How has exercise and fitness helped you in your life?
With all the nerves and anxiety that's been going around with the coronavirus for the last two weeks, [exercise has helped me] more so than ever before. I've made it a point to do my personal fitness, which is lifting three times a week and running. Each and every time I've done it, I felt myself get calmer. It's great to have that ability in moments like this.

In your experience as a gym teacher have you seen the positive impacts of sports and activities on students' lives, specifically their stress levels?
What I've seen more is the impact on their social gratitude and behaviors when they are around someone. Even if they're not good at an activity, but they share either conversation, or they do something that surprises themselves, you can see the joy in their face. So maybe overall, they're not coming out more fit, if you will, but they're getting certain aspects that are making them better.

Do you think PHS puts as much emphasis and value on physical health as it does with mental health?
No. My daughter's a senior and this place is an absolute pressure cooker, both mentally and physically. So the simple answer is I don't think they can do enough. And are they getting close to it? I mean, we had that wellness push and this and that, but I think it's a goal that always needs to be chased. Especially for [PHS].

When you ask so much of a student population academically, they themselves put so much pressure on themselves and they lose sight of what's the [big] picture for wellness. So they'll want to leave physical education in order to get a chemistry lab done. [It’s] great that they're so conscientious about their academics, but they tend to forget that [how their minds and their bodies feel] go hand in hand. And when [their physical health] is at its peak, their academics will be at their peak. 

What do you think is the biggest challenge teens face in regards to fitness?
Princeton High School students are incredibly intelligent. So with that, I put a lot of faith in them figuring it out. But that also being said, they're in a period of their life where they're learning and, like anybody else, they get pulled in different directions. So I think the two things that are their biggest challenges are one, the academic stress, and two, when they do have downtime, what does that represent? And for too many of them, it's getting lost into the cell phone, which isn't doing anything really positive. So I think a lot of them need to step up their game on both their mind and their body.

Do you think that the media on the internet sends dangerous messages to teens about fitness?
Yes. For instance, I used to have a shirt that said “Short is Normal.” because I'm told that I'm not normal, because I'm five feet tall. Too many times, the media portrays what is desirable. And that's just somebody's opinion. Sometimes students are made to feel bad about themselves when there's absolutely no reason they should ever feel bad about themselves. [No matter if] they’re short, they're skinny, they're whatever they are, [it doesn’t matter] so long as they're doing what they're able to do to make themselves feel good and healthy. You be you. Be yourself. I think the media does send some harmful messages.

Do you have any tips or tricks for teens for incorporating physical activity into their day, especially for students who often sit at desks for long periods of time?
Yes. Here's one thing. It's kind of like when you're a little kid and you [usually] walked everywhere. … [Then], you've learned how to ride a bike and your world exponentially explodes with adventure and excitement. Fitness is the same way. Once you get into it [and] it becomes habitual, … it's addictive and … you crave it. So my message to them is to push through that period where your mind's telling you [that] you don't want to do this because once you get through that, then you crave [exercise].

Chiara Goldenstern's Work