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Planning for the New Year
The 26-year-old Wharton resident, who grew up in the Spanish Camp community, admitted it had been a while since he'd made a resolution and those he had made had been pretty selfish. "But when you have the added responsibility of kids it changes your perspective on life," he said. "This year I want to spend more time with the kids because they're getting to the age where they just soak everything up. So every extra moment I can spend with them is important." And proving daddy right, Bradshaw's daughter Alexxus Jones, 9, asked what a resolution is and decided she needed to make one for the very first time. "I'm going to make better grades in school," she decided. "And read more." Lori Herrera, 36, of Wharton was also putting family first in resolving to get her business back or to further her education during the coming year. The mother of two, she said her resolution was all about the children.
While not having made his choice yet, Charles Moritz said he was probably going to fall back on one of the most popular - losing weight. "My resolutions have always involved weight," he said. "And they've never lasted very long, probably only a month." When asked, Moritz said his downfall was never being able to find a diet that allowed him to eat barbecue. In a little bit different kind of resolution, Lori Alameda said her goal wasn't to start losing weight, but to continue losing weight. "I really haven't made a resolution this year because Christmas was busy and now I'm planning my son's birthday party," she said. "But in the past I've always resolved to lose weight. And I usually couldn't stick to it. But in November my doctor told me I needed to lose weight for health reasons so that I'd feel more energetic and I've done quite well."
Wharton High student Sharneace Johnson said she's never really done resolutions. "It's more of an older generation tradition," she said. "I don't know a lot of people my age that make them." Another parent, Anette Lee, said she didn't plan on going through the resolution process. She said keeping up with her two boys keeps her busy enough without the added pressure a resolution can represent. "For some people it's a great idea," she said. "But you can also feel let down if you don't keep the resolution. So I kind of approach it from the basis of self-improvement being an on-going process making decisions like that on a regular basis rather than once a year." Another retiree, Walt Christmas isn't making any resolutions this year. He said it's part of keeping the only resolution he's ever stuck with in his life. "I used to make resolutions each year," he said. "I've lived so long that I've made so many resolutions and broke so many of them I can't count them all up or even remember them any more. So a few years ago, I decided to resolve not to make any more resolutions and that one I've kept."
"I've resolved to make the honor roll," Jackie Johnson, 16, said. The Wharton High student said she normally does good in the classroom, but does bring home the occasional "C." "I think making a resolution adds some motivation and kind of helps you concentrate on achieving a goal," she said.
And in a couple of years, she said she expects her young cousin Chris Johnson, 4, to start making resolutions of his own. But for this year, he's still content to read picture books about dinosaurs and elephants.
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