Wellness is a lifestyle in which people follow healthy habits in order to keep a healthy state of mind and body. In an attempt to allow those people that want to live a healthy lifestyle at Quinnipiac University, the University created the “Wellness Community.” Though people may think that you can be considered a person who lives a healthy lifestyle, it is harder to follow that lifestyle when you have people around you that do not follow the same type of lifestyle as you do. There is a support system in the Wellness Community composed of staff and peers that have similar lifestyles and encourage us to live above the pressures that may emerge around campus.

It may seem like I am advertising the Wellness Community and healthy living. To some extent I am, but my main interest is to mention that there are many freshmen that belong in the Wellness Community that did not know it existed, while there are others that were accepted into the Wellness Community that do not have a sense of belonging. I think that one should not take this privilege of living in the Wellness Community lightly. One should think about it multiple times before deciding whether or not they want to live in it. There are many people that really want to be in the Wellness Community that did not have this opportunity due to the fact that a few people that do not believe in healthy living were put into wellness. Although most people that are in the wellness housing joined it on their own, there are others that joined it because they were forced to do it. As young adults, we should be able to make these decisions on our own and be prepared for the consequences of our decisions, whether they are positive or negative.

I know that I am emphasizing that living in the Wellness Community is the best way to keep a healthy lifestyle, but I think this applies mostly to freshmen. I know from experience that freshmen year may be the toughest year in college, since we have to adjust to a new environment filled with new experiences. Due to these factors, I chose to live in the Wellness Community this year. However, in order to be considered “wellness,” you do not have to live in the Wellness Community in the future. Now that we have established friendships and have an idea of what it would be like to live with certain people, we can choose who to live with.

This is a call of consciousness to all the residents of Quinnipiac University. If you are positive that you are going to follow through with a healthy lifestyle, you should join the Wellness Community, but if you think that this will bring too much pressure to your life, live in regular housing. In the end you will not only be hurting yourself through the decisions you make, but the residential community as a whole.