This winter, our Sophomore Seminar classes explored ways to stay healthy in the midst of what can be a long, tiresome trimester. Classes discussed substance use and abuse, relationships, stress management, communicable disease, birth control, being a good person, and how to take care of ourselves to the best of our ability. As the term wound down, students shared personal wellness goals for the rest of the year. As we enter Spring Break, we should all take some advice from these incredibly wise, self-aware tenth graders. Thank you to Terry Stoecker for prompting this post and sharing the student goals below!

Do things that I love so I never have to think about what drugs COULD do for me. Always listen to music for at least an hour a day. Make sure I’m eating a healthy diet. Make sure to sleep and take naps. Stay active. Put effort into school. Care

To stay well going forward I need to keep doing what I have been doing all my life. It has been working thus far, so my plan is to keep living my life as I do: to keep breathing deep, keep resting my eyes, keep scratching my lack of a beard, keep twiddling my thumbs, keep listening to David Bowie, keep reading books, keep playing video games, keep going for walks, keep eating, keep drinking water, keep spending time with the people I love, keep waking up early, keep wondering what color my eyes are, keep living my life as I have been because my life is pretty darn awesome and I have no idea how it got so fantastic without my doing anything to make it that way. But my life is good, and I am thankful for that.

My goal is to minimize stress in my life, to look for the good in my day not the bad, to drink lots of water, eat every meal, and to try not to worry about things I cannot control. I need to make sure to do things that make me happy, and, of course, do homework on time and well.

I will drink lots and lots of water, wash my face and stay clean, keep good personal hygiene, try not to be embarrassed to care about something, talk to my parents more, don’t look at my screens as much, stop swearing as much, and smile more.

My goal is to wake up at 7:15 and take a hot shower every morning, followed by breakfast. I want to limit my video games to an hour every day, and I will work out every day, talk and hang out with friends, play sports, have an intense study hall every night, drink lots of water, listen to good music, and go to sleep on time.

I am going to eat healthier, relax before Saturday night comes around, get at least seven hours of sleep, spend less time on my phone and more time living in the moment.

How are you going to improve your health and wellness habits this spring?