For as unathletic as I am, I have partaken in a variety of athletic endeavors — field hockey, tennis, dance and golf. And yes, I realize two out of four of these are, by many definitions, not even considered sports.

But alas, I did it. I hated it most of the time — but did it.

I liked being on a team more than I actually liked participating in a sport. I liked the people and the physical activity. I liked being able to eat pretty much whatever I wanted in the field hockey and dance days and still maintain a completely healthy lifestyle.

Fast forward to now. I hardly work out at all, and my parents are convinced it is the cause of pretty much all of problems — or rather, the issues I claim to be problems, but are usually just me being petty about something.

What I can say is that I remember feeling good after I finished a dance class or sports practice. I felt accomplished — tired, yet full of energy at the same time.

I rarely felt drowsy or paranoid. I was in excellent physical shape and I liked having the activity. It gave me something to think about, something to plan for and schedule my day around.

In summer 2015 I threw out my back. It was right around my 18th birthday, yet my back had the strength of an 81-year-old. I know what you're thinking — how does that happen? It makes sense for young athletes to get injurred while they're playing sports, but by this time, I was hardly getting any physical activity. How in the world does this happen to a kid?

As strange as it may sound, after sitting on the floor of my room, pretty much every day for a week, with my legs out in front of me and my back against a wall, I severely strained my back. All of the muscles that I was no longer using for anything strenuous were positioned at a weird angle, and they froze. Then, other muscles that were weaker and dormant tried to compensate.

I could hardly move for 6 days.

I went to a doctor who prescribed physical therapy. Though it helped me to feel better, it didn't do anyting to fix the main cause of the problem — I was extremely out of shape and that's why my muscles got confused. Of course, it was not up to the physical therapist to fix this problem — it was on me.

Today, I regret to say, I haven't done much to help myself. I have terrible posture, that, though my parents remind to fix, is often far from my mind. I hardly work out, except for a trip to the gym here and there. If I were to sit in that some position on the floor for a long enough period of time, I am confident the problem would come back.

I've known for a while that I need a change.

Perhaps a New Year's Resolution — but honestly a life goal ... I need to get more exercise. I believe it will make me happier by providing me with an activity around which to anchor my day. It will allow me to blow off steam and — hopefully — reduce stress. It will also make me healthier and hopefully help me to prevent a more serious back problem in the future.

Though for now only a prediction, I hope exercise will allow me to improve many aspects of my life. I believe it will make me happier and stronger, in several ways.