Hi! My name is Jillian Greenland, I grew up in Manoa and attended University Laboratory School since 7th grade. I transferred to UH West O‘ahu from UH Manoa to further focus and enhance my skills in the film production scope. If I was an artist’s tool, I would be the palette, because in terms of the work I want to go into, palette doesn’t create the art directly, but it holds all the colors, ideas, and possibilities.
Modern gym culture offers many benefits—better physical and mental health, social interaction, and easy access to fitness content through platforms like TikTok and YouTube. However, it also has downsides, such as intimidation for newcomers and unhealthy comparisons fueled by unrealistic beauty standards. Dr. Neelam A. Vashi, in “Obsession with Perfection,” explains how societal pressures in fitness communities contribute to body dysmorphia, leading to harmful self-perceptions and behaviors. Similarly, Katharine A. Phillips discusses how idealized images can distort body image, potentially resulting in serious mental health issues like body dysmorphic disorder.
The concept of creativity has come a long way. The Old Greeks would call those creative forces muses, other religions referred to them as God. Today people still mostly treat creativity as an aha moment outside the area of influence. However, just by looking at the creative process one can tell, that creativity and creative work is more than just that one "Aha-Moment" (insight). It is clear that generating ideas demands planning and preparation, identifying something of interest like a problem, an opportunity or a challenge, doing research. This then leads to thinking of a solution, allowing time to incubate and iterations before arriving at something “complete.” Students learn that hard work is what makes their ideas come to life and sticktuiveness is what helps them get better.
Jillian flexes both research and real talk in her video podcast series exploring the highs and lows of modern gym culture. Featuring candid conversations with trainers and gym goers, her episodes dive into the empowering side of fitness—community, confidence, and well-being—while also confronting the darker realities of body image pressures and social media-fueled perfectionism. Grounded in studies by experts like Dr. Neelam A. Vashi and Katharine A. Phillips, Jillian’s project aims to spark more balanced, inclusive conversations in fitness spaces.
Press play. Lift minds. Check out her series!