【推荐2】New Year’s resolutions: turning vows to deeds

Luckily, for those who fail at seeing their resolutions through, there is always a way to achieve your desired goal. Through a carefully designed plan for action, there is a way to achieve your goals.     1    .

The first thing to note is that New Year’s resolutions are not wishes!     2    . Ambiguous things like “I want to find love” or “I want to get a promotion” are unrealistic goals as they are determined by external forces that are out of our control. You cannot achieve what you can’t control. Only work towards achieving what you are capable of. For instance, since we have no say as to who gets a promotion at work, this desire of being promoted can be broken down into achievable goals of increasing productivity and being more assertive(自信果敢的).

Just because we have set a goal that we need to achieve this coming year does not mean we should start it on the first day of the first month of the year. Starting anything is not easy, and it requires mental and physical preparation.     4    . That can lead to easy failure or giving up.

Maybe there are some ways to know you are on course to achieve your goals.     5    . One can only be certain they are making headway on their resolutions if they have a way of determining their progress. To know we are headed towards the goal, we need to know how far we have come and how much further we have to go.

【推荐1】As an undergraduate,I was fascinated by a visiting professor’s lecture. The second I left the talk, I called my sister and told her I had decided to become a paleoclimate (古气候) scientist—to which she replied, “A what?” No one in my family has a graduate degree. And no one heard of this term. Thus I began my journey through the unwritten expectations and assumed knowledge about applying to graduate school.

I sent that professor an email, asking whether he had time to talk to me. He agreed to meet virtually, explained his graduate research, and shared stories of fieldwork, but he made no mention of how students were supported. I didn’t think to ask. I assumed pursuing a graduate degree would mean paying tuition and going without income. That was not an option for me. So, I tried to let go of the idea of continuing my education.

Later I learned from my adviser that many programs not only cover tuition, but also offer scholarship. My dream became a possibility again.

Then came the next problem: figuring out how to apply. I fell into a rabbit hole of Internet advice from self-appointed experts, each with a different opinion on email etiquette (礼仪), interview scheduling, and how to express interest in a project. The suggested timelines contradicted (相矛盾) one another. I felt hopeless again, terrified I would break an unspoken rule.

But I gathered all the advice I could and spent hours crafting emails to professors. Ultimately, I was accepted to work on a master’s project in a city where I had always wanted to live.

Standing in the lab that day, I realized that—despite my uncertainty—I had made it exactly where I had hoped to be. When I had started down this path, there was so much I didn’t know. But I made it by trying walking into the unknown.

【推荐3】My Day of No Plastic

Since its invention, plastic has affected every aspect of our lives. It has made possible thousands of conveniences, but it has come with downsides, especially for the environment. In a 24-hour experiment, I tried to live without it to see what plastic stuff we can’t do without and what we may be able to give up.

At the start of my no-plastic day, I made my way toward the bathroom, only to stop myself before I went in. “Could you open the door for me?” I asked my wife. “The handle is plastic.” She opened it for me, letting out a “this is going to be a long day” sigh (叹气).

My morning routine was a headache. I couldn’t use my toothpaste, toothbrush, shampoo or soap, all of which were made of plastic or put in plastic containers. Getting dressed was also a challenge, given that so many clothing items include plastic.

When I went out, I brought along two glass containers and cloth bags of various sizes. I walked to a sandwich shop. “Can you make the salad in this glass container?” I asked. The manager said OK but then rejected my request to use my steel spoon.

After lunch, I took the subway to Central Park, which scored me more violations (违规), since I need a MetroCard and the trains themselves have plastic parts. But at least I didn’t sit in one of those plastic seats.

Back home, I recorded some of my impressions. By my count, on my day of no plastic, I had made 164 violations. I felt defeated. And also uncertain. The next day I called Gabby Salazar, a scientist who studies what motivates people to support environmental causes, and asked her for advice.

“You can drive yourself crazy,” she said, “but it’s not about perfection. It’s about progress.” Believe it or not, individual behavior matters. It adds up. “Remember,” she continued, “it’s not about plastic being the enemy. It’s about single-use as the enemy.”

I promised to try, even after my not successful attempt. I’ll start with small things, building up habits. I can take cloth bags to the grocery. I might start packing my glass water bottle and steel spoon. And from there, who knows?