By Erica Edman ‘21, Feature Writer

As we delve deeper into the New Year and continue down a path of self improvement, we can learn from the show The Good Place how to accomplish your goals and ultimately become your best self. While using comedy as an outlet, the show propels its audience through four character’s journeys of self-improvement. A spoiler free summary: the show is about four people named Eleanor, Chidi, Jason, and Tahani who have died and are brought to the “Good Place” because they scored high enough on a point system based on their actions on Earth. As the show continues through the early episodes of season one, it becomes apparent that the four characters are not like the other kind and generous people throughout the town of the Good Place. However, the four characters work together and through Chidi’s expertise in moral philosophy, which guides them through situations not unlike the choices we face on earth, the characters learn to become more selfless and greater people.

As the series progresses, the characters’ minds become continually reset. Each time their minds are reset, they lose all their progress of self-improvement. Their minds are reset 802 times, and every single time, under circumstances like being attacked by flying shrimp or becoming trapped in a purple ball, the characters find a way to work together and follow the same path towards self-improvement. As I enter the New Year, I begin to look at the show through a different lens and realize that I should look at the show as a guideline for my New Year’s Resolutions, and I think you should too.

When talking with different Newark Academy students, I have heard many variations of how people want to live healthier, kinder, and overall better lives than the ones they lived last year. For example, sophomore Lizzie Kogan aims to get a better night’s sleep this year while junior Julie Katz is trying to live a more stress-free lifestyle. By applying the message of the show to your life, you can think about how resetting your life and completely deleting all the unhealthy patterns and painful memories that weighed down your 2018 can create a space to build a better self. Throughout the show, the characters are constantly worrying about  whether they are currently their “best selves”. Chidi, in the midst of a panic, says, “There have literally been 802 different versions of us. And how do I know that this version is the best version of myself?”. I believe that since we on Earth have the capability to remember our past years, it is important that when we reboot ourselves for the new year, we utilize the knowledge of our past to ensure that our 2019 selves are the best ones yet.

The show also demonstrates an important lesson: that self-improvement should, and sometimes can only, be done as a group. The only commonality between all of the 802 reboots of the characters is that all the characters have to decide to work together before they can begin their journey to become better people. Not only do the four characters hold each other accountable for their actions, but they learn from each other’s mistakes while also using each other’s wisdom. I believe with the help of the people besides you, it is easier to succeed because you are not only becoming better for yourself, but also for the people who are on the same journey with you.

Even if you do not succeed with all of your goals for self-improvement this year, I think it is worth a try. In the words of Michael, another character from The Good Place, “Now we’re going to do the most human thing of all: attempt something futile with a ton of unearned confidence and fail spectacularly!”