Welcome back, everyone! I missed you students an awful lot, and I’m not just saying that because I’m the mascot and I have to be nice to you – it started to get really boring around here without you guys on campus. I tried to stay occupied, but I quit reading halfway through War and Peace and have you ever tried to play hide-and-seek by yourself? It’s really hard.
So what did you bring back to Adrian with you? Lots of cool holiday presents, right? Some clothes or sweet new kicks maybe, or some Legos? I don’t know what’s cool for humans these days. Personally, besides a plethora of rawhides and an unfortunate looking dog sweater, I now keep my New Year’s Resolutions with me at all times. In the form of a mental list, of course, because my handwriting is pretty bad.
First on my list, and the most common of all resolutions, is to lose some weight. I’ve been scoping out the new restaurant at the rink an awful lot lately, so I’m not looking as svelte as I did in November. Don’t misunderstand me, though; I don’t want to look like an American Apparel model, I just want to be healthy, so I can do a good job of supporting our sports teams by setting a good example.
Secondly, I know I’m a bulldog, but I would really like to have a few less wrinkles. It’s a vanity thing, but everyone has theirs, right?
And, finally, my favorite resolution of all: I want to be the kind of mascot that you students want to have around. That means keeping up my good attendance from last semester as we finish up the hockey and basketball seasons, and dive right into softball, baseball, track, and lacrosse with an abundance of energy and school spirit that even Lassy would balk at.
Whether your resolutions are similar to mine or not, I have some advice about achieving your goals that I have learned from past years. First of all, be reasonable and realistic. Not skipping any classes for an entire semester is nearly impossible, but trying to get at least six hours of sleep a night and only missing class if you have a fever is.
Being specific goes along with this as well. My first resolution isn’t really “lose weight,” it’s more like “go for a walk or run four days a week, eat only one plate of food at meals, and try new vegetables like broccoli.” It’s easier to achieve specific goals than it is to achieve generalizations.
Also, you need to have a plan! Besides what I said earlier, I’m also trying to cut back on my fast food to only special occasions, like if friends want to go out for their birthdays or something. For my wrinkles, I plan on spending a Macy’s gift card I got for Christmas on an anti-wrinkle system, which I will make sure to use regularly and properly. As for my goals as a mascot, I will try to keep in contact with students, both who play sports and watch them, and see what it is that you guys want to see from me this year.
Most importantly, reward yourself, and not just at the end of the year, either! If you’ve made it to the end of January and are still keeping up with your plans, then take yourself out for ice cream already!
Remember, everybody slips sometimes, so don’t be too hard on yourself if you stray from your resolutions every once and a while, just use them to remind yourself why you made your resolutions in the first place. I hope this helped, and good luck! I can’t wait to see you all around! Happy 2012!