The “freshman fifteen” is a scary concept that haunts many incoming students. With the adjustment from high school to college, difficult classes, making new friends, and all other stresses can cause one’s body to react in strange ways. Since going to the gym is not that appealing to all, Stockton’s Zumba classes on Mondays and Wednesdays draw in many students for an hour of fun, stress-relieving exercise.

Two weeks ago, a group of friends from our specific building made a pact to attend the Zumba class together to avoid possible embarrassment from doing it alone. We were not all the best dancers, but the instructor taught easy moves that everyone was able to catch on to. It did not matter how talented anyone was in the realm of dancing, for each person there shimmied the best they could. Even with the sweat building up on peoples’ faces, there was no plea to leave the class early. This class seemed to bring all of those who attended together by joining them through fun dancing that burned calories.

Without stress of creating a gym routine and sticking to it, those at the class did not have to worry about what to do next, for their entire workout was planned for them by the more experienced. This class managed to lower the stress found in everyday life and allow people to let go of it for just a little while. The endorphins created from working out leaves people with more positive outlooks, and allowed me to sleep better. The Wellness Center did an excellent job at creating enjoyable programs, free of charge, for students to take that enable those to work out while making entertaining memories. By continually going to these events on campus, the student body will, overall become closer as a unified class that did their best to create a college experience that thrives from several different activities outside of the classroom.