What defines college? When you ask most adults, they’ll talk about all-nighters, endless ramen dinners, and weight gain. But honestly, who wants those things to define their four years here. College should be about discovering who we are, making friends, going out, trying new things, and maybe learning something in the process. To get the most out of our college experience, we need to make sure that we don’t ignore what our bodies need. Here are five tips to ensure that every girl enjoys the time she spends at school.
1. Eat. We all get busy, and sometimes healthy eating is the least of our concerns. No one wants to gain weight in school but starving yourself is not the answer. We need to fuel ourselves to get the most out of our days. Girls should keep refueling their bodies about every three hours. The cafes and C-stores make it really convenient to grab a healthy snack. Go for fruits and nuts. The more natural, the better. Skip junk food, but never skip breakfast. It will only make you overeat on junk food later.
2. Exercise. After sitting in class all day, your body craves activity. You want so badly to get up and move. You need to sweat away the stress of the day. Life gets busy and exercising can be a great stress relief. The SRSC makes it super convenient to get in your daily workout. Whether you want to get in some cardio and weights, or take a class, it’s a great way to get your mind off your schoolwork. Don’t like the gym scene? Take a run or walk around our beautiful campus! No matter how you burn your calories, exercising is a great way to stay sane in school.
3. Find Your Stress Relief. College can be some of best years of our lives, but it can also be some of the most taxing. Stress affects our bodies in many negative ways. It can cause you to break out, gain weight, become depressed… the list goes on. When your body is telling you it’s stressed out, take a step back and find a good stress relief. Discovering a way to put all of your stress aside is a skill all college kids need to acquire. This can be exercise (see point #2), writing in a journal, cooking, meditating, watching a movie…etc. It’s important to listen to your body and find ways to relieve stress that work for you.
4. Go Out. Yes, this is college and you may think this is a given. If you do, you can skip this point. But if you’re a girl who feels the need to be doing homework every waking minute, then listen to these words: Have fun! It will help you restore your energy. Here are some ideas. Bloomington is full of amazing restaurants where you can enjoy a date night or a girls’ night out. Or go to one of the shows on campus and see something new. If you’re a homebody, stay in, pop some popcorn, and have a movie night. Keeping a balance between school life and social life is key to college survival.
5. Rest Your Mind & Body. Sure, meditation doesn’t work for everyone. Yoga doesn’t either but a hot bubble bath and a good night’s sleep never did any harm. Defining college by how many all-nighters one does should be something of the past. Ladies, we need our beauty sleep! We understand that getting 8-9 hours of sleep every night is extremely unrealistic. Instead, try setting a reasonable homework cut-off time in the evening. Try to end your studying at midnight or 1am. If you still can’t fall asleep, watch some TV or read; at least you’ll be putting your mind to rest. Your body will soon follow. This point is extremely important if you want to stay awake for lectures.
College should be about having fun and learning about yourself. Keeping a healthy mind and body will help you become the best college woman you can be.