I love keeping a busy schedule. When I have too much time on my hands I get bored and depressed because I prefer to be constantly working on something. It’s great because it means that I’m always working on something excited and involved with lots of different projects. But it’s not so great because it means that I have to work really hard to keep healthy despite the stress of all my activities.
During sophomore year I really learned how to keep myself healthy by balancing a heavy workload with time for exercise, a good diet, and sleep. Of course, there are times, such as during midterms and finals, when it’s going to be impossible to do all of these things, or even one of them. But to the best of my ability I try to keep a balance because I know that if I don’t, it will be bad for my body.
For exercise, I try to work out at the Lyon center at least 3-4 times a week. Sometimes it’s really hard to keep that commitment, so I made plans to go to Lyon center exercise classes with friends, because that means I will be more likely to go. My roommate, who is also an Electrical Engineer, goes to Yoga with me at least once a week. Freshman year, my floormates and I went to kickboxing twice a week. I love the classes at the Lyon center because they’re fun and a great workout!
Schedule of Group Workout Classes at the Lyon Center
I also try to keep a good diet by buying lots of fruit and vegetables. When I have crazy days, it sometimes seems so easy to grab some junk food quickly between classes, but instead I try to pack a banana or some grapes to snack on. Eating healthy makes me feel more energetic! When I do eat on campus, I often get sushi or salads from Cafe 84, mixed vegetables and chicken from Panda Express, or sandwiches from (my favorite!) RTH Cafe.
I also try, as best as I can, to have a good sleep schedule. This doesn’t mean just trying to get as much sleep as possible. It means that I try to have a consistent schedule by going to bed and waking up around the same time each day. Most of the time, I don’t get as much sleep as I’d like to get, but I do my best!
Sometimes I don’t do well at keeping healthy. I stop exercising or start eating poorly and get sick. But college is a learning experience and over time I’ve gotten much better at balancing my schedule to make time for the things I need to do to keep healthy: exercising, eating well, and keeping a good sleep schedule!
