WHAT HEALTHY Is To Me
Redefining Healthy
What Wellness Looks Like Offline
By: Mia Martinson
Today, the idea of being “healthy” is often shaped by what we see online. Social media constantly shows us workout routines, meal plans, green smoothies, step counts, and perfectly curated morning routines. Health is often presented as something highly structured, productive, and visually appealing. It can start to seem like being healthy means waking up early every day, exercising intensely, eating perfectly, and constant discipline. However, for many people, including
myself, that version of health feels unrealistic, exhausting, and disconnected from real life. My zine, What Healthy Is to Me, was created to challenge that narrow definition and offer a more personal, honest, and balanced perspective. Health in this zine is reimagined as something per-
sonal, flexible, and grounded in everyday life. Rather than focusing on idealized routines or the pressure to perform wellness in a way that looks good online, this explores health as something more realistic and individual. It recognizes that health is not one fixed image or lifestyle. It is not something that can be measured only by appearance, productivity, or how closely someone follows trends in fitness culture. Rather, health can be found in the small, personal choices people make to care for themselves in ways that actually feel supportive and sustainable. Rest is one of the clearest examples of this. In a culture that constantly encourages people to do more, be more, and push harder, rest is often treated as laziness or lack of discipline. However, rest is an essential part of taking care of ourselves. Getting enough sleep, slowing down, taking breaks, and giving yourself permission to pause are all important forms of health. Rest allows the body and mind to recover. It reminds us that we do not always need to be productive to be worthy or well. Sometimes, the healthiest choice is to simply stop, breathe, and recharge . Food is also approached through the idea of care rather than control. Online, food is often labelled as “good” or “bad,” and eating habits can become tied to guilt, re-
striction, or pressure. What Healthy Is to Me moves away from those rigid ideas and instead focuses on food as something that fuels, comforts, and nourishes. Eating healthy does not have to mean following strict rules or cutting out everything you enjoy. It can also mean listening to your body, eating meals that make you feel good, and understanding that balance matters more than perfection.
A relationship with food includes both nourishment and enjoyment.
Self-care appears here in a much more personalized and less commercialized way it is often shown. Self-care is not only face masks, candles, or expensive wellness products. It can be simple and per-
sonal. It can look like taking a shower after a long day, drinking water, going for a walk, journaling, listening to music, enjoying a coffee, or spending time alone when you need to reset. Self-care
is about paying attention to what helps you feel grounded, calm, and supported. It is about meeting your own needs with kindness rather than waiting until you are burnt out.
Friendships and connections are also an important part of what health can look like in everyday life. Being healthy is not only about individual habits or routines. It is also shaped by the people we spend time with and the ways we feel supported in our relationships. Laughing with friends, having meaningful conversations, feeling understood, and knowing someone is there for you can all contribute to a sense of well-being. These moments may not always be recognized as part of “healthy living,” but they play a powerful role in how we experience our daily lives. So often, conversations about health stay focused on physical habits such as exercise, nutrition, or productivity. While these things can be important, emotional and social health matter just as much. Spending time with people who make you feel comfortable and accepted can make difficult days feel more manageable and joyful moments feel more meaningful. It reminds us that health is not something we have to figure out completely on our own.
In this zine, friend - ship is viewed as another form of care. It can look like sharing a meal, going for a walk
together, checking in with a text, or simply sitting beside someone in silence. These small interactions can create a sense of belonging and remind us that taking care of ourselves also includes allowing others to support us. Choosing connection can be a gentle way of caring for your mind and emotions. It can offer reassurance during uncertain moments and help you feel less alone in everyday struggles. In this zine, these moments show that feeling healthy can come from simple connection and from the comfort of relationships that support you, remind you to slow down, and show that care can exist in ordinary, everyday moments too, not just in routines, rules, or pressures to seem so.
“Wellness is not a destination it’s a way of life.”
At the core of it all, is the idea that health does not have to look the same for everyone. What feels healthy for one person may not feel for another. Some people feel their
best following a routine, while others need flexibility. Some people recharge by being active, while others need quiet and stillness. Health is deeply personal, and it changes depending on a person’s lifestyle, responsibilities, emotions, and needs. There is no single formula that works for everyone, and there should not have to be.
By presenting a softer and more realistic view of wellness, What Healthy Is to Me encourages you to reflect on your own definition of health instead of accepting the
ones constantly pushed by social media. Slow down, and think about balance, self-compassion, and what it actually means to care for yourself in everyday life. Rather than
chasing perfection, this zine makes space for authenticity. It reminds us that health can be messy, quiet, simple, emotional, and deeply personal.
In the end, What Healthy Is to Me is a reminder that being healthy is not about fitting into a single image, following a perfect routine, or proving something to other people. It is about creating a life that feels supportive, balanced, and honest in a way that works for you. Health is not always something that is visible, or easy to measure. Sometimes it looks like rest, slowing down, and giving yourself permission to pause. Sometimes it looks like nourishing food, movement, self-care, meaningful connection, or simply doing what helps you feel grounded. It can be found in small everyday choices that bring comfort, stability, and a sense of well-being. More than anything, this zine shows that health is personal. It can look different from person to person, and even from day to day, and that is exactly the point. Instead of chasing unrealistic ideals, What Healthy Is to Me makes space for a more realistic understanding of wellness, one rooted in balance, self-compassion, and the freedom to define health for yourself.
