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Making New Year's Resolutions New Year's is a time to make promises to ourselves to improve our lives. Read resolutions made by international students from Korea, Japan and Malaysia. Photo: S. Peters Especially this year, I am going to study hard to improve my English skills. This Year I'm Going to Carry Out My Resolutions Dohee Lim from Korea I have made many New Year's resolutions; some of them since I was a college student. Every year, I have promised myself to exercise regularly. Also, this year I will do that! My body must have a sensor that tells me to make New Year's resolutions. I think this is an easy thing to plan; however, it is a very difficult thing to follow up on it. Also, for my health, I will eat fewer sweet things—such as chocolates and candy—and I will drink less coffee. Especially this year, I am going to study hard to improve my English skills. That is why I came here to America and am studying. I really want to improve my English, so I will keep a diary in English everyday and read more books in English. Reading is good for not only improving my English, but also filling an emptiness I feel these days. I think keeping away from books and not reading has made me feel this way. I will be a more organized person. I usually do something on impulse, making a quick decision. Sometimes this is good, but not always. To decide important things, I should be more cautious and think things over. To my family, I will be a better person. I have been too selfish for a long time. I cannot remember when I last did something good for my family. I feel very sorry about that, so this year I plan to care more about my family than myself. To my friends, I will be more friendly, and I will keep in touch with them more frequently. My friends may be disappointed because of my negligence. Sorry, my friends! This year I am going to be diligent and try to carry out all my New Year's resolutions. I will do my best! Photo: S. Peters This year, I will improve my English skills because I live in the U.S.A. now. I Have Two Resolutions This Year Kiyomi Yamazaki from Japan This year, I will improve my English skills because I live in the U.S.A. now, and there isn't a better situation for learning English than this situation. I will be happy if I can understand Americans speaking and I can say whatever I want. Everytime I talk to native speakers of English, I hesitate. This year, I will study and exercise more so that I won't hesitate anymore. I will also contact my younger sisters more often. Until last year, our situation was the opposite. My sister was in L.A., and I was in Japan. We seldom contacted each other. But last summer, I came to see her in L.A., and we went shopping, took a trip to the hot springs, and had a good time together. This experience let us know how great having a family is. So, I hope we'll talk to each other more often than before. My Resolutions for 2002 and Beyond Wong Ee Lynn from Malaysia To continue to reduce (the use or consumption of), reclaim, reuse and recycle natural resources. To observe one day a month as ‘Buy Nothing Day’. To be a regular blood donor (i.e. once every three months), now that the National Blood Bank is within walking distance of the office. To adopt a nest of baby turtles under the Sea Turtle Outreach Programme. To buy only original VCDs, laser discs and CDs and not to engage in any activities that may infringe on intellectual property rights. To go vegetarian at least two days a week as a personal protest against battery farming and to incorporate more raw and living vegan foods into my diet as a backlash against junk food culture and to reduce energy consumption by eliminating the need for cooking. To avoid eating fast food because of the industry’s excessive use of disposable packaging, battery-farmed products and its promotion of a global monoculture. To delete all spam and tasteless forwarded mail, especially glurges, because of the untruths they perpetuate. To initiate, organize and engage in voluntary work and environmental conservation initiatives, especially if no such initiatives are in place yet. To remember to call up friends who may be interested in volunteering before my visits to the SPCA, and to remember to collect food, toiletries and other items pledged to charity by and from friends before my trips to Brian’s place. (Brian is a great guy who does charity work as his raison d'etre). To offer free services as a writer of killer resumes to friends and friends-of-friends (and anyone else) who need assistance in getting Return to: Holidays and Celebrations | Home Page TOPICS Online Magazine ©1997-2008 - Sandy and Thomas Peters - topics.mag@gmail.com