BY JASMINE ACKERMAN, Copy Editor

We all know New Year’s resolutions are considered a joke since they are often forgotten by the time midterms roll around.

Our drive to become fit fades, and we begin to stuff our faces once again with, well, whatever we told ourselves we would not eat. Needless to say, these decisions don’t usually end with the life-altering results we had initially hoped for.

Just as New Year’s resolutions don’t guarantee a successful, goal-achieving year, bucket lists don’t promise a lifetime full of unforgettable experiences either.

Aspirations such as losing weight, eating healthy, learning to play an instrument, writing a novel or training for a marathon are repeatedly put off until “tomorrow.”

Continually postponing new experiences means missing out on living.

Before the summer of 2011, I was a huge procrastinator. I was introverted and afraid of new experiences and change. I postponed my dreams and goals to be achieved until any day other than “today.” I traded it all for a seat on a comfy couch watching “Gilmore Girls.”

This was the summer of my blaring wake-up call. If I didn’t break out of my shell, a change wasn’t going to happen magically overnight.

My best friend and I made a “list of things we must do this summer,” which at that point consisted of fears we had yet to conquer.

When she asked me which one I wanted to face that night, I started making excuse after excuse until she finally asked, “Why not tonight?” This became our new catch phrase and is what made me realize that writing a list didn’t accomplish any more than thawing chicken without actually cooking it.

That night, hearts pounding, we leaped out of our comfort zones by belting out Joan Jett at a karaoke bar and riding the Extreme Scream at the Washington State Fair.

Soon after, our goals of running a 5K, competing in the Seaside Volleyball Tournament and road tripping to San Francisco (to name a few) were complete.

Through checking items off of this list, we discovered new interests such as rock climbing and pottery classes, but we also ran into experiences that we would never do again. We learned we would rather use our cash to buy tornado fries than on a splotchy orange spray tan. That learning an entire Bollywood dance can be a more enjoyable workout than getting lost while hiking in the rain, somewhere near Mt. Rainier.

Good and bad, these are all experiences I wouldn’t trade, even for all seven seasons of “Gilmore Girls” and a tub of Chunky Monkey.  Well, maybe I’d trade them for a trip to Glacier Falls, Iceland.

You may be like me and are not rolling in moolah.  But even if you can’t take that longed-for trip to New York City next week, you can easily begin putting some money away for it today.

Pursuing dreams and making a list of goals are important steps to a positive change, but don’t stop there, or I can guarantee you will miss out.

It still bothers me that I put off seeing a drive-in movie that summer, only to find out I had missed the last night’s showing of the only drive-in movie theater remotely near my home before it closed down for good.

Living in the future will guarantee that you will miss out on today. So whether it’s participating in open mic, hitting the gym or facing your fears, “Why not tonight” Ellensburg?