At the beginning of the semester we were required to complete a wellness self assessment and based on the results develop two goals to improve our health over the semester. My two goals were that I need to work on my nutrition and exercise portion of my life and that I need to make my own environment at school a healthy and positive one. These goals were important to me because I wanted to be healthy, which would make my own body not only look better, but feel better; I could also feel better mentally and that would help myself with school and studying. I define my environment as both my classroom and my home; I needed both to be positive. Creating a positive environment helps with my anxiety and my stress level. I was almost entirely successful in meeting these goals. My wellness goal I met and am continuing to keep up. My environment goal I met halfway, there was a good change and an inconvenient change. 

What helped me meet these goals was to honestly push myself and have a change of heart and attitude. I had goals in my mind so it gave me a drive to reassess what I was doing in my own life and how I could change. I started to eat better, but also with balance. I didn’t completely cut myslf off from every bad thing, I kept my oreos around to keep my sanity and my chocolate/sugar craving. I went to the grocery store knowing what I was going to buy before hand, which included more vegetables and yogurt and no snacks. My roommate and I kept each other accountable for what we ate and working out. With more positive energy around me, I found when I became frustrated, I could simply withdraw from the person or situation. I have also improved and gotten better with speaking my mind and having open communication and not bottling up situations within myself. This came into play in meeting my goal half way as I had some roommate problems that caused my living environment to be tense. Before this semester I probably would have never spoken about the situation, but this time around I tried my best to confront it in a mature manner. 

The barriers to meeting my goals were school. I am up at 6 am sometimes 4:45 and don’t get home until 5 pm, not including homework and going to bed at a reasonable hour. It was hard to not binge eat when I was stressed or just trying to stay awake. With long school hours or having a lot of assignments that needed to be completed, I would be tired most days and not want to go workout, I just wanted to stay home in my sweatpants and relax for a little. I am also a very tired person in general so I struggle to stay awake during the day, even when I get the right amount of sleep.

According to Prochaska’s Transtheoretical Model my readiness to change was at the preparation (determination) stage which is described by Martin (2009) as, people in this stage may be experimenting with small changes in their behavior. They have probably resolved to make a serious attempt at real change within the near future. These people will likely respond well to structured programs that can help get them to the next level. At the end of summer and starting school, I knew I wanted to change aspects of my life, to make myself healthier. It all started with small steps, whether it was to not snack on foods and to listen to music when I was stressed. That readiness has changed over the semester by currently being at the action stage. Martin (2009) says this stage is when people are engaged in a new, healthy behavior. This is a difficult time due to temptation and the chances of reverting to old behaviors since it hasn’t been all that long. They are open to receiving help to prevent relapse and to further build their confidence that they can succeed. It has not been six months like the model suggests, but over the past three months I have changed my behavior and daily doings. On top of changing, I want to continue this change. I want to grow into this next phase of life and grow in the right aspects and to figure that out it takes small changes.  

The changes necessary for me to be able to keep meeting my goals is to figure out a gym schedule so I can go at specific times on certain days to start working out more effectively. I still need to strive to make healthier food options everyday and when I choose to snack to not eat a bulk of it in a short amount of time, especially if it is not a healthier option. I will also keep up by training for my first tough mudder 5K race, I have my best friend joining me so we can hold each other accountable for working out and eating right. I am also super motivated because this semester I have lost weight and I am feeling better mentally and physically and I want to keep going. Further, I will continue to find different ways to clear my head and get away from chaos and stress by having a nightly routine or putting aside a special day of the week where I can do anything I want that is for me. I will choose what I do depending on my mood for that week, it could be hanging out by myself, hanging out with friends, painting, watching a movie, a self care night, anything that isn’t related to what is making me stressed that week.