As 2024 ended and 2025 began, we invited teenagers in our writing prompts to reflect on the year that was and look forward to the one ahead. What resolutions and goals did they have for 2025? What good advice had they received that they’d like to apply to their lives in the year to come? What predictions could they make about how the world might be different this year? We’ve rounded up some of their responses below.

Thank you to those who shared their perspectives with us this week, including students from Winnacunnet High School in Hampton, N.H.; Nevada Union High School in Grass Valley, Calif.; and Minnesota.

Please note: Student comments have been lightly edited for length and clarity, but otherwise appear as they were originally submitted.

On Their New Year’s Resolutions

Spend less money

This year I feel more hopeful than I have in the past to keep my New Year’s resolution. My resolution is to spend less money on stupid things I don’t need (mainly fast food), and I’m going to measure that by only allowing myself to spend $60/month on fast food, clothes, and other nonnecessities until I go to college in August. The reason I feel like I am capable of doing this resolution this year is, I started to set goals for myself this past September (the start of the school year), and have since been able to complete most of them … If I forget about my goals and don’t constantly remind myself of why I am completing them, I will eventually just not do them and remain the same person I was at the beginning of the year. I think that you should always be trying to grow, and putting your list away can be a toxic barrier preventing you from achieving your best. This mindset is also why I feel like I can achieve my New Year’s resolution: I am all about grit and determination, not laziness.

— Cecily, Minnesota

Prioritize health

My New Year’s resolution is to run two miles 15 times a month, stay in the gym to work on basketball for 30 extra minutes, and to work out for an hour at least 10 times a month. I feel like I will be able to accomplish these goals if I dedicate myself to them. Other times when I set goals for myself, I never want to do them so that is why I never accomplish those goals. Taking the time for me to do what I want to do will be hard because even if I don’t want to do it, I will need to do it so I can be better than what I am now.

— Tanner, Texas

My major goal this year is to take care of myself both mentally and physically. I have never really prioritized my health, and have put it on the back burner, telling myself I’ll make a change sooner or later, but before I know it, 12 months have passed and I’m saying, I’ll try again next year. The biggest problem I have is that I convince myself my health is not as important as that of those around me, and I spend my time making sure I please them without having a care for myself. This year I want to change that …

— Milana, California

Get more sleep

My New Year’s resolutions are: to get more sleep by going to bed earlier and waking up earlier. These resolutions are simple, realistic, and beneficial. Lack of sleep is the root of most of my problems regarding both athletic and academic performance. Waking up earlier stops me from rushing in the morning and forgetting things.

— Louis, California

My resolution is to get at least 8 hours of sleep every night. I believe that this is an attainable goal because, a lot of the time, I stay up late scrolling on my phone. I need to hold myself accountable and put my phone away earlier. I will then see a change in my overall well-being and will be a better version of myself.

— TL, Minnesota

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Read more books

One of my biggest New Year’s resolutions is to read more books. I want to read at least 20 books this year because I have bought so many that I haven’t gotten around to reading. I enjoy buying books at a higher rate than reading them, even though I want to read them. I just never find the time to read. Just like the article said, it’s supposed to be a gift to myself so I think that this is perfect for me. Reading is a gift to me and I would want to complete this task and try to do even better than 20.

— Taylor, Minnesota

Keep a tidier room

My main goal for 2025 is to keep my room cleaner. This ties into my other goal, which is to get rid of some of my clothes. I have a pretty big room covered in clothes because I have so many. Then when I try to pick out an outfit or look for a piece of clothing, they end up all over my floor and then I don’t have the motivation to pick them up! I think this is a possible and necessary goal for 2025.

— Ella, Hampton

Focus on school

My New Year’s resolution is to graduate on time. To do this, I will make sure my grades are good, I have all my credits for high school, and to make sure that I’m not going to give up on high school because of missing work. I agree with the article when it states that a resolution has to be realistic and you have to want to do it. That’s why I chose this as my New Year’s resolution. It is both realistic and I want to do it.

— AB, Minnesota

My New Year’s 2025 resolution is to really focus on softball so I can get a D1 scholarship and make my parents proud. I am also going to work out more so I can become a power hitter and become faster and get better at catching and pitching. I am also going to focus on school more, so I can get all A’s in every single class.

— Kaci, Texas

Make new friends

My new resolution for this year is to make new friends, considering I am going off to college in the near future. This article has got me thinking about my future and what friends I will make along the way. Don’t get me wrong, I love my friends and I’m very grateful for them but I’m kinda nervous for when we all go off to college because I’ve had the same friends for the past 5 years. I’m scared because what if I don’t make connections or my roommate won’t like me? But I’m gonna put my best foot forward and think positive about how I will make new friendships along the way.

— SH, Minnesota

Don’t wait for a new year to make changes

I don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions. Now, I don’t think that there is necessarily anything wrong with them necessarily. I just feel that if there is something I want to change about myself, there isn’t a reason to hold off until the new year or try to accomplish it by the end of the year. If there is something I genuinely want to change about myself, whether that is eating healthier or working out more, I should just do it at my own pace as opposed to giving myself a goal I want to accomplish in a time frame.

— Ryan, California

On the Advice They’d Like to Take Into 2025

Don’t be scared to make mistakes, think of them as a positive thing. You will always learn something new.

— Ashley, California

Start or end your day thinking about three things you are grateful for.

— Kara, MA

One time a person told me that if you take consistent action toward your goals, learn from your mistakes and keep improving, you can take on any challenge on the road to success.

— Joe, Grass Valley, CA

Just because you’re in the storm doesn’t mean the game is over, you can always find a medkit.

— Charlie, Ma

Enjoy and strive for your own success, but don’t forget the community around you.

— Cailee, Grass Valley

Be a good friend to yourself. Treat yourself as if it were a dear friend. We make progress with patience and calm, not criticism and meanness.

— Kate, Los Angeles, California

In 200 years, no one’s going to remember who you are so live life to the fullest. Live how you want to, do the things you want to, and don’t be afraid of getting into a little trouble.

— Noah, Grass Valley

The best advice I have ever come across is “everything in its own time.” This advice reminds me to be patient with time and to not rush into things. This year, I will let things flow how they should, and all my goals will come true at the right time. That is the mindset that I’m bringing with me this year, 2025.

— Alexia, New Rochelle, New York

On Their Predictions for This Year

New slang

2025 will bring about a new set of slang terms and mannerisms like those we saw with Generation Alpha. Words like “rizz” and “fanum tax,” synonymous with the current youngest generation, will soon be usurped as content creators keep trying to make themselves more relevant by creating the “next big thing.” On the one hand, these terms are not usually outdated so quickly with regular use and will still stay in circulation past when Generation Alpha are no longer kids. However, currently, kids have shorter attention spans; thereby, creators need to come up with more content like these words which becomes a craze to stay in popularity. This rate of change is a way that “word of mouth” evolves because the language used a long time ago changed much less frequently than the language of the now which can be seen changing on a monthly or annual basis. Furthermore, by viewing this rate of change, one can predict that the terms being used by the youth will start changing much more rapidly, and 2025 will bring about a whole new set of slang.

— Cormac, Minnesota

A different mind-set

For me, 2025 will be very different. 2025 is the year where I begin my journey to be an adult. It’s the year when I start looking at colleges, start driving independently, finding ways to have income and ways to make money. In 2025, I’m only looking to better myself and find ways to improve myself from 2024 … This current school year, still traumatized from last year, I am never going back to “just passing is good mind-set.” I’m learning to apply myself by trying different methods and tips to learn.

— R., Fountain Valley Hs

Health and happiness over success

My prediction for the upcoming 2025 year is that people will want to focus on their well being mentally and physically. They will be less focused on succeeding in school, their careers, and just overall being fiscally responsible … I can see a wave of active healthy people who are willing and wanting to try new activities.

— Ryan, FVHS

A big year for gaming

2025 will be a huge year for the video gaming industry. Big franchises, such as the Grand Theft Auto franchise, will be coming out with a new game, GTA6. Another big game coming out in 2025 is Subnautica 2. My thought is that, compared to 2024, 2025 will have many more important games and games in general. With the announcements of highly respected games, it’s safe to say that the video gaming industry will see even more people playing its games.

— Matt, Minnesota

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The fundraiser to celebrate animals by not celebrating in person is the brainstorm of RHS Board Vice Chairman Wayne Disher, who has served on its board of directors for more than 10 years. “The idea came to me in a conversation I was having with several of our board members about possible fundraising ideas,” Disher said. “We were all saddened that we were not able to have our annual Bow Wow Meow Luau – which generated such critical funds for the animal shelter. As we were throwing out potential ideas, I noted that all the ideas they were offering required people to come together for a live gathering.” Since mass gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic are not allowed, he said the next logical step was to try and think of ideas that would generate critical funds but would not require crowds getting together. A discussion about hosting a virtual event came about and a possible Zoom meeting for New Year’s Eve. “And my brain just went, ‘You mean NO Year’s Eve’?” Disher said. “The more I thought about it, the more I thought we could market a non-event to help us raise funds. It took some clever thinking, but the result was offering people the opportunity to stay home and be safe but still help animals by donating the money they’d save by not going to an event to help animals.”

Revenue expected from this past summer’s Bow Wow Meow Luau was severely missed as it typically generates, on average, between $25,000 to $35,000 in ticket sales, donations, auctions and beverage sales. That loss was not the only hardship RHS has faced during the closures and restrictions brought about by COVID-19. “While adoptions and spay and neutering can be done, other work in the community has been suspended,” Disher said. “But the biggest challenge is funding – as all our events have been cancelled and we are now heavily relying on donations. Because our community and citizens are facing financial crises of their own, they are not able to offer donations right now. Since all our in-person fundraising events have had to be cancelled, our revenue is down almost 50% this year and so we are struggling to help as many animals as we can while watching our funds dwindle to critical lows.”

Disher said that at the beginning of the pandemic in early spring, animal shelters were not considered essential and RHS had to layoff and furlough all but 25% of its staff as a result. Hours were reduced at both the shelter and the spay/neuter clinic. After the first lockdown implementation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reclassified animal shelters as essential and some staff were brought back, and some hours were reinstated. While not completely back to normal levels, RHS shelter hours and the spay/neuter clinic have bounced back.

“As the shelter does not receive funding from federal, state, or local tax revenue, funds generated from our events are critical in purchasing daily operational supplies such as cat and dog food, cat litter, and medical supplies for animals who come into the shelter,” Disher said. “We are also able to receive sponsorships from our events from organizations such as the Soboba Foundation and Banner Bank. We recently received a grant from the Soboba Foundation to help us take care of animals needing critical care.”

All animals available for adoption can be viewed at www.ramonahumanesociety.org/available-animals/ and can be met in person by scheduling an appointment. All shelter visits are by appointment only because of COVID-19 precautions but can be scheduled by calling the shelter at (951) 654-8002.

Information, www.ramonahumanesociety.org. Donations can also be made online or by texting 2021 to 951-309-7607.

-Diane A. Rhodes

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NEW YORK (AP) — If ever a year’s end seemed like cause for celebration, 2020 might be it.

Yet the coronavirus scourge that dominated the year is also looming over New Year’s festivities and forcing officials worldwide to tone them down.

From New York’s Times Square to Sydney Harbor, big public blowouts are being turned into TV-only shows and digital events. Fireworks displays have been canceled from the Las Vegas Strip to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Even private parties in some places are restricted.

The occasion stirs mixed feelings for people like Cesar Soltero, who was taking photos, and taking stock, in Times Square this week.

“I’m going to celebrate that I’m alive, but I’m not precisely too happy for this year,” said Soltero, 36, an engineer visiting from Orlando, Florida, after forgoing his usual holiday trip to see family in Mexico.

Simona Faidiga and Alessandro Nunziata strolled through Times Square with their Labrador retriever puppy, Maggie, who has given Faidiga a lift after she lost her tour guide job.

The Italian couple moved to Miami for new jobs in March, just as the pandemic froze tourism. He is working as a sales representative, but she is not back at work yet. And they’re not ready to declare 2021 will be better, not wanting to jinx it.

“I mean, I don’t think it could be worse than 2020,” said Nunziata, 27.

Days ahead of the ball drop in Times Square, it clearly wasn’t New Year’s as usual at the Crossroads of the World. There was room to roam on sidewalks that would normally be all but impassable.

Vendors’ carts and window displays at the area’s struggling gift shops flaunted few 2021-themed souvenirs as workers set up a stage for a celebration that will unfold this year without the usual throngs of cheering, kissing revelers. Police will block off the area so spectators can’t get a glimpse.

“It’s almost like a ‘Seinfeld’ episode,” Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said, invoking the 1990s “show about nothing.” “This is a ball drop about nothing, where you can’t see, so you may as well stay home.”

The event’s special guests will be first responders and essential workers. But they won’t be joining the mayor on stage to lead the countdown. Instead, each guest will watch from a private, well-spaced area.

The night’s performances — including disco diva Gloria Gaynor’s singing of the apt-for-2020 anthem “I Will Survive” — will be aimed at TV audiences.

New Year’s Eve will look different around the world after a year in which the virus killed an estimated 1.8 million people, including more than 330,000 in the U.S.

Germany banned the sale of fireworks, which residents usually set off in on the streets, and a pyrotechnics show at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate is off.

So, too, are the fireworks over the River Thames in locked-down London, where New Year’s Eve also marks Britain’s final economic split from the European Union. However, Big Ben, which has been largely silent since 2017 while its clock tower is restored, will sound 12 bongs at midnight.

The Netherlands moved the national countdown from an Amsterdam park to a soccer stadium, where spectators won’t be allowed in and pyrotechnics will be replaced with “electric fireworks.”

In Rome, the fireworks are still on, but customary concerts in public plazas have been scrapped in favor of livestreamed performances and art installations. Pope Francis will skip his typical Dec. 31 visit to the Vatican’s life-sized Nativity scene in St. Peter’s Square and plans to deliver his New Year’s Day blessing indoors, to prevent crowds from gathering.

Rio de Janeiro nixed the fireworks, open-air concerts and rooftop parties that draw crowds of white-clad revelers in the Copacabana neighborhood, where only residents will be allowed in.

New Year’s Eve is one of the busiest days of the year at Paulo Roberto Senna’s Copacabana beach stand, but the 57-year-old said he was OK with the shutdown: “No money can buy our health!”

Hot dog vendor Fabio Henrique saw it differently.

“They tell us to stay home, but for those who don’t have money, where are we going to get the means to live?” asked Henrique, 39.

In Russia, New Year’s Eve has been more widely celebrated than Christmas, which is marked on Jan. 7 by the country’s Orthodox Christian majority. Public events have been banned or restricted in many regions. But the country’s so-called New Year’s Eve capital, the city of Kaluga, is luring tourists with a week of festivities, despite pleas from residents to cancel. Officials in Kaluga, 150 kilometers (90 miles) southwest of Moscow, said virus precautions will be taken.

Poland has told residents not to circulate between 7 p.m. on Dec. 31 until 6 a.m. on Jan. 1. Turkey declared a four-day lockdown starting on New Year’s Eve, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that security forces will inspect hotels for illicit parties.

In the U.S., the Christmas morning bombing of the downtown tourist district in Nashville, Tennessee, led the city to cancel its plan to light fireworks and blow up a 2020 sign.

“To say it would have been tone deaf would be an understatement,” said Bruce Spyridon, president of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp.

In Las Vegas, casino capacity is being limited to 25% and public gatherings are capped by the governor at 50 people. But despite the rules and the risk of COVID-19, tens of thousands of people are expected to mark the new year on the Strip or downtown. Police said their best guess is for 200,000 revelers.

South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa suggested a new way of observing the holiday by lighting candles to honor COVID-19 victims and front-line workers and to hope for a healthy 2021.

Back in New York, yoga and stress-management instructor Allison Richard, 39, wrote up a few New Year’s wishes on confetti that will be dropped at midnight in Times Square.

“Freedom,” she wrote, and “contentment,” “commitment,” “connection,” “prosperity” and “love.”

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On Saturday January 4th, the Historic Hemet Theatre will begin yet another season of Tribute Mania with a high-energy tribute to Elton John, featuring Kenny Metcalf.

Elton John is a legendary English singer, songwriter, pianist and composer. He has sold more than 300 million records, making him one of the best-selling artists in history. Billboard lists him as the most successful male artist on the Top 100 charts. Elton’s long list of accomplishments includes 5 Grammies, an Oscar, a Tony and a Kennedy Center Award, as well as being knighted by the Queen of England and receiving the Legion d’honneur, France’s highest civilian award.

The early years of Elton John contained dozens of Top 10 hits, including “Tiny Dancer” (1971), “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” (1973), “Crocodile Rock” (1972), “Daniel” (1972), “Bennie and the Jets,” (1973), “Candle in the Wind” (1973), “The Bitch is Back” (1974), “Rocket Man,” “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” (1975), “Pinball Wizard” (1975), “I’m Still Standing” (1983), “Sad Songs” (1984), “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” (1987), “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” (1994), and “Circle of Life” (1994).

This show by Kenny Metcalf pays tribute to the early years of Elton John, with all of the glitz and glitter and “over the top” energy. Kenny has performed all over the nation, including an appearance on AXTV’s “The World’s Greatest Tribute Bands.” Sales for this show are moving fast and may be gone before day of show.

The remainder of Season One will feature tributes to The Carpenters by Sally Olson & Ned Mills (January 18), Tina Turner by Debby Holiday (February 1), Marvin Gaye by Jackie’s Boy (February 22), The Bee Gees by Bee Gees Gold (March 7), Tom Petty by Petty and the Heartshakers (March 21), Metallica by Masters of Puppets (April 4) and Abba by Abba Fab (April 18).

Show tickets $22 presale / $25 day of show. Showtime is 7:00 pm, with doors open at 6:15 pm. Information on all theatre events is available at www.HistoricHemetTheatre.com or by calling the Ticket Office, (951) 658-5950.

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At year’s end, most of us recognize our character flaws, blunders, extra pounds, unhealthy habits, excessive indebtedness, propensity towards bullying the weaker of our acquaintances or family, and in a word, recognize every other personal failing that we admit to ourselves that we need to fix.

In many western countries we take advantage of the new year to adopt resolutions thought to guide us towards goals of character improvement and personal relations that will make us better persons. In order to keep easier track of our progress, we feel that we need to start out with a clean beginning. Therefore, most of us commence our good faith proposals on the first day of the new year.

Missteps in “normal” people in personal relations are usually made only once: we learn from this behavior which negatively affects us, and we vow not to do it again.  If we are overweight, which is usually tied to unhealthy habits, resolving to thin down is very hard, especially in our society where food is being advertised at every corner, making it desirable to consume.  If you find that you cannot reach your goals alone in this quest, look for help. If you feel you need assistance, you may want to seek out support before you start out the new year. There is nothing better for your purpose in life than to feel mentally that you are on the right course.

Certainly one of life’s experiences that provoke stress and anxiety is to be over-indebted with banks, credit unions, department stores, credit cards, etc., who will, without fail, send out their statements and collection letters when you fall behind. If this is the case, the first thing you may want to consider is to leave your credit cards on file at home.  Leaving them home is a deterrent to “impulse buying” and purchasing what you don’t need. Paying off your credit cards during the entire new year without using them will allow you to feel stress-free, knowing that next year you will have either paid off your debts or considerably decreased the balance. Pay cash whenever possible.

Bullying is not only a school yard phenomenon – it is also practiced in the workplace, on the highway, in the shopping mall, standing in line at the supermarket, everyplace where people congregate. Bullying is a learned behavior that can be unlearned by keeping in mind the Golden Rule of “Do unto others as you would have done to you”. Bullying sometimes is a result of impatience that can be mitigated by being reminded of the Golden Rule. Perhaps we should lobby establishments that deal with the public post conspicuously a sign stating the Golden Rule.

Let’s make an effort to build a better place to live, and to work, a better place in which our children can live, study and play safely..a place in which provocations to react violently are ignored;a place where people greet and treat each other with a smile.

Beat wishes to all of us with our new year’s resolutions.

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