The media has taught teenagers and young adults that to be "sexy" you must be skinny or a certain weight. In my opinion, being sexy doesn't mean you need to be skinny. I think being healthy is sexy. Starting my freshman year of high school, I was always self-conscious about my weight because most of my friends looked skinnier than me and had relationships. Now that I'll be a freshman in college, I've been extremely cautious this summer about what I eat and how many times I exercise a week because of the famous "freshman 15." Many people have different interpretations of what it means to be healthy and what is an essential part of their lives. Here is why it is important to me.

1. I feel physically and mentally cleansed.

After eating a light and healthy meal, or working out for at least half an hour, I feel great. It's almost like a feeling of relief when you're less tense and all of your problems go away for a period of time.

2. My stress and anxiety go away.

There are many reasons why I have stress and anxiety, but once I run, I feel like all of it disappeared. Exercising especially relieves stress and anxiety in many people's lives.

3. I have more motivation.

After adjusting your lifestyle to a healthy lifestyle, you notice that you have more motivation to do things. For example, for a while I had no motivation to work out on my own, but now I try to do home exercises at least thrice a week when I cannot make it to the track. Motivation is an important part of life.

4. You notice changes.

Weeks after you start eating better and exercising on a routine, you notice a change. You notice that you've lost weight and you feel better. When I notice changes, I feel so much more positive about myself and that challenges me to work harder and keep bettering myself.

5. The fear of people talking about your weight goes away.

For the longest time, I had a fear of people calling me "fat." After losing a bunch of weight in freshman year, I lost that fear and felt much better about my body.