Will you be
making any New Year's resolutions?
Malia from
Virginia does not make too many resolutions. She says she does not want to
disappoint herself when she fails to keep them. Joe, the University of
Virginia student, is of a similar mind.
"I'm not a
believer in resolutions for New Year's. I think that resolutions come when
they need to throughout the year, when you decide that someone needs a
change."
What about John
Worster, the Catholic priest?
"I make a New Year's resolution every year and usually by the third or fourth
of January it's already been broken, so..."
"What
kind of resolutions are those?"
"Oh, usually to lead a healthier lifestyle by eating better food and not
drinking so much, so..."
Jamar Negron, a
high school student from New Jersey, has a few resolutions:
"I'm a fencer, so my New Year's resolution is just to become better at
fencing. And better in the general sense: become better in schoolwork, become
a better person, become a better writer – become as best as I can be in all
aspects of my life."
Holiday
planning can be difficult when business has to come before pleasure.
We did
interviews near the Capitol building here in Washington. One of the people we
met happened to be the wife of a newly elected senator. Jill Cooper is married
to Tom Udall, a Democrat from New Mexico who entered the Senate this past
January.
When we talked
to her earlier this month, their plans for the New Year were still open.
"There was a chance that we would go on a trip to India and Afghanistan, but
apparently we're not doing that. Since he's in the Senate and we don't know
what's going to happen with the health care bill, he may not even be home. If
we're home, we'll probably have dinner with friends."
We give the
last word to Jamar, the high school student from New Jersey:
"Prosperity.
Strength. Confidence. Equality. Good fortune. Goodwill. That everything will
work out for the better. That I'll leave no stone unturned, and that I'm able
to go to sleep at night with no regrets at what I've done."
Our program was written by Nancy Steinbach and Mario Ritter and produced by
Caty Weaver. I'm Shirley Griffith. And I'm Steve Ember. We wish you all
happiness and good fortune in the New Year, and hope will join us again next
time for "This is America" in VOA Special English.
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