Eating Disorders (6I)

As part of my involvement I decided to go down to the health center and find out more about common health problems college students are likely to face. There are many brochures that talk about Sex, Relationships, Eating Right, Different Types of STD’s, Eating Disorders and more. I focused on eating disorders because I feel like in our society it’s becoming a serious problem. Some common eating disorders/ conditions include anorexia, bulimia, compulsive eating, and disordered eating.

Anorexia is when the person doesn’t eat enough and skips meals by denying hunger. People with this disorder tend to be very concerned with their weight, and tend to be 15% below the normal weight.

Bulimia is when the person eats too much at one time and then purges to get the food out. Usually the person stays near or at normal body weight. They eat in secret, and then they purge by vomiting, using laxatives, or exercising too much.

Compulsive Eating is when the person is overweight or obese due to eating large amounts of food. They can’t control themselves, eat late at night, and do not exercise.

Disordered eating is when a person has unusual good and exercise habits. They tend to not eat enough, skip meals, and thinks about food and weight constantly.

Inquiry Questions:

How can you avoid these types of disorders from developing?

I think that being educated about how to be healthy helps avoid it. Knowing how to maintain a healthy weight with a balanced diet and exercise routine is the best way. Also the media portrays the average woman or teenager to be super skinny and thin. Showing girls that it’s not okay to be that thin, will prevent these types of disorders.

What type of help/ treatment do people with these disorders/ conditions need?

I think that these people need counseling. They need to know that it’s very unhealthy to have such eating habits. They are unhealthy for a reason. Medicine is advancing and making progress. Hopefully one day they can create medicine to help people with eating disorders. It may not be easy for them to stop because it’s a habit they have created. It’s their way of feeling good about themselves, and the need to find a different, healthier way to feel good about themselves.

It All Revolves Around Grit (6B)

All this talk about grit, persistence and hard work, one person came to mind, my mother. My mom was born in Ecuador and her parents were poor and could only afford the bare minimum for their family. She didn’t like the childhood she lived so when she was 20 years old she moved to the U.S with my dad. She had very little college education but once she knew that she was pregnant with her first child, it sparked something inside of her. She wanted the best life for that child. At a young age my mother began working, as did my father. They weren’t making a lot, but it was enough to have a little apartment. My mom always had wanted to be a hairdresser. She didn’t think that she could do it coming from a different country, but she was wrong. She went to beauty school and graduated with her hairdressing license. Next thing you know, she was haired at a high-class hair salon. Of course she had to start with shampooing, and then work her way up to cutting and styling hair.

My mom worked incredibly hard for years to make money she makes now. She did all of this while raising 3 kids, including myself. Now my mom is one of the top hairdressers in the salon she works in. Her boss loved her work ethic, and motivation to always improve. Today she is still working as a hairdresser and making really good money to support her 3 kids and 2 parents. I could not be more proud of my own mother working so hard for her family. I didn’t mention all the obstacles my mom faced, but there were so many outside problems that tried to knock her down but she was so strong willed. I look up to my mom in the sense that she had such incredible intrinsic motivation. I know what she went through and when I compare it to my daily struggles I complain about, it doesn’t even match up to her struggles in life. If my mom could be so strong, so can I and anyone else if you really set you mind to it.

A couple weeks ago discussed what was intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic Motivation is the internal motivation to do better. It’s setting the right mindset for you. “Mindset can make people prove something to themselves or others.” This quote made me reflect upon one particular goal I’ve never reached. I want to be in shape but don’t always have the motivation to get there. People were telling me I was defiantly going to gain weight in college, also known as freshman 15. It really made me angry that people thought that I wouldn’t be able to watch my weight. I was determined to not only maintain my weight but also lose a couple pounds by going to the gym everyday. I got the money for the gym membership on campus, and have been going everyday to workout. The fact that people thought, for sure, that I would gain weight really motivated me to prove them wrong. Intrinsic motivation is pushing me to work hard at the gym and really get in better shape. Not only do I have that type of motivation to work out but also to do really good in school.

There are many kids at college who are motivated to do really well in school for many different reasons. It could be because they want to transfer to a different school, or they want to graduate at the top of their class. College is very different from high school and some kids may have a hard time adjusting. Last week talking about different study tactics really helped me. Different articles had rules and guidelines to help you stay organized, take notes, study and many more. One quote that really stuck out to me was “busy students rarely accomplish interesting meaningful things.” It really got me thinking. What defines busy? Busy, to me, could be due to homework, sports, socializing, or anything else. College is just so demanding. They ask you to do well in your classes, while being active in organizations or groups, and being social with others. I think it’s a lot to handle! Homework takes up a good chuck of time, being involved requires dedication and being part of a sports team needs you dedicate time to practice. I want to know, how do you manage to do all of these things?

Things like that make me think about the advice the “Study Hacks” articles talked about. They said, “This is the time to experiment with your lifestyle design.”(Radical Simplicity Article) We have so much going on in our lives that we need to figure out a new routine. We have to figure out what works and what doesn’t. This is the time where we can become different people, try out different things, do something out of our comfort zone. We are free do what our hearts desire. 

You're Fired? (6A)

I feel like I’m always caught dealing with challenges in my life. No matter how big or small I have made an attempt to fix it. Last year around this time my mom offered me to a job the hair salon she works at. I was intrigued, so I asked her questions about the position that was opening. She told me that the cleaning ladies weren’t doing a good job at cleaning the hair salon. Right I away I began to think about the pros and cons. The amount of money they would pay me was way more than minimum wage. Her boss offered to pay me $170 each week to clean the entire salon on Sundays and touch up on Thursdays. The entire salon included the front desk, the waiting area, the two bathrooms, the cutting stations, the coloring station, the kitchen and backroom. I was in it for the money. I said yes to the job offer, and started that first Sunday. It seemed like a lot of work but I had the entire day on Sunday to do it. It took me on average of 6 hours to do the whole salon. I had that job for the duration of my senior year of high school.

As summer came around the corner, it was easier to clean the salon because I didn’t have cheerleading practice, or any games I had to cheer for. I could easily do it as late or as early as I wanted because it was summer vacation. I also noticed that my boss was demanding more from me. She added more and more things to do around the salon every week and the extended the time it took to finish up everything. I didn’t complain or stress out. I simply did as she said and pushed my self to do a good job because I was getting paid very well for it. The job was very demanding and exhausting. Some days I didn’t have the energy to do anything but I knew that I had to go to work. I worked at the salon for almost a year and saved up a lot of money for myself.

As I prepared myself to go off to college, the quality of my work wasn’t my priority because I was stressing out about going off to college. I didn’t know how I would balance work and school. I was planning on keeping the job because I needed to save more money. I offered to take the train home on weekends, clean the salon and come back to school.  My boss claimed that I wasn’t doing a good enough job and she told me that she didn’t need me to work for her anymore. She said that I had to focus on my studies in college and that she appreciated the work I’ve done for her.

I wasn’t upset or disappointed because she was right, I had to give my full attention to schoolwork. Sure, it sucks that I wont be able to make that kind of money anymore but it was defiantly a learning experience. She was demanding too much from me and I couldn’t please her. I’m not a professional cleaning lady but, I did my best to make it look like a brand new salon each week. Work was hard at some points but that didn’t make me want to quit or give up. She fired me with all the best intensions, and I appreciate that. Working for her taught me that I have to keep a consistency in my work. This goes for any other job I decide to get in the future, and the career I want to pursue in.