Ella's Days of Wellness

 This semester, my days are relatively calm and slow, unlike last year being in the dorms. I live at Stonecrest, which is a very quiet apartment complex. Most days I drive to class or end up walking if it is a nice day out. The first thing I do when I get to class is say hi to Bella since we have all of our classes together. After classes, I will either go back to my apartment to do homework or I will get ready for work. I work three days a week coaching gymnastics at a gym in Shenango. I usually work until about 8pm, then head back to campus. I'll get back and eat dinner, shower, finish any homework, then go to sleep and get ready to do it all again the next day!

 Gymnastics is a sport that can be beneficial in many aspects. This sport relies a lot on mental strength as well as physical strength, but in my opinion most of it is mental. Gymnastics teaches your brain how to use muscle memory as well as pushes you to get through being scared of trying new things. The only thing that you can do when trying to get a new skill, after completing drills and having a coach spot you, is to go for it. This sport can be very draining, but rewarding in return. Almost every ex-gymnast that I have met misses the sport, since it is such an exhausting yet rewarding sport. I think gymnastics is something that every child would benefit from, because it teaches you that you are in control of your mind, as well as work ethic even at a young age.  

 Living in this generation as teenagers or early 20 year olds can be difficult. Although mental health is more of a priority now than it was even just 5 years ago, it can be hard to open up about it or accept what you are feeling. As you get older, new experiences happen quicker and can become more challenging as you try to navigate through all the different parts of life. There will be many things that are out of your control but one thing you can at least try to control is your mental health. There are many different techniques to improve your mental health like meditation, talking to a friend, or participating in therapy. I feel it is important to normalize attending therapy. There are so many different beliefs today about mental health and what you can do to help it, but we need to start focusing on what makes us feel better and stop worrying about what other people think.