So you’ve given up on going to the gym six times a week, and you’ve started late-night snacking again. You’ve fallen off of the New Year’s resolution horse. Understandably, too. It’s February—Punxsutawney Phil has come and gone and classes are picking up.  All of those easy first week assignments are giving way to assignments which make you wish you’d bought the book.

In the beginning you missed one gym session, then you forgot to call your mom like you promised. Soon enough, giving up seems like the only option. We’ve failed, so why even try? TV and potato chips are just so easy! Sometimes it seems pointless. This mentality traps all of us at some point or another; at times like these we must utilize our eighth grade math teacher’s motto: Try again. Why should we only make resolutions to make our lives better at the beginning of the year? I, for one, don’t see the point. If I don’t like something in my life then I am going to change it:  So long, boring major! Hello, nose job! (I’m kidding about that one).

So, this February I am making a Wednesday’s resolution. No, a Wednesday’s life change. But it’s going to be a change in my attitude, in my outlook. I am going to make a change in the way I interact with my friends, my teachers and generally everyone. I thought about the people I enjoy most in my life, and how my favorite people are those always game for the game. My favorite people are those I can call on a Tuesday night to go bowling or go on an adventure and they don’t make up some excuse about how they are so tired or already in their pajamas. These people never turn me down, and in turn I feel more confident inviting them out to do things because I am not afraid of their rejection. It’s a cycle of awesomeness.  These people are some of the happiest people I know and they always have a great story to tell, no matter what the occasion. They are the kind of people who do what they want when they want, and I truly want to live the way they do. So this Wednesday, my resolution is to say “yes.” Another way of putting it would be to “Just do it,” but because there are some serious copyright issues with that phrase we will stick with “Just say yes.”

To clarify, if someone offers me drugs or invites me to share casual needles for a tattoo, I am not just going to hop aboard—I am not going to go along with everything. Nor am I implying you should give in to peer pressure and jump off a cliff (unless said cliff happens to be stout and safe, with a large pool of deep, shark-free water).

But I am going to stop making excuses. I am going to go to the beach during a full moon to join a drum circle even if I have class at 8 the next morning. I am going to go to the gym when my roommate asks me to tag along. I am going to say yes when someone asks me to see a show on a Sunday night even if I am already in bed mode: PJs on, contacts out, retainer in. I have said “no” to all of these things in the past. In 2013, I am going to be the person you can call, text, Facebook or carrier pigeon. I am going to get up off my butt and really enjoy this year for what it is. Every time I look back on my life I want to say I did what I could, when I could. Every year should be bigger and better than the last. When everything else in the world has the potential to stand in my way, I am not going to let my attitude hold me back another day. I am going to accidentally rhyme a line in an article and I won’t even take it out! 2012 is out and 2013 is in with a brand new attitude and a brand new slogan: Just say yes.