It's the time of the year again. A time to look back to the year that was. I hopped into the best nine Instagram craze last year, and it brought back a lot of memories, so I thought of making it a yearly thing. :D

More than anything, my 2016 was exciting! Bumps were of course inevitable, but everything was worthwhile. I was able to get through all of them with the help of the people around me. And so my #2016bestnine revolves around the very reasons who kept me going through the past year—my family and friends. :)

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of love, family, and friends! I couldn't be more thankful!

Many students don’t place much emphasis on staying fit and healthy. They would rather stay up all night drinking and eating junk food than hitting the gym for a sweaty weights session. In the short term, this won’t matter too much, but if you spend the next three years of your MSW online avoiding exercise like the plague, it will negatively affect your health.

Exercise is very important. Leading a sedentary lifestyle that involves spending most of the day sitting in front of a screen, studying for an online MSW, or lying on a couch playing video games is unhealthy to say the least. If you don’t use your muscles, they will atrophy and dwindle. A lack of exercise also affects your heart and in the long term can lead to fatty deposits building up in your arteries. Too little exercise combined with an unhealthy diet will also cause weight gain. Your body needs regular exercise, preferably a minimum of three days a week.

Start Slowly

You can’t go from being a couch potato to a gym freak in a few days. It’s not realistic and you will do more harm than good. To make the transition successfully, be sensible and take it slowly. However, adopting a half-hearted approach to exercise that involves very little effort on your part won’t work either.

Make Time for Exercise

Take a good look at your study schedule and figure out when the best time to exercise is going to be. Most students have a lot of free study time, so there should be plenty of opportunities to exercise if you are motivated. Allocate three sessions a week to getting fit. To begin with, this should be enough. 30 minutes is enough, but ideally, try to extend your exercise sessions to 45 minutes or longer, as you will realize greater benefits.

Find an Exercise You Enjoy

You will find it hard to stick to an exercise routine if you don’t enjoy it, so try different types of exercise until you find one you really enjoy. Most colleges have a gym for students to use so sign up for some gym classes or ask a PT to show you how to use the free weights. Give swimming a go or try cycling or running. Alternatively, join a sports team and see if it’s for you. All of these will work, but to be effective, you have to train consistently.

Have a Fitness Target

We are all guilty of falling off the exercise wagon after a month or two. Bad weather, exams and a lack of motivation all combine to throw exercise out of the window. To avoid this happening to you, have a target in mind, such as a charity run. This will keep you motivated and make it harder to quit.

If exercise is unappealing, think about how much better you will feel if you are fitter and healthier. Most students perform better in the classroom when they take regular exercise, so if you hit the gym three times a week it could boost your grades!

I spent my first Christmas away from home all alone. Last year, I got to spend Christmas with my family. And this year, I spent it again away from home, not all alone now but with my friends my second family.

Staying in shape when you are working flat out studying for an MSN to DNP online is no easy feat. You probably have zero time to visit the gym or take a yoga class. Instead, all of your free time is spent attending classes at Bradley University or working hard on your nurse practitioner doctorate degree. To help you stay fit and avoid piling on the pounds, here are some quick and easy ways to keep in shape while you study.

Walk or Cycle Everywhere

It may be tempting to catch the bus to campus, or drive, if you have a car, but neither of these two transport strategies will help you stay fit. Instead of taking the easy option, walk or cycle instead.

Wait, what?! A garden? In a desert?!