There we were: finally finished with the long sprint towards winter break and nearing the halfway mark in the school year. When we return to school, we’ll have reached that point where all the days seem to mesh together into one long blur of lessons and homework. Midterms are looming around the corner and stress piles up along with the review material. Then bam, fireworks, confetti and cheers of “Happy New Year!” Throughout the world people are celebrating this fresh start, but do you really get one?

Dear Jan. 1, what’s so new about you? What makes you so special? How come you’re the day that people feel uplifted with the hope of a new beginning and a better life? Why do you inspire people to vow to improve themselves?

All you are is the day after Dec. 31, just another day in the endless cycle of time. Sure, you’re the restart of the Gregorian Calendar, but that just means the completion of another 365 days since last Jan. 1. You’re not even a change of seasons—you fall right in the middle of winter. You may be considered part of the holiday season, but all you are is an extra reason for people to party during their vacation.

Celebrating the new year makes it seem like time can be separated into distinct chunks. Like passing from Dec. 31 to Jan. 1 brings you into a new era that is set apart from the past few days. But it’s nothing new. We’re still the same people we were yesterday. We’ll still be those people tomorrow. We still have the same personalities, same lifestyles, same tendencies, same obligations.

For students at least, the real new year starts at the beginning of a new school year. That’s the time when we really have a blank page to try something new, whether it’s with friends, grades or hobbies. So for us, Jan. 1 doesn’t provide a clean slate. It’s a continuation of the same half-full, messy slate we’ve been working on since at least September, making it less of a rebirth and more of a mile marker.

If you’re truly looking for a fresh start, why wait until this day to begin again? Why delay progress? If you know your problem is fixable or that some aspect of your life is not the best it could be, why put off improvement until the middle of the real year?

Every day is a new opportunity to change, so the fact that people wait until January to take advantage of that says something about our natural work ethic. If people were really motivated to make a difference, they wouldn’t waste time twiddling their thumbs and waiting for the new year to roll around. If legitimate results are what you seek, New Year’s resolutions aren’t even necessary because you would be working on them every day.

Now don’t get me wrong. I love New Year’s Eve festivities just as much as the next person. But considering how insignificant the dawn of a new year really is, the whole “fresh start” image seems to have lost its meaning. Since each day that arrives marks one year from that date 365 days ago, every day could be called a new year. Don’t limit the opportunity to improve yourself to a specific day of the year.