New Year’s Resolutions of a Parisian
New Year’s resolutions are a universal thing. People all over the world set out to change bad habits starting on January 1. The tradition is more than 4,000 years old and dates back to the Babylonians, who paid off debts and returned borrowed items at the end of the year to start the new year with a clean slate. The ancient Romans made a promise to their gods to behave well on the first day of the year.
While the most popular resolutions vary from country to country, they almost always include one or more of the following: lose weight, exercise more, change jobs, find love, eat better, quit smoking, improve finances, take care of mental health, read more and drink less.
As this adventurous year draws to a close, we have come up with a (not-so-serious) Parisian list of:
Bonnes résolutions pour la nouvelle année
- More strikes
- Less bedbugs
- Start paying for métro tickets instead of jumping the turnstiles
- Find a therapist (government-funded) to treat my PTSD from that one time I took line 13
- Stop eating half the baguette on the way home from the boulangerie (and eat the whole thing instead, hehehe)
- No more rolling my eyes when someone says they’re in Paris for Fashion Week
- No more spending half my salary on 7-euro cookies (note to self: find a new way to show off on TikTok)
- I will also stop waiting in line for twenty minutes for said cookies
- Stop complaining about the Olympics and how expensive and chaotic everything is going to be, and instead be grateful for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rent out a closet-sized apartment at five-star prices
- No more hate-watching Emily in Paris
- From now on, I’ll pick up after my dog – even when no one is watching
- Respect other people’s opinions that France doesn’t have the best cuisine in the world, even when they’re clearly wrong
- Resist the urge to sing at the top of my lungs every time Les Lacs du Connemara comes on
- Swap pains au chocolat for croissants aux amandes (almonds are loaded with antioxidants, soooo…)
- For the same health benefits, I’ll continue to drink fermented grape juice in all its forms: Sauternes, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Syrah, Merlot, Cinsault, Cabernet Sauvignon…
- Summer somewhere other than the Côte d’Azur, Cap Ferret or Deauville
- Make jokes about Marseille no more than once a week
Add this to your own New Year’s resolutions
Need some inspiration for your own New Year’s resolutions? We’ve got one for you:
- Never be a typical tourist again
Instead, experience the real Paris and discover your own local favorites with your personalized guide. It’s simple: Just fill out our form here (it only takes a few minutes) and we’ll do the rest.
