think that those are both just really important things that I’d like to improve on this year, so those are my goals.”

Academic and athletic success are two key parts that play a role in many people’s lives and happiness. The importance of the latter is not a sentiment that Wesley has alone. Jack Wiebe, a second-year economics student, hopes to meet a specific goal before the year is out.

“I want to be able to deadlift six plates,” Wiebe said. “I guess that would be 585 pounds. I’d say that that, and athletic stuff in general, is what I want to try and accomplish for this year.”

While setting extremely specific goals can sometimes set someone up for disappointment because it creates a very narrow way to succeed, Wiebe views it instead as a key part of making athletic goals.

“I think that having these kinds of goals is really important so that you can have something to aim for,” Wiebe said. “Chasing a really physical goal is great for these kinds of goals and ones that are really in any other area too.”

Some student goals are less specific, but they are just as meaningful. Marki Zemeadim, a second-year communications student, has a simple hope for the year.

“I would say, honestly, just pulling through and surviving the year,” Zemeadim said. “Just making it through the year academically and school-wise and everything like that is what I hope for.”

While not everybody on campus wishes for the same thing to come in the new year, many hope to accomplish something that can make the inevitable struggles worthwhile. 

Some want physical greatness, academic success, to get through the year unscathed, and some, like third-year business student Mario Esquivel, hope to succeed in as many areas as possible.

“New skills are really what I’m hoping for,” Esquivel said. “I think really anything, like learning a new language or just getting to learn something new like that would definitely be what I’d want to try and accomplish this year. So that’s definitely what I think I’m gonna be trying to work on.”