Growing up, being healthy was usually the least of my worries, especially when it came to what I ate. In high school I developed the worst eating and sleeping habits. Half of the time I skipped dinner during the school week and went straight to bed. I spent my weekends indulging in unhealthy foods and sleeping as much as I possibly could. At the time, I was also in a lot of pain due to a health issue which made it even harder to have the energy to do anything. I believe that I created these habits because of the stress I was under at school and in my personal life.

Once I left home and went to live on my own, my habits didn't get any better. I dreaded waking up and walking less than a mile to my classes. Mind you, my schedule usually consisted of late morning and afternoon classes. I knew that college students were always supposed to be tired and somewhat lazy, but I noticed none of my friends or roommates were dragging through their days as much as I was.

I had a bad habit of ignoring my feelings, rather than addressing them, which is exactly what I continued to do. Luckily, I was still able to succeed in all of my classes my first year of college. However, I could not shake my feelings of feeling empty and drained all of the time.

By the time I entered my second year of college, my frustration and bad habits were at an all time high. I felt I was wasting my time sleeping and worrying about the things around me, more than enjoying myself most nineteen-year-olds should. I made the mistake of convincing myself that no one would be interested in the way I was feeling and felt as if I would come off as complaining for something minor. I even tried going to a counselor, but walked out before I could make the appointment because I felt I would seem foolish.

Finally, one day I decided I needed to do something about the way my body and mind were feeling. I had so many things and people around me that I couldn't even fully appreciate because I was stuck feeling this way. I called my mom and finally told her how I was feeling. Being able to talk to someone else about something I kept to myself for so long lifted a huge weight off of my shoulders. Of course, things like this don't change over night, but it made me feel better.

I decided one of the first things I needed to do was get physically healthy. I changed my diet, started going to the gym every day, and got myself on a routine. I eliminated everything unhealthy from my life that was stopping me from focusing on what was important to me.

I have always heard people talk about how the gym is a good stress reliever. But, it wasn't until I started going regularly that I truly understood that it's true. Being able to zone out from everything and everyone to focus on challenging and bettering my body gives me the time to release all of the negativity I hold onto through out my day.

Although, eating healthy can be extremely challenging, which is something I have ALWAYS struggled with, it is also extremely rewarding. Once I stopped putting so much sugar, salt, and other unhealthy ingredients into my body I noticed how much more energy I gained.

By becoming physically healthy, it allowed me to become mentally healthy. I no longer felt so frustrated or stuck in a negative state anymore. Since I started focusing on becoming healthier I've developed deeper relationships with the people around me and have a more positive outlook on everything.

I've never realized how important it is to treat our bodies the way they need to be. When we don't, they can make things so much harder. Of course, not all of my days are perfect, but the discipline I've created myself by changing my habits make it a lot easier to get through what I need to.