Give up energy drinks. Show school spirit. Finally get that driving permit.

Ask a teen what his or her New Year's resolution is, and you'll get to-do lists as varied as teens themselves. They make up their minds to break bad habits, do good deeds for humanity - and everything in between.

Take Paige Hermrech, a junior at Enochs High School. Last year, she decided to give up drinking soda.

"I tried it for like ten days," she said, "but it was way too hard because I realized I need soda in my life."

This year's resolution? "Not to judge people before I meet them," Paige said.

Matt Reich, a junior at Downey High School, also tried giving up a sugary treat.

"Last year's resolution was to give up M&M's with a buddy, because we didn't want to give up anything too important," he said.

This year, Matt decided to try something a bit more challenging.

"My New Year's resolution is to give up energy drinks because they are way too addicting," he said.

While some resolutions are not always the easiest to stick with, some teens are able to follow through for the entire year.

Kaitlyn Wyatt, a junior at Turlock High, has a more serious resolution she already has been working on: getting an early acceptance to a four-year college.

Whitney Haskin, a sophomore at Beyer High School, was also successful last year. "My last year's resolution was to be more spirited and learn to appreciate my school more, and I think I succeeded because I love Beyer now."

Whitney hopes that she can follow through with this year's resolution, too.

"For my New Year's resolution, I've decided to help those around me, who really need it," she said. "And I'd like to make a difference in at least one person's life and try to better understand what the people in third-world countries go through and how they live."

While many of us set ambitious goals -- some that we soon come to realize may be almost impossible to achieve -- the idea of beginning the New Year with motivation to accomplish a certain task remains important to teens.

In addition to her resolution to stop judging people before she meets them, Paige from Enochs decided to also pursue a specific goal.

"I mainly just want to pass my (driving) permit test, which is long overdue!"

Sasha Riddle is a junior at Beyer High School and a member of The Bee's Teens in the Newsroom journalism program. To comment, click on the link with this story at www.modbee.com.