Health should be a major concern to us. As college students it may not be our number one priority, but it is something that we should be conscious about. How we stay active, how we eat and how we maintain our hygiene are obvious concerns when it comes to health.

On campus we have a great variety of ways to stay active. We have the facilities and we have the people at them to help you. It is your responsibility to help keep these facilities clean. You cannot expect to have someone clean off every machine in the weight room for you after every use.

It may be too cold to do anything outside today, but when that snow melts, so many more options become available to us. But you can enjoy the snow too by skiing, snowboarding, and sledding.

Eating on campus, however, often leads to a poor diet. I rarely see an entirely healthy meal available. I am not an expert on healthy foods, but I have a feeling a McDonald’s-like breakfast is not the best thing for you every morning, and pizza is not the greatest lunch and dinner option either. It’s best if you make your own food if you want something healthy, and that often requires your oven over your microwave. However, without a car, your only shopping option this time of year may be the convenience store located on campus. There isn’t much in there when it comes to healthy. The renovations this summer will lead to greater space and hopefully better food, but until then you are stuck with Ramen and POWERade.

Once you’ve got your eating and activities set, there is however one more thing. Stay clean. Your parents aren’t here to pick up after you, wash your dishes or throw you in the shower. Hygiene is most important when it comes to illnesses.

You’ve probably at least noticed it if you haven’t experienced it yet. People are getting sick. There are empty seats around you in class, there are coughs and sneezes drowning out the lectured words of your professors. Illnesses surround us year round, but it seems the season to get sick is now. The easiest way to deal with the illness is of course not to get it. But that seems impossible. Just keep clean, cover your mouth, wash your hands, and not only will you find yourself not passing your cough to your peers, but you’ll find yourself feeling better, faster. If you feel seriously ill, you can always check into the Student Health Services on campus. They will be there to give you tips or schedule you for an appointment. The Southwest Health center is another great resource at our disposal.

Eat right, stay active, keep clean and you’ll find yourself, healthy and comfortable.