Along with a chorus of “Auld Lang Syne” came resolutions for self-improvement in 2007.

Setting goals, however, may be the smallest hurdle in the path towards achieving these goals.

Grant Kennedy, a freshman in criminology, said he quickly found it difficult to achieve past resolutions.

“I set a resolution awhile back to run a mile every day,” he said. “The second day I was running past Cook Out and decided an Oreo milkshake would be nice — I got the milkshake and never ran again.”

However, Kennedy did not let past failure hinder him from setting academic goals for the spring semester.

“My new year’s resolution is to take advantage of this wonderful institution and its halls of knowledge and use them to ascertain as much mental acuity as humanly possible — and to stop procrastination on papers,” he said.

For Caleb Presnell, a freshman in First Year College, his resolution does not relate to academics, but rather to experiencing college life outside his studies.

He said he simply wanted to “get out more.”

“I usually don’t [set resolutions], but I stayed cooped up in my room last semester and I want to get out and meet more people,” he said.

Derrick Lytle, a freshman in First Year College, said he does not tend to set resolutions.

He set two, though, as Lytle said his girlfriend encouraged him to do so at the end of 2006.

“She was telling me what hers were and asked me what mine were,” he said. “She asked me if I wanted to set any.”

Lytle said a tip from his girlfriend prompted him to put an end to an unhealthy habit.

“She told me that popping my neck increases my chances of getting a heart stroke.”

In addition to this, he set a resolution that became a competition of sorts, according to Lytle.

“[My girlfriend] goes to Chapel Hill and got a 3.5 [grade point average] last semester. I want to beat her,” he said.

Lytle said if he does not improve academically, he may end up on academic probation.

Amanda Karst, a freshman in engineering, said she does not think of her academic goals as resolutions.

“I want to study better, but I didn’t think of that as a new year’s resolution,” she said. “I’m going to try and answer my phone more, too.”

Karst said New Year’s Day is not unique, and resolutions should not exist on that occasion only.

“There are 365 days — that’s just one,” she said.

Phillip Jones, a sophomore in biomedical engineering, said he does not set goals once a year.

“You should have goals all through the year,” he said. “They should be small goals that you should be able to reach and meet throughout the year.”

Jones said he has always believed in continuously setting goals.

“That’s been the rule for new year’s resolutions for me,” he said.