Today I felt like writing about something that was said to me this week. I was playing in my first soccer game with people in my department. Apparently, it is a common thing for the Micro department to get a bunch of students together to play on various intramural teams, and fortunately for me, soccer was the sport that was getting played this fall. Our team is very inexperienced, and we were all talking before the game about the positions we like to play and who has played before. This one girl, who is probably in her 3rd year in the program, said "Well, I haven't run since I started grad school. Working out isn't really a priority in graduate school." I like this girl - she's really nice, and I knew that her comment, although probably true, was meant to get a laugh. And, in fact, I did laugh when she said it. But today, I found myself drawn back to that comment with a whole bunch of questions of my own.
Why is it an accepted part of academia to put your health and fitness on the back burner?
I almost said, why is this accepted in graduate school, but really, it is a part of higher education as a whole. When we all start our undergrad, college cafeterias are filled with unhealthy choices, binge drinking is a staple of Friday night, and going to the gym takes second fiddle to partying or studying. It doesn't seem to matter how often we're told that exercise sharpens our minds. It has become part of the culture for us to make our health a lower priority.
I get it when you're an undergrad. Though it isn't a good thing, I get it. I fell victim to it. When you're starting college, it is likely your first time living away from home. It's freeing to not have your parents telling you to eat your vegetables. It tastes good to have that greasy, cheesy burger every night. French fries taste so much better than that baked potato, or god forbid, that salad! You want to do everything you can to exercise your right to do what you want, whether it be drinking, partying, staying up way too late, or eating whatever you want. That's why the whole concept of the freshman 15 was invented! It happens to the best of us.
But, why is this still the case in graduate school? I guess maybe I thought that we're all more mature by this point in our lives, but really, I get it. The stakes are so much higher. The demands on our time are so much more numerous and so much of what dramatically seemed to be life or death as an undergrad is realistically and legitimately life or death to your longevity in your program now.
I know this is accepted. I know that so many people fall victim to it. I know that I'm going to be surrounded by people who don't commit to their health and their fitness, and that's fine. I hope I can convince them otherwise, but it's really not place to tell anyone where there priorities should be in life.
Grad school is important to me. But, my health is equally important and I REFUSE to let myself fall back into the patterns that corrupted everything I love about myself now. I REFUSE to allow grad school to get the better of me in that sense, and I hope by committing here to you that I will maintain these commitments and motivate you to maintain yours as well. It's possible to do. Even more healthy to do. And, maybe, if we have each other we can all change the paradigm together.
Until next time,
About the Author
I am a full-time graduate student and part-time Beachbody coach who is always on the lookout for new recipes, workouts, adventures, music, ways to explore my own personal growth, and beauty to experience and photograph.
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