Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Finals are upon us. For some students, this next week will be the first time they worry about a class or perhaps even show up. For other pale, trembling students, this is the season they have been worrying about all semester. Either way, it’s the end to a semester filled with knowledge and beer.
When stress hits you and that paper seems unwritable or that long list of terms seems unmemorizable it isn’t the time to stress-eat or curl into a ball crying. It is the perfect time to exercise.
All year long I’ve been writing about other people and their pursuit of physical perfection, and I’ve honestly let my own physicality slip a little. I used to run eight miles a day and now I can barely suffer through three.
When I’m out there in the bitter heat sweating through my tank top, blisters forming on my blisters and gnats getting stuck in my teeth I wonder why I’m doing this. I’m not ever going to be as fast as Jamaal Charles or have Lebron James’ mad ups and I will probably never fit into a size 2. My little workout doesn’t include thousand of fans cheering my name while wearing “Anderson” across the back of their T-shirts. (Though I do get the occasional passerby who asks me if I’m alright and if I need some water or a stretcher).
It’s not about fanfare. It’s about the self fulfillment and a kind of peace you get when you’ve finished your workout. Your mind is alert, your face is flushed, and honestly no amount of homework could be worse than the hell you just put yourself through.
In this week of stress and doubt it is important to give your body the release it needs. Exercise is a break from the stale lights of the library and the tiny text of your stats book. At the time it may seem like an extra chore and there may not be a crowded Allen Fieldhouse to cheer you on. But by the end of the workout you will have a brain surging with blood, endorphins, and energy after some much needed time away rom your flashcards and.
And it’s not just me that thinks that. Various studies have shown that that exercise, unlike alcohol or sugary junk food, does heighten brain function and can help you study. I’m not saying that if you run a mile before your physics test it will guarantee you an A, but that after long hours spent in the library couldn’t hurt.
— Edited by Ashley Montgomery
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