O’Donnell said keeping a New Year’s resolution requires a lot of willpower, which is why he thinks most people don’t manage to stick with their resolutions all year.

“They go into it with all sorts of good faith (and) with the intention of completing a New Year’s resolution,” he said. “Lose weight, get more exercise, be a better person (or) all of those things, and (motivation) kind of fades out as the year goes on.”

Despite his skepticism, O’Donnell said resolutions still serve a purpose for some.

“It’s nice to have an annual ritual where we sort of look at ourselves and say, ‘Here’s something I can do better,’” he said.

East Lansing police Sgt. James Phelps said he doesn’t have a specific New Year’s resolution, but he does have goals for 2013.

Phelps plans to begin training for this summer’s Tough Mudder, a 10-12 mile charity obstacle course described on its website as “probably the toughest event on the planet,” to support the Wounded Warrior Project.

“It’s pretty extreme,” he said. “You have to be in shape and be ready.”

Phelps said he doesn’t feel a need to make a New Year’s resolution because he usually fulfills his goals in a timely manner.

“I try to do what I want to do year-round,” he said. “I’m one of those people that, basically, if something needs to be done, I do it on Monday rather than wait until Friday.”

For engineering freshman Syireen Saari, 2013 marks her first time away from her home and family in Malaysia.

Saari said although some Malaysians make New Year’s resolutions, she’s not a fan and doubts their success. Despite not having a “resolution,” Saari said she plans to work on being independent and focus on her school work during her time away from home.

“I’m sure that being in engineering is kind of hard,” Saari said. “I just thought of studying more and not to be distracted by other things.”