The sun is coming out more and more often, and temperatures are rising — it’s almost time to welcome summer with open arms. Many students across campus are rushing to the gym and dieting to achieve a bathing-suit-worthy body. However, it’s important to go about this attempt to change one’s body in a way that is not detrimental to health.

Grace Ann Brooks, freshman in communication, said she tries to stay committed to working out at the gym at least five days a week. Along with working out, she’s been trying to eat better, which she says can be a challenge.

For Brooks, working out is something she’s doing for herself, to boost up some self esteem for this coming summer. She said going home and seeing friends adds pressure to look good.

Stuart Gay, a freshman in business management, said he is also getting ready for the summer. Like Brooks, he works out daily in the gym to get fit. Gay also lies out by the pool and cleans out his fishing boat to work on his tan to prep for the summer sun.

Gay said he’s been trying to eat right while he’s been working out, along with drinking plenty of water each day.

“I have to hydrate and drink a lot of water, you know, get that good stuff in me,” he said with a laugh.

Sarah Beth Greene, a freshman in mathematics education, said she’s preparing for this summer by cutting out late-night snacks. She also is trying to eat healthier foods, moderate her portions and do at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise every day.

“I’ve gained the freshman 15, and when I go back home, I don’t want people to be able to spot it. Also, I want to be ready for the swim suit season on the river,” she said.

Greene said she just wants to be healthy and toned, and said she ensures that she works towards her goals in a healthy way.

Shannon Johnson, the director of the Women’s Center, said it’s extremely important to realize the way you are going about losing or maintaining weight and to be sure you aren’t going overboard in the manner that you do it.

Michael Dixon Jr., the president of the Swim Club, constantly exercises. The sophomore in Spanish said he likes to keep in shape all throughout the year by swimming and working out, not just for the summertime.

“I think that by actually taking care of yourself and working toward what you want to do, that will improve your self esteem more than trying to please others,” Dixon said with a smile.

In terms of body image, Johnson said confidence and self esteem are main factors in the way a person views themselves.

“A person that is overweight can be just as happy as or even happier with themselves than a person that is, say, a size two,” she said. “A lot of it has to do with the way you look at yourself and value who you are.”

Johnson also gives the media and our society much of the credit for viewers’ negative body images. She said there is so much pressure placed upon our society by the media to appear a certain way, which could crush one’s self-image.

Angelique Grantham, a graduate intern at the Women’s Center, said raising awareness of our culture and society could ultimately help people’s self-image by allowing them to see what is unachievable.

Johnson gave an example of the Barbie dolls many children play with growing up. She said if women were built like Barbie, they wouldn’t be able to function properly. This also portrays a poor, unattainable image that so many seem to strive for.

Johnson and Grantham urge those students to check out the campus nutritionist to help make a plan for better eating and exercising habits. Our campus also has a Counseling Center, which Johnson and Grantham both urge students to look into if they are having difficulties.