The first day of college has arrived at the state university. Students are walking across campus to check out the coffee shop. Others are finished moving into their dorms and are meeting the people they will tolerate for the next four years. One student beginning her freshman semester is Cathy Unschuld.
She doesn’t stand out from the crowd, because she is the crowd—she represents the quintessential college student.
Cathy has always had a good life. She was an average student in High School and she had a wide circle of friends. As a teenager, she participated in the occasional walk for charity, played pickup Ultimate Frisbee, but she didn’t let health get in the way of life.
Her plan at college is to get a degree in psychology, and work as a teacher after college. She is serious. Some punks may go to college for the parties, but she knows the cost of college, and she is going to work at this. Cathy has taken a heavy course load this freshman semester; she wants succeed at college.
Let’s see how her life goes the first semester.
After the first week of school, Cathy is letting out a deep breath. Her course load is Tough! She wisely declines the offer of some new friends to attend a party over the weekend to study. All her time is spent on classes and studying—nothing else.
The second week leaves Cathy a bit baggy around the eyes. She is keeping up with the load, but the long term stress is catching up with her. Friday morning she stumbles into the cafeteria needing energy and a pick-me-up and but she has no appetite. The donuts, frosted flakes, and sweetened coffee are what she can get down right now.
By the fourth week, Cathy really begins to feel terrible. Her eating habits have stayed the same. And the course load, she has managed to get most of the studying done as well as all the assignments. But it’s a stone wheel which is slowly grinding her away.
She thought that she might have needed to get out, to do something different, so she attended a party, but this Monday morning she looks at herself in the mirror through a blur. She is tired, discouraged, and the beginnings of freshman fifteen are showing itself around her hips. Lying on her un-made bed, she lets her troubles weigh down on her. There is a test tomorrow, she is dropping behind in English and she just feels blah. “Was I ready for college?” She wonders to herself.
Cathy’s health has gotten in the way of her life. Too much stress and an unbalanced lifestyle has left Cathy tired and burned out. She tried to eat her way out of it, but the greasy, sugary food only made her worse. Now, her education is suffering and her goal of becoming a teacher is put at risk.
After complaining to her roommate about how burned out she is, Cathy’s roommate looks up from her textbook and says, “Y’know Cathy, you don’t have to be a Physical Education Major to benefit from some exercise.”
Many freshmen find themselves in Cathy’s predicament. Faced with adult decisions and responsibility, they drop their health to try to fit everything in their life. However, a healthy lifestyle helps them through college.
Even if Cathy could find the time for another class, it is too late in the semester to participate in a sport, but Cathy has found other ways to get active.
She joins the pickup games of Ultimate Frisbee in the evening. On the weekends, she walks through the college town, poking into the small shops and experiencing the bustle of humanity. Before, she would hop in a car to the movie theater and she hardly glanced at the town.
In the spirit of staying healthy, she even tried the special in the cafeteria and found she likes kale.
In short, Cathy pushes herself hard. When she pushes her body through exercise, school isn’t that hard anymore. Her body is used to working at rigorous speeds and running from class to class isn’t’ that hard anymore. She sleeps better and she can manage her life.
Making her life a healthy one, Cathy has widened her life. Instead of hermiting herself away in the library to study, she is getting out more and experiencing her college life.
Cathy has learned her lesson. Operating in the modern world is hard work. To sail through life, she will incorporate the healthy habits she has developed in her life after she earns her psychology degree. Teaching a class of students is hard work too, but it won’t be that hard. After all, running the dog, bicycling to work, and the yoga class will prepare her to succeed far into the future.
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