Nora Zelevansky is a freelance lifestyle journalist focusing on fashion, beauty, travel, food, and pop-culture trends for publications such as Salon.com, Elle, elle.comStyle.com, the Los Angeles Times, and many more. Her first novel, Semi-Charmed Life, a coming-of-age story and romantic social satire, will hit bookstores in July.

A growing number of realists have given themselves an easy 2012 resolution. But, asks Nora Zelevansky, does just one month of abstention do any good?