Two thousand years have passed and the evidence of their theories still remains. W.F. West junior Tara Swart virtually echoed the words of the ancient philosophers when she said, "Health is harmony between your mind, body, and soul. Everything is in sync." Sophomore Kim Kestner agreed. "You have to have a balance between mind, body, and soul. If you don't have a balance you aren't as healthy, because not only does your body need training but so does your mind," she said.

In order to be mentally healthy many believe you need to exercise your mind through decision-making and other intellectual skills. W.F. West Mental Health Counselor Brian Adams said, "To be healthy, a person needs to be thinking clearly and making appropriate choices for himself in order to find beneficial consequences as a result of those decisions."

Adams is one of three school counselors who have been trained to help students in need of mental or emotional healing. Being a counselor can be very difficult when giving suggestions to unhealthy people.

Adams said, "You've got to be very careful with what you suggest. I use a system called CBM that stands for Cognitive Behavioral Modification. You change the way a person thinks which leads to behavioral [actions] and as a result of all that, you will change the way you feel about that situation."

The second area of health reflects the physical condition of a person's body. This is the visible portion of health that most people are aware of and refer to when speaking about health. Some people believe physical fitness is an important aspect of health while others take a different perspective.

"If they look like a heroin addict or are grotesquely obese my first impression is that they're not very healthy," said Swart.

Many people think that being comfortable with your physical health and appearance is more important than being muscular. Junior Adam Jacobus said, "If you're in good shape it's good, but you don't have to be the best athlete to be healthy."

The third facet of health is being healthy spiritually. This includes using methods for relaxation or meditation as well as building your self-esteem and other personal strengths. Many people associate spiritual health with happiness and being content. There are various theories about what is healthy in this area.

Adams said, "...doing and thinking and feeling and acting in such a way that is right for yourself; in such a way that you're happy with what you're doing, then you can avoid the situations that are destructive to yourself."

This is also the area that many believe is the most undefined among humans because it is very personal as far as emotions are concerned. Swart said, "I think health is different for everybody, because fifty percent of health is being happy with yourself. If you're happy you're mostly healthy."

Freshman Raquel Carss agreed that spiritual well-being is one of the most important aspects of health. "It doesn't really matter what you are on the outside just as long as you're happy with who you are," said Carss.

Most people believe health can only be defined by your own beliefs and habits and doesn't contain a set of rules to follow. Adams said, "Health is different for every individual. What could be good for someone in moderation, may be poor for someone else. What works for one person may not work for another. It is assessed on an individual basis."

Although it is an individual committment to maintain a healthy life most would agree that being happy is the most important step to being healthy."You have to love yourself and have respect for yourself in order to be healthy. Have a positive attitude, set goals, and achieve them [physically, mentally, and spiritually]," said sophomore Robin Williams.