Twice a year we award two students our iVein Health and Wellness Scholarship. Students must write an essay that promotes a practical approach to a healthy lifestyle in college and how these habits can be sustained over a lifetime.
We received many great entries, but there can only be one winner. Here is the winning essay:
The greatest wealth anyone could ever obtain is their health. Buddha once described the importance of remaining healthy in one simple sentence saying “To keep the body in good health is a duty, otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.” College life especially deals with the stress from a variety of places whether it be from their school, social lives, families, or even their finances. They are frequently being asked for more. The average full time college student will have to deal with at least 3-4 classes each school day, followed by their 5 hour shift at work, with another 3-5 hours of homework. There’s only so many hours in the day. Being a full-time college student is no joke. It requires determination, hard-work, and a lot of time-management skills. Health is something that can easily be neglected by anyone dealing with a busy schedule. Students must learn that it’s not only important to find time to stay fit, but it’s important to make it a habit. Staying fit requires the strength to never give up, the patience to know that results don’t come on the first day, and the willpower to say no to anything that goes against your new and improved lifestyle. Everyone’s body is a temple of God. So it makes sense to treat our bodies as a house of God. Staying fit is in fact a huge step forward in the right direction of a better lifestyle. Your future you will be happy if you decided to remain fit and healthy now.
Honestly, it’s not hard to stay fit. There are so many ways to motivate yourself and do some type of physical exercise everyday. A study from eMarketer has shown that as of 2013 one in four people worldwide uses some type of social media. Well knowing this you should also know that there’s an endless amount of social media pages that will literally tell you about the various body conditioning you could be doing each day. It doesn’t require much effort to follow a workout plan because you can do it all in your own home. You just need to find what’s right for you. Everyone is good at something, just get your bones moving and enjoy what you do. You could go for a 15 min walk around your neighborhood, go bicycling through the park, or even swim in the community pool for 30 minutes a day. Even something as simple as doing housework or yard-work in between homework can be part of your daily fitness training because requires you to get up and get moving and work all the muscles in your body. You don’t want to put yourself in a slump of laziness and fatigue. Treat your body well and fuel it with the right things to get the most out of it.
Now that you know that there are countless of different workouts, you should know that each of those simple workouts are beneficial to your health. Exercising regularly releases a chemical called endorphins. Endorphins make you happy because it triggers a positive feeling in the body. Thus, leading you to a healthy, happy life! Regular exercise has been proven to reduce stress, fight feelings of anxiety or depression, improve sleep and even boost self-esteem. But not only does staying active make you feel physically better, it plays a huge role in your mental status, well-being and your health as well. There are tons of health benefits that even a brisk walk in the park can do for you. As college students, we need to remember that it’s vital that we stay balanced by monitoring our health and know what puts it at risk. Getting your blood circulating and making your body work that much harder after sitting down in a classroom for several hours strengthens your heart and lowers blood pressure. If you know you have a lesser chance of getting a disease by decreasing your risk factors and simply staying healthy, why wouldn’t you? There isn’t a cure for all the diseases and health conditions in the world, but staying healthy will definitely lower the chances of getting an illness such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, depression, etc.
Think of your body as a car. When you’re at the gas station are you going to fill up your tank with diesel or premium gas? Well believe it or not, the concept of “you are what you eat” is true. Fuel your body with the proper nutrients and vitamins it needs. Drink an adequate amount of water each day to keep you hydrated and flush out toxins. Treat your body with care and love. The average college student are in their early 20’s. A person’s brain doesn’t stop developing until their late 20’s. Get the proper amount of fiber for your colon, calcium for your bones, and vitamins for your growing muscles. Stay healthy and learn to give your body the right things it deserves. Put good in, get good out.
In conclusion, healthy and positive habits will definitely help you in all aspects of life. As mentioned earlier, exercise aids in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Statistics show that moderate physical activity reduces the risk of heart disease by 27-41%. Heart disease is also the number one killer in the United States. Although heart disease is the most prevalent health condition in our country, it’s also the most preventable. So go and get your heart rate going. It takes 21 days for something to become a habit. Make it a habit to stabilize your school life and your health. It’s motivation that gets you going, but it’s habit that stays. Don’t wait until the first of the year, start now. It will unquestionably be advantageous for the future, and your body will thank you later.
