Chances are you have big plans for Dec. 31,1999.  I mean, this isn't just any ordinary New Year's Eve you can spend at home if need be.  This is the end of a century for crying out loud.  This will be the most important New Year's we will ever experience, so it is only right that our resolutions match. 

In honor of the millennium, instead of shedding five pounds, how about 20?  Instead of promising to miss only three classes in one semester, how about none at all?  Instead of declaring that you are no longer going to talk behind your roommate's back, how about erasing the word gossip from your vocabulary? 

What a bunch of bull. 

We have been trained to believe that each new year brings a second chance.  A second chance to recreate, improve or dispose of all our imperfections.  We become determined and motivated to complete our goals.  But come early February, that Big Mac becomes just a little too tempting, and our resolutions are out the window. 

Months pass, and we are now smoking two packs a day.  We rely on self-help magazines like Cosmopolitan and Maxim  for guidance, but "102 Sex You Up Secrets" do not really make our lives any better.  Before we know it, it's the end of the year again.  So, how can we break this continuing cycle? 

This New Year's, I challenge you to believe in yourself.  Find that one thing in your life that makes you really feel self-worth and focus on it.  Whether it be a talent, a characteristic or trait, your job, your significant other, a hobby or a higher power, resolve a way to make it a part of your spirit.  Incorporate it into your daily life and attempt to develop it. 

If you enjoy reading, but can't seem to find time with all your schoolwork, set aside time before you go to bed every night to read.  If you enjoy helping others, volunteer once a week.  The greatest thing is that you already possess whatever it is that gives you self-worth.  It won't disappear in early February. 

Whatever it is that lights your soul and puts a smile on your face, make it a part of your resolutions for the turn of the century.  I wish to everyone a safe and happy holiday.