New year resolutions

With a new year ahead of them, many students are setting their sights on starting anew with their personal goals.

Nine months ago, Christina Agosto, a junior psychology major, was on a whole grain diet.  She regrets having given up this diet, because it has prevented her from making more healthful decisions.  She said that her resolution is to be healthier, and that the whole grain diet will allow her to make better choices.

"I eat way too many sweets," Agosto said.  "I don't eat any vegetables, any fruits and it's extremely important that at 20 years old, I am eating healthy."

Agosto is one of many students looking towards the new year with high hopes and great ambitions.  Whether it's losing weight, committing to be outdoors more, or simply eating better, students like Agosto see 2011 as a fresh start towards goals that they have wanted to achieve for a long time.  

Agosto lives at home and said that her problem lies with what she eats at home, not outside. She said that diabetes runs in her family, which prompted her to make this resolution. She said she usually craves something sweet right after meals.

"I have to have a dessert after every meal." Agosto said.  "I can have potato chips and then have something sweet right after it."

Agosto says that her family will be joining the WeightWatchers program, which will help to keep her on track.  She will be eating WeightWatcher's meals as part of her whole grain diet.  

Michael Reif, a sophomore pre-clinical major, also plans to improve his diet.  He wants to lose 20 pounds by the end of the year through diet and exercise.  Reif has had this goal since a year and a half ago, and will be doing cardiovascular exercises and weight-lifting at the Recreation and Wellness Center to reach his goal. Reif plans on a lot of cardio and a few weight-lifting exercises.

He said that shedding the pounds will make him feel better and healthier. He will do this on his own by buying healthier foods and using his UCF meal plan to make better choices.  Although it won't be easy, he feels that he is ready for the challenge.

"It will be harder, but nothing comes easy, right?" Reif said.

While Agosto and Reif have diet and fitness goals, Jennifer Agosto, freshman interdisciplinary studies major and sister of Christina Agosto, seeks to commune with nature once again.  Agosto used to go on nature walks in high school to stay fit.  

Last fall was her first semester at UCF, and she said that the stress of that semester forced her to give up her cherished nature walks.  She said that this was a good form of exercise for her.

"It doesn't feel like a workout, but it is," Agosto said. "It's good for you."

Agosto said that she plans to do more walks around campus in-between her classes this semester.  She said that being outdoors more often will allow her to get back to being herself again.

Graham Grover, a senior double majoring in French and Spanish, said that his resolution this year is simply to finish his degree. Grover joined the military in 2001 with an associate's degree from Seminole Community College and ended up becoming a linguist in the military.  Grover said he now misses the routine and consistency of this job.

"Being in the military, I had a job that was consistent and I was doing something that was actually helping people," Grover said.  

When he left the military in September of 2007, he chose to build on his linguistic skills by majoring in French and Spanish.  

Grover said that his wife will be helping him with his goal, but also added that his boss at Books-A-Million in Casselberry is helping him get the hours he needs to stay afloat this semester.

"He's interested in keeping me afloat financially as well as employed," Grover said.

Grover's goal with this degree is to be of service again by becoming a foreign service officer with the State Department. He hopes to be stationed in a country where he can utilize his French and Spanish multilingualism.

Grover sees the new year as the opportunity to finally fulfill his long-standing goal of working professionally again. Jennifer Agosto sees it as an opportunity to be herself again and connect with mother nature. Christina Agosto looks at this new year as an opportunity to be fiercely committed to her old goal of eating healthier.

"Right when you stop a diet, you know you've got to get back on it, you just lie to yourself,"  Agosto said. She feels that this new year is a good time to achieve her goal and turn things around.