Even though that the weather in Erie has been quite temperamental in regard to the temperature, one thing never fails when spring rolls around: the fact that bathing suit season is just around the corner.

Now I’ve never been the thin one of my group of friends, and I don’t expect that to happen. However, I have decided to take the plunge into the one thing I hate most: agreeing with society’s interpretation of beauty.

This however isn’t the inspiration for my decision; my decision comes from a woman named Sally, whose blog I came across when doing research about diets, exercise and lifestyle changes. In this particular post, Sally instructed the reader to take five minutes to look at themselves in the mirror. After those five minutes, the reader was instructed to take a picture of their favorite part of their body.

It was during those five minutes where I had to suck up my pride and face the reality that was staring me straight in the face: I needed to change because I took a picture of my face.

To darken my spirits even more, I came across an MSNBC report that stated that “nearly 30 percent of female college students are overweight.” The study further explains that this isn’t the “Freshman 15” but rather students coming into college overweight and not changing their habits.

At this point, I found myself making 500 different excuses as to why I didn’t go to the gym more or trying to justify the fact that I was clearly too busy to eat better food, etc., the list went on, until I cried. I just sat there and cried. Excuses were over. It’s go time.

I don’t want to dwell on my sob story, but I am the poster child for the “fat college student.” The student involved with two majors, several clubs, a job and heavy work load; I’m the one who eats food from her room in between meetings, classes and shifts. This realization made me take a look around me and realize that I am not the only student at Mercyhurst who feels this way, at least I can presume that I’m not.

So now that I’ve admitted to the entire campus that I’m fat, here’s where I’m going with this. You can turn your dorm room into a gym, along with going to the Rec Center. Ideas for your dorm include using your desk for inverted push-ups, your bed for doing dips to work out your arms, as well as doing sit-ups while holding your heaviest book above your head.

All of these options are free, and for some, may be the only use of their desks and books that they pay to have.

Furthermore, these are alternatives for those who dislike going to the gym because they feel self-conscious because the people that go to the gym may not look like they need to be there.

There are tons of ways to make changes; walk around campus or even down 38th Street, eat salad or wraps at Egan or sushi and similar options from the Laker. It might take a little bit of effort, maybe a lot more effort for some, but think of it as an assignment from life.

Life is the classroom and lifestyle change is the assignment; or maybe you hate class, so think of it as a club, and you have to do things to contribute to the club.

There are a hundred different ways to get active, but you need to schedule some time to do it. I’m trying to figure out ways to not just slim down but make lifestyle changes to make this permanent. Whether you have weight to lose or just want to stay fit, the moral to my spiel is that everyone should get out and play.

Not to be super creepy, but if anyone is looking for a workout buddy, diet buddy or both of the above, I’m on the market.