What is a "New Year's Resolution"?

   At the beginning of every new year, many people want to change something with their life. Whether they want to weight, find love, or quit smoking, everyone wants to something new in their life, not just a change on their calenders. This is what everyone knows as a "New Year's resolution", but what exactly is a New Year's resolution? Is it just a promise people make that they never commit to? Is it an ad campaign where businesses like Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, and even your local gym can make a quick buck out of your expense, or is it a fun, innocent, sometimes even depressing look at one's own self being in order to evaluate our own life? Well, let's explore what a New Year's resolution is and some statistics that go along with this tradition.
   From our good buddy Wikipedia, a New Year's resolution is a common tradition, typically found in the

Pretend that says 2014 alright? ;)

West but sometimes found in the East, where a person makes a promise to themselves to do something nice for their own well being or for others. The New Year's resolution has its religious origins dating back to the Babylonians, the Romans, the Medieval knights, Christianity, and even Judaism. Each of these groups had their own reasons of course, but how did Americans get so hyped about New Year's resolutions? Maybe it started around the Great Depression? About 25% of Americans made New Year's resolutions by the end of the Great Depression. By the 21st century, that number rose to 40%. Staticsticbrain.com has a bunch of different and interesting facts on New Year's resolutions. The trend, no matter where you look, seems that most people make their resolution, commit on it at first, but then notice that greasy food tastes good and just give up on their New Year's resolution.
   Is a New Year's resolution bad for us as people. Big picture wise, no. There's nothing wrong with people wanting to change their lives if they feel that it needs changing. Are they wasting their valuable money on something that they'll commit on? Most likely so, but that's okay. We live in capitalist society, supply and demand. Let's have people be who they want to be, and let them learn from their mistakes. I'll take the stance saying that New Year's resolutions are fun and innocent things that get us going for every new year. I may be wrong, but who cares, right?