The Freshman Fifteen

The FF, and I am not referring to french fries.
Possibly the three scariest words for a freshman girl in college: the freshman fifteen. And quite possibly the second scariest phrase for a girl (or boy) to hear other than, "we need to talk". I am in no position to be giving relationship advice, but the good news: I am fairly certain that at APP the freshman fifteen is impossible.

Going to class does more than work your brain.
The simple act of walking to classes may be a work-out enough to avoid the accidental onset of those extra pounds. Between the size of the campus, the geological terrain (aka hills), and how forgetful you are, your legs will be sore by the end of your first full day. I guarantee it.
For example, I live on West Side. Eggers, to be specific. It's the perfect location for football games, literally the ASU ones, or just the ones that we play outside of Trivette. Other than that though, it's the equivalent of living on the other side of the world. Not only do I have to trek and hike to East side every day for classes, but then when I do go "home" there are five flights of stairs just to get into Eggers' lobby. Once inside, pray the elevators are working. Because if they are not, in my case, it is another nine flights to get to my room. It is then that the freshman fifteen sways into the negative, because my flight six, you might be gasping for breath and napping in the stairwell.

A home away from your home away from home: the gym.
Besides just the grueling walks to class in the beyond unpredictable weather, the gyms come in handy. Whether it is working off the big-pack easy macs, midnight hot pockets, 3 AM Ben and Jerry's, the four lattes you will learn to survive on, or just genuinely an avid exercise machine; the three gyms on campus are there for you. Between the "manly gym" (aka the Quinn), the "girly gym" (aka the third floor of the Plemmons' Student Union), or the Student Recreation Center (aka the SRC), there is no excuse to not utilize them. In fact, most of us WANT to go. It gets you out of the hot dorms, allows you to procrastinate on reading the dozens of chapters you have due tomorrow, and relieves your frustration over facebook creeping. No shame, we all do it.

Procrastination stretches outside the dorm room.
On top of all of this there are the greens, either sanford Mall or right outside of Trivette Dining Hall. There are constantly games of football, ultimate frisbee, lacrosse, or soccer going on. Or; yoga, African dancing, or dance parties. Do not misunderstand me. The freshman fifteen can be completely real and it can happen. But only if you try your absolutel hardest to become and introvert, lock yourself in your dorm room all day, and live on cookie dough and Pepsi. Leave the reality television for ten minutes, there will be re-runs on later anyways, and get out and do something. Anything! And the freshman fifteen will remain nothing but a myth to you.