Hey everyone. I hope welcome week was fun and physically exhausting while walking around the campus, more than you had imagined, walking from the Stuart building to the IIT tower more times than you can count. I certainly remember my welcome week, it was so much fun and socially enticing that we did not even realize how much we had walked around the campus. In my opinion, hold onto this, as this might be the only time when you get to walk around and move as much as you want. When the semesters start taking a solid hold, you are going to be stuck to your laptop in the library tables for days in a row. I recall spending almost 36 hours in the library last semester. And the other times there is no work, you might have the motivation to hit the gym and get a jog in for a few hours a week, but otherwise you are pretty much stuck to your bed, binge-watching all the series you have had in your list.
So, my question is, are we so consumed with college that we forget the importance of including movement as part of our lives and not just as something we make time to do?
To answer this, I feel it is a yes for most of the population on our campus. In addition to the lack of movement, the food that we eat is overly processed, the water we drink is contaminated, and the air that we breathe is polluted. So, how are we going to address the rising concern about poor health standards that we live with?
To start with something small, I suggest making Health Science and Physical Training classes mandatory in college, like they did in school. I understand it was not everyone’s favorite period back in school, but at least it pushed us to learn what we can do to improve our health and pushed us to do something about it. If you were somebody who feared water and hence would not learn to swim, I’m sure at one point in your life, your swimming coach would have coerced you into jumping into the pool and get to it. This is the kind of push one might need when they are already overwhelmed with the unending stress that college puts a student through. Someone is pushing you to work on your health! On top of that, imagine getting credits for stretching!! Wouldn’t that be great?
Other reasons why I suggest these classes would be beneficial are that they support our mental well-being in times when stress is elevated. It is a proven fact that physical activity can help lower stress and other mental concerns. Staying physically active also boosts our productivity by helping us concentrate better, which in turn improves our memory. For people who face struggles with being socially engaged, this can stand as a huge platform, as you can participate in group exercises and lead your own little team. In my opinion, you can also make a huge social circle out of these classes
On this note, I end my boring essay about how I want to make these classes mandatory for college students, just like school students. I know some of you will disagree, but I suggest it’s something to think about.