New Year’s resolution

‘Tis the season once again. The start of the New Year always seems to mark the period of dramatic, life changing revolutions. That is, the gyms and chapels are full as people strive toward the new, yet outdated proclamation, “New Year, New Me”.

And once again I inquire, how much do we really change? How long does it take us to ease back into the everyday routine? Too often we find ourselves still attempting to resolve those same guilty pleasures in the next year’s resolution. What would look different in the world if we actually maintained our resolutions and consistently strived for a better year than the last? While we strive for an improved year, we often forget about the less tasteful memories of the previous year. Consequently, this can cause us to eventually forget why we created the resolutions in the first place. That is, what aspects of life were we dissatisfied with enough to ignite our willingness for change.

I was sitting in a meeting a few weeks ago and a scenario was brought up which made us evaluate our individual approaches to possibly confrontational situations. The purpose of the discussion was to make us think about what we would do if we overheard a conversation with highly discriminatory comments. Would we speak up, even if the person was a complete stranger, or would we be passive? As we contemplated our own approaches, I was astonished by how many of these beautifully bold and intellectual individuals claimed that they are most likely to be completely unreactive. I hoped that these colleagues of mine would have more of a fire for change. Needless to say, their responses were partially due to a desire to avoid confrontation—which is, to some extent, understandable—but mainly because they saw no point in trying to change the mindset of the individuals engaging in offensive conversations.

Both that level of acceptance of negative circumstances and fear of conflict is troubling, because it marks the moment we get stuck in existing in a world which we have just settled for. If we have already reached a point where people are just accepting offense, it means that we are becoming so numb to change or negative situations that we cannot imagine the possibility of an improved circumstance. I looked around in the meeting at the people making these claims and had to question the future. If this is the mindset of people that are one day great enough to make great advances in the world, we may have a greater problem than the issues themselves.

Sometimes I do not think we understand the extent of leverage that we all have if we just choose to fully grasp it and take advantage of what is thrown our way. As students at Duke we are exposed to so many opportunities and experiences that others may never have the chance to lay eyes on. But with this privilege also becomes responsibility, as we must also consider what is wasted if we do not use what we have to make a difference. If we spend all this time and money to solely benefit ourselves, we can never truly be successful. We cannot be so afraid of confrontation that we avoid situations that could possibly change the way we or others exist in society. We do not have time to settle and simply exist.

So what if for this New Year, we approached our resolutions with something actually sustainable. Save your short term dreams for another month and, just for now, see how beautifully fulfilling it could be to actually open your mouth and stand up for what you believe in. No one is saying you have to be the next big activist—everyone has their place that is most comfortable for them to operate in. But we absolutely cannot fall into a trap of being passive. We are so much better than that. I want to believe that we are better than that.

Kalifa Wright is a Trinity junior. This is her first column of the semester.