Hello, reader! Would you like to take a class that is similar to both the mundane middle school health classes and your first-year gym class? Well, do I have the class for you! Living Well (formerly Life Wellness) is a CORE requirement if you want to graduate from EMU. Half a semester in, it is my least favorite class I have taken in my three years here.
Every day I wake up and dread going to this class. There is so much more I can do to “live well” during my Monday and Wednesday mornings. I consider it a minor holiday when I look at Moodle and see one of the days is asynchronous, only to be reminded I still have to go to class one day that week. The course, and the work that goes with it, feels like a chore, a chore that I get nothing out of. Most of the information provided in the course was taught to me from elementary school at the earliest, and high school at the latest. I, quite frankly, do not care to be looking at MyPlate at 9 a.m. at the age of 21. It does nothing for me; I know how to cook and plan a well-balanced meal. I understand some others may not know how to, but in the age of the internet, it is extremely easy if you want to.
I also do not want to have an “activity day” at the same time. I already go to the gym most days, and my schedule does not allow me to shower after class on an activity day, making me not want to participate. I don’t want to walk around smelling musty the rest of the day, nor do I really care to do an activity day; it just feels like having a high school gym class in the morning. If you can’t shower afterward, you’ll either be musty or smell like Axe.
Some topics covered in the class may be triggering to some, like assignments that include BMI and calorie counting don’t include great, or immediate alternatives. While I commend our professor for saying she will give anyone who may struggle with the assignment an alternate one, it may be extremely difficult for anyone struggling with these things to talk about it at all, let alone with a professor with whom they may have had no previous interactions. I think the much better solution is to just provide those alternate assignments already, or not have assignments that could trigger people in general. If the course’s goal is to teach students how to live well, potentially triggering them is not the way to go about it.
I believe that my biggest complaint is that with the internet, the subject this course offers feels pretty irrelevant. Most of the material we have covered is easily findable on YouTube, any internet site, or even by word of mouth. While some subjects, like career and mental well-being, are important, I would argue the most important things discussed in the class feel like they take a back seat to the fitness portion of the class.
Now having taken this class, albeit only half a semester in, I do not think it is fixable. From everyone I’ve talked to, Living Well is just the same as Life Wellness, it just has a different name slapped on it. All of the same assignments, activities, and on and on; it’s just the same. Perchance if EMU were to offer alternatives, such as classes that focus on stress and anxiety management, or a class to help teach students how to meal prep, cook, and other skills they may have not learned yet, a better purpose could be served. There are better ways to provide assistance to college students and teach them how to live well not only as students but as adults. What feels like your everyday gym and health class simply does not do that.
This is not the fault of the professor, nor do I intend to slander them; it is just the way the class is arranged. If this were a cooking class or a mental well-being class,that would be much more beneficial to a college student. The current set-up of the course is extremely uninteresting to college students. Granted, I have not asked every single student at EMU their opinions on the class, but everyone I have talked to did not enjoy their experience in it. It being earlier in the morning, having moderately time-consuming work that is less important than your work for other classes, and some of the subject material makes it a lot less favorable than it could be if set up better.