Every small step makes us healthier
As Pharmacy student Sharae Hightower looked to her professional future, she considered the components that make a great professional. While she was doing well academically, she felt she needed to make some personal changes as well.
“Something they tell us a lot in pharmacy school is that we have drugs to treat people, but lifestyle modification is the most important thing,” she says. “I felt that if I was going to recommend that people change their diets or implement exercise in their lives, I had to live by those principles as well.”
So, she lost 80 pounds. One small decision at a time.
To Sharae, life requires balance. She has three tips for Boilermakers on how to balance their studies, personal health, passion projects and friendships:
- Set boundaries. She’s decided not to take on so much responsibility that she can’t fulfill her tasks well. “I don’t do things that I feel I can’t accomplish in the best way possible,” she says.
- Tell people about them. Sharae likes to save herself some awkward moments by offering her boundaries on the front end. “Basically, I let it be known where my headspace is,” she says.
- Protect your boundaries — say no. “If I feel like something’s a bad fit, I would say, ‘I have a lot on my plate right now. Is there anyone else?’” she says. It’s imperative to be firm and clear.
Because the fact remains, she recognizes that ultimately, her goal of specializing in psychiatric pharmacy — caring for others’ mental health — won’t work if she’s not caring for herself.
“It’s a big passion of mine,” she says. “A lot of my family members had untreated mental health conditions, and I recognize now that they should have been treated.”
For more resources on student balance, well-being and campus-wide support, visit the Steps to Leaps Initiative website.
