Health in Our Schools: Surviving Freshman Year at College

I've been a college student. A lot of my friends are college students. I know how college students live, and let me tell you, it ain't pretty or healthy. College is a time of junk food, all night study sessions, and less-than-perfect personal hygiene habits. So, how do you do it? How, in this time, when you are on your own for the first time in your life, do you manage to keep your head above water when you are trying to juggle a job, classes, and trying to throw a social life in the mix too (because what would college be without a few extracurriculars)?

Organize. Organize. Organize.

Organization is the key to life in college, if you don't believe me, look back a couple of months when you were taking your campus tour and you toured the dorms, remember? Okay, do you remember the half of the room where everything had a place and, yes, it was cluttered but what do you want out of 55 square feet, but things made sense- there was a slight sense of calm. Now, in this picture look to the other side of the room, remember the side of the room with books/ highlighters/ papers/ clothing/ dishes strewn about the place. Not exactly sanitary, was it? The difference between the two, besides their GPA, was organization. Our first roommate didn't have to waste the time and energy everyday hunting for this or that, and probably scheduled them self a little better to allow for a little more sleep, one monstrously important thing that gets thrown from the window first. Sleep is irreplaceable. I don't care what energy drink you throw back it will never fully live up to a good nap, you just have to organize your time well enough to see that a nap is possible.

The Meat of the Matter

Besides sleep, the other main thing that college students tend to throw by the wayside is proper nutrition. First off, NO, pizza is not a vegetable and pop tarts are not fruit; now that we have that covered we can talk a little more seriously. Most colleges have a dining hall. The dining hall offers a multitude of options-- some of them good, some not so good. It is easy to make poor eating choices, especially since college students work and study odd hours, this usually results in ordering take out or fast food. While everything is okay in moderation, students tend to go a little overboard with the dining out. Why not learn to cook? A lot of schools don't let you have hot plates or electric kettles, but they will let you have a small fridge and a microwave. While it may not be a gourmet kitchen, the microwave can offer a lot. You can boil pasta, cook soup, there are even a few recipes for baking in a microwave. Also, some schools will let you have a crock pot, while this might not sound like fun to wash in the bathroom sink, if you get a small one, there are literally thousands of recipes out there for pot roasts, soups, stews, even cheesecake, and the more you eat in the more money you save too.

We are the Procrastination Nation

While a lot of things seem like common sense, when it comes to college, stress and sleep deprivation can get in they way of sense. Bathe daily, Brush your teeth, you know the things good 'ol mom has been harping on you for years. Don't eat out of yesterdays dishes unless you wash them first. Four energy drinks are probably not a balanced breakfast. Procrastinating until the last minute and then half-doing something that corresponds to your well being is not a good idea, if you get sick that project you're working on wont matter so much. So wash your hands, get some sleep, and eat your vegetables--or at least a multi-vitamin.

And Moms, call bi-weekly, if not daily, and nag for the same things you'd nag if they were home. "Did you do the laundry?" "Do the dishes." Keep 'em on their toes, they still need you.