TikTok and Instagram are full of beautiful women and men who seem to have their entire lives in order, all because they work out for three hours a day and make a home-cooked meal for every single meal. But that’s not the life of an average college student. We’re balancing 18 credit hours, trying to save enough money for chicken and rice, and hoping we remembered to drink water today. That influencer lifestyle feels impossibly out of reach, but we all want to be there. So you see these people, and maybe it motivates you, you download a meal prep app, and you hit the gym twice. But by day three, you’re exhausted and behind on homework, and instead of feeling inspired, you feel worse. Like you’re not disciplined enough. Not productive enough. Not enough.
Here’s the thing: I think college students are already doing more than enough. And honestly? The word “healthy” needs a facelift.
I’ve been going to the gym every day for the past month. By all accounts, I’ve been successful. So why doesn’t it feel that way? Instead of feeling proud, I’m not getting to sleep until midnight and fighting to find enough time to eat an actual meal. My body might be healthier on paper, but my mental health hasn’t gotten the memo. I still catch myself comparing my life and my body to the women I see on my For You page. And I don’t think I’m alone in that.
But here’s what I keep coming back to: this isn’t fair to ourselves.
For the most part, these men and women have made fitness their full-time job, or at the very least, they have more time than the average college student could ever dream of. And I’m not bashing them. I genuinely admire that they turned something they love into a career. Posting about your body in such a vulnerable way takes guts, and it’s not something I could do.
But I mention this because they have the energy, the time, and the resources to live this lifestyle. So why are we comparing our overscheduled, sleep-deprived, textbook-filled lives to theirs? We’re all in completely different places. And here’s a thought: even though you might admire their life, I’d bet there are moments they admire yours too. The freedom of being a student, the friendships, the chaos of figuring it all out, it’s easy to forget that it looks pretty appealing from the outside.
So if they’re healthy because they work out and eat well, and we’re healthy because we’re getting an education and building real lives and relationships, what should “healthy” actually mean?
Here’s my take: being healthy is getting up every day and putting your best foot forward. Whether that’s going to the gym or just making it to class on time, it’s about trying your hardest to make each day count. We need to stop buying into this idea that if you aren’t in the gym every day, you aren’t healthy. Personally, my walk to class probably does more for me than half my gym sessions anyway.So let’s stop holding ourselves to the standards of creators who might actually be a little jealous of our lives. We are beautiful. We are doing enough. And we are healthy.