The popular saying “new year, new me” is a mantra many students repeat year after year.

When one course of action is found faulty, it’s only natural that one seeks another. Although seemingly logical, once one exhausts all routes, where are they left to roam?

This is why high school can easily become a jumble of abandoned paths. 

At some point one has to take an honest evaluation of themselves. They must ask themselves whether or not their unfortunate situation is the result of a poor moral compass or something more integral. If the answer is the latter, one must seek a remedy rather than a refuge. 

Do not mistake me, sometimes it is ok to change. Too often, however, people “change” in an effort to escape more so than to find anew. 

Immediately upon realizing they are dissatisfied, many people conclude that the situation, not themselves, is flawed. While sometimes accurate, if the same result occurs even in the wake of different situations, the problem may be one at the core of who somebody is.

Your internal struggles will never cease unless they are cured. They will continue to infect all life around you until you stand amidst nobody but a shell of yourself. There is no cure but commitment. Commitment to not a “new you,” but a better you. 

I urge you: before you exhaust all escapes, stop running. 

Stop running, take a breath, and think.