Wellness Is En Vogue: The Culture of Self-Improvement
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While FSU has always been notorious for its student life and party scene, there is an obvious shift in the air with college students becoming increasingly obsessed with the topic of wellness. From “wellness darties” and “looksmaxing” to intense morning routines, wellness has officially entered the cultural realm.
Wellness is no longer just a personal journey of self-improvement; it’s become a societal trend that people bond over, celebrate, and incorporate into their day-to-day student lives. This is mirrored in overall student culture. College is such a social environment, so wellness was bound to integrate itself into the culture at some point. Universities across the country are making national headlines for their wellness darties as students find a way to combine the best of both worlds. Nights out are starting bright and early as what once was a late night out is now a morning pilates class with fun energy drinks and a DJ overseeing it all.
Wellness darties are pretty much exactly what they sound like: a workout class, but make it fun. Instead of a dark studio with nothing but the sound of the instructor yelling out movements, students are greeted by loud house music and an energetic atmosphere. While the workout is the main event, the atmosphere is far different from the zen studios we are used to. With popular energy drinks and features like cold plunges, these darties are turning a typical workout into a full experience.
Image Courtesy: The New York Times
While this may sound like an absolutely foreign concept, it’s a pretty great representation of where we are in the wellness world right now. The overall topic of wellness is one of the biggest trends in all areas of life and has been implemented into pretty much everything. The sheer amount of wellness products available is almost overwhelming, even as someone who loves partaking in them. Whether it be the endless types of pilates classes, the cold plunges, red light therapy, lymphatic drainage, looksmaxing, heated workouts, walking pads, protein and fiber intakes, and even such a thing as sleepmaxing, there is always a new wellness trend around the corner. Social media’s newest fixation is optimizing every area of life. Sleeping has evolved into “sleepmaxing,” a walk doesn’t feel effective unless it’s tracked and hits the 10,000-step requirement, little activities like cooking and working out constantly need a podcast paired with it, biohacking and longevity optimization have never been so researched and spoken about. It is equally aspirational and exhausting.
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While it can be almost funny to watch these wellness trends evolve at such an insanely fast rate, there’s definitely been an overall positive culture shift. It’s exciting that putting effort into your lifestyle and yourself can be seen as a social activity instead of just another to-do to squeeze into a busy college schedule. Taking care of yourself is now on trend and moving your body is now a social outlet. Pretty much everyone is implementing a daily routine and hanging out with friends can be as simple as going on a walk. There’s a method to the madness behind the craze for fitness and it just might be the cultural shift that society needed.
While I will admit that the seemingly endless wellness opportunities can be extremely overwhelming at times, I don’t think it gives reason to abandon the movement altogether. Routines can be simple and not everything needs to be tracked and micromanaged. Wellness should be about finding what works for you and how you enjoy moving your body, even if that includes a DJ with a full house music set. While there are thousands of lifestyle trends currently circling our for-you pages, we might as well have fun with it and embrace this new wave of self-care. Even if the national headlines are saying wellness is getting out of hand, it’s refreshing that feeling good and investing in ourselves is the newest global trend. If wellness culture is evolving into a Pilates class with a DJ, a long walk with your best friend, or a skincare routine at the end of a long day, I think college culture is taking a turn for the better.
Strike Out,
Writer: Natalie Sadler
Editor: Alexia Cretoiu
Graphic Designer: Kelly Henderson
Tallahassee