As I finally began studying for exams after procrastinating for days, I found my mind wandering elsewhere- mostly towards the rich scent of Baked! cookies and Pizza X fumigating my study space. After several moments of trying to distract myself from the treats that lie in the room beside me, I caved. I marched into that room and filled my plate with an assortment of cookies and a mound of cheesy bread doused with a river of ranch. And for a couple of minutes, I felt like these decadent and savory snacks were going to save me from the imminent doom that lie ahead aka my finals.

The night went on, and I started to feel lazy, nauseous, and overall pretty crummy. Obviously I knew that all the food I inhaled was going to have severe consequences on my digestive process, but that instant that the food hit my mouth and sent my taste buds into overload seemed worth it at the time. But that got me thinking about how what a huge role food has played in my development.

Personally, my relationship status with food would be titled "it's complicated." I have always considered myself to be a "foodie" in the sense that I take joy in sharing meals and trying new things. However, as a kid, I always looked to food for comfort. Whenever I struggled or found myself feeling alone or sad, I turned to food. I began associating food with comfort and once I did that, it was nothing but a downward spiral from then on. As I became more dependent on food for my happiness, I started to have an even more toxic relationship with my body image, and I fear that this is something that people struggle with more than we realize.

Being in college, most people find themselves struggling with their relationships with food. Healthy food is hard to access when you're living in a such an unhealthy environment, where the culture is surrounded by binge-eating and binge-drinking 25/8. In college, I have found that the sad truth is most people fall under one of two extremes:

1. A person who tries to suppress all of their cravings and in turn has very restrictive eating habits, but finds themselves binge eating after a night-out or just when they can no longer starve themselves in

OR

2. People who find themselves enjoying food more than the company of most of their friends lol

And frankly, it's normal to fall under one of these two categories. As college students, we are constantly stressed and rushing around. When you have a bad day, you tell yourself you can splurge and eat that whole cake. You want and frankly probably NEED some sweet chocolate lovin', however, deciding the extent of how much you need to splurge is the tricky part. When you're stressed out about finals, you go for whatever food there is in sight. And that is simply OK, in fact it's quite normal. But if you're like me and find yourself struggling to find your inner peace, here are some tips on how to switch up your lifestyle.

The key to having healthy body image and healthy eating habits is thinking about the bigger picture. It's OK to treat yourself, but you have to remember that it is in fact, a treat. Not something your body needs every day to survive, like for instance water, which y'all definitely don't drink enough of. Speaking of water, try and drink one glass of water whenever you're feeling hungry because honestly you're probably just parched.

Forget the pressures society puts on you to fit a certain image, or to be skinny. Develop a healthy relationship with food not because you want to change the way you look on the outside, but because you want to enjoy this one life we are given, and that starts with what you put in your body. Put good in, get good out is my motto. Work out because you want to release the ish out of those serotonin and dopamine chemicals and make yourself an overall happier human, not because you want to fit into those skinny jeans.

I heard this quote once, "eat to live not live to eat" and it has forever stuck with me. Be healthy, be happy. You won't regret it.