Asking Stanford: What are your resolutions for 2026?
“Asking Stanford” is a series of small stories from Stanford students, each of which comes together to highlight the diversity of experiences and perspectives on campus.
This year, my resolution is to side-quest more. Last quarter, I rarely left campus, but every time I did, I had so much fun. I went to San Francisco for a Carti concert and my dorm scavenger hunt, and I went to Half Moon Bay to celebrate the end of finals. Those were some of my favorite memories of the quarter. In 2026, I want to make leaving campus a bigger part of my life. I want to eat food from places other than dining halls, explore new places, and spend more time outside. I want to take trips to places like Tahoe and Yosemite and give myself more chances to enjoy the world beyond campus. — Melita D’Souza ’29
As a response to the increasing presence of technology in our daily lives, many of my professors have adopted a low-tech policy for their lectures. While they do not disallow taking notes by iPad (my preferred method in the past), I have taken this as a sign to start writing notes using pencil and paper. Sometimes, I miss the luxury of being able to rearrange my paragraphs with the lasso tool, but the process of erasing and rewriting carries its own charm. Hopefully all the beautiful, blank notebooks sitting on my shelf will see some use this year! — Kaylee Chan ’27
In 2026, I aim to become more spontaneous and less of a perfectionist. Rather than waiting for the right time to start a project or pick up a new coding language, I am going to be proactive. This starts with overcoming the fear of not doing things right. As I learn, I am going to embrace my mistakes and make gradual progress. One year flies by quickly, but when I look back, I realize just how much progress I have made. Last year was great, but I know this year can be even better. — Megan D’Souza ’29
One of my 2026 resolutions was to volunteer every other week. I used to think of volunteering as something tied closely to my high school experiences, needing to satisfy a certain number of hours to graduate. But recently, I’ve been thinking a lot more about why I volunteered — the communities I helped, the people I met and the way it made me feel. Who knows if I really will volunteer 26 times this calendar year, but right now, I have a senior care home I’m going to this weekend and a shift at the Ronald McDonald House for next weekend. — Sharis Hsu ’28
In a spur of the moment decision (while playing a round of basketball rather poorly), I decided I was going to learn how to backflip this year. A few beers later, I realized coordination was not my thing. I settled on just going to the gym three times a week. — Iris Hwang, M.S. ’27
No resolutions exactly, but I do have a theme: courage. The courage to face life and grapple with it instead of retreating inside. To try new things and strike up conversations. And most importantly, to just do things instead of being afraid I am not qualified. — Lily Zou ’29
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