As a senior in highschool, I confess I don't live the healthiest of lives. That might seem like a no-brainer to many other students, because it seems that oftentimes we follow the following pattern, known as the “teenager triangle”:
For the majority of my friends and myself, we choose good grades and a social life even though teachers, parents, doctors, and science documentaries tell us that, “sleep is important for young developing brains!” But that got me thinking. Last year, by some miracle of the universe, I managed to make junior year pretty decent simply by going to sleep before twelve and taking naps (lots of naps!). My philosophy, adopted from my best friend, was that without health I had nothing. Health is the foundation for everything else. When I get tired, I have zero patience and I’m cranky, and that combination doesn't make for successful relationships and awesome school performance.
Yet even though I may have figured out the trick to relatively healthy living last year, for some reason I’m really failing this year and so I want to examine why. What’s missing? In a world that constantly demands our effort and attention all over the place, how can we “come home,” so to speak to nurture and take care of ourselves every once in a while?
With that in mind, I’ve decided to focus my blog on health, but not just the physical kind. Health almost always goes hand in hand with balance (because too much of anything can be a bad thing, right?) and so the concept of wellness can be applied to all sorts of different realms. In other words, I’m going to examine a variety of different topics to see what they have to teach us about health and balance.
For example, the concept of health in general takes on different forms around the world. Not only are health priorities and values different, but so are health care systems. These systems (and other policies) contribute to a country’s “health”, or the wellbeing of its people, when they are effectively administered. Sometimes, America can take a page from other countries when it comes to the political aspect of health, but at the very least we can explore the differences.
Then there’s mental health, which, even though it’s not physical, certainly has the potential to alter not only one’s physical health but their entire life as well. Not only can I take a look at mental health through a scientific perspective, but also through a literary one, analyzing the health of characters in each book we read in English. I’m especially interested to explore Adah from The Poisonwood Bible, who is physically handicapped but seems the most at peace with herself.
Basically, this blog won’t be limited to just one facet of health or balance, because there are forces everywhere that can either improve our health or ruin it, from language and aesthetics to simply what we eat and people with whom we surround ourselves. I can’t wait to apply the lens of health and balance to a multitude of aspects of our world.
Ruxi, I'm glad you're pointing out the unfair teenager triangle because sometimes I feel like that's a triangle I'm forced into in order to succeed. The thing is, sleep is important for developing the brain and resting, but most teens find social interaction more crucial to their happiness rather than sleep. I know I love a three hour catnap, but if I can, I'd spend that time with friends because I'm so busy otherwise I never get to see them. The thing is, the teenager triangle isn't an equilateral triangle, but rather a heavily skewed scalene triangle that places school and school related activities on the longest side because school really does squeeze out so much else from our lives.
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ReplyDeleteI absolutely love the idea for your blog, Ruxi! I agree with Stephanie that the triangle is not exactly equal, but more warped towards school and social life instead of our own personal health, something I think reflects a great deal on what kids value these days. Personally, I know my own little triangle is extremely warped towards the school ends, as I know that almost all of my decisions seem to be revolving around what school has in store for me. Do I like this? Of course not. I can't remember the last time I got more than seven hours of sleep on a school night; it just doesn't happen. I also wonder what would make myself value school above all else. Intrinsic motivation? Personal values? Why would I intentionally be self-destructive by depriving myself of sleep? I'll have to think on these, but I'll also be thinking on the choices that other people make, not just those in our little Academy niche. I wonder about the motives behind the people who choose social lives above all else, and I admire and envy those that manage to be in bed by 10:00 p.m. every night. I'm curious as to how people choose what to emphasize, when their limits, both clearly, health-wise, and socially are not always fluid.
ReplyDeleteRuxi, I remember the times in sophomore year when we would cry over not understanding Chemistry webassigns and how we would stay up for hours trying to finish them. I agree that health and balance are necessary for a foundation, but at the same time they can be thrown away for what our mind feels important. I myself got very sick last year from stress, but was it worth it? Yes. The triangle is not balanced, but in my case it's too balanced: I value all three, and I often get super angry at myself if I get more than five hours of sleep or waste a lunch period talking to friends rather than doing work. These three values demonstrate that for a lot of students, school is no longer this safe haven, but a place of stress and not learning.
ReplyDeleteMy question is how did we get to the aforementioned level, and to what extent has that defined us?
-Ruhi B