Dear Editor:
I am writing hopefully to attract the attention of as much as possible amount of people to the problem that exists in our city and that I find especially crucial. It is lack of recreational centers. Indeed, one could say that this problem is not that important as, for instance, the problems of poverty, suicides, or racism. However, lack of recreational centers negatively influences the health of the population and the issues among youth and decreases the level of our city. I am going to explain my opinion.
First, I want to notice that recreational centers play one of the key roles in shaping leisure time of people. They provide various indoor and outdoor activities and educational opportunities and allow every person to choose ones to his or her liking. Currently, our city lacks for places that could provide high-quality leisure. The importance of leisure is underestimated, but it is necessary to understand that it balances mental health and strengthens people’s compliance with the pressures. Leisure is an efficient mean of dealing with boredom and, furthermore, it allows people to examine their skills and personal values. One could say that recreational centers are not the only way to provide leisure activities, but I am ready to argue that they are the most common and convenient one. Recreational centers give people an opportunity not just to find suitable for them hobby but also to strike up new acquaintances and to find friends with the same interests. Moreover, I am highly convinced that the assistance that recreational centers render in developing of leisure activities in our city also affects people’s self-esteem, mood, and communication skills and increases the level of population.
Second, I want to note the impact recreational centers have on the public health. I have already mentioned that leisure activities balance mental health and positively influence stress resistance. However, I would like to make a special emphasis on the highly possible improvement of the physical health of people. Nowadays, a significant part of the population suffers from obesity and various diseases connected with lack of movement. The most spreading and high-paid occupations are deskbound, and people usually get to their work and back on the car. The modern way of life is sedentary. At the same time, the idea of healthy living becomes more and more popular. People are not ready to go to work on foot, but they try to eat well and to do sports. At the moment, gyms and existing recreational centers cannot cope with a good turnout and, as the result, are overcrowded. Thus, I strongly suggest to increase the number of recreational centers and to make them large enough to give people an opportunity to do any sports at any time. I am sure that it will have a positive impact on the common health level of either young or middle-aged people and on their health in the old age. Moreover, I am convinced that it will also positively influence the health of the old people as proper exercises help them to overcome diseases and to live longer. Furthermore, I want to mention that the increased health level of the population can lead to a decrease of diseased people and save the money from the local budget.
Next, recreational centers could help to solve the problem of aggressive youth. As you know, recently our city experienced appearing of new gangs and an outbreak of violence among young people. Youth is always full of energy and often does not know how to use it properly. I highly believe that recreational centers can attract young people with various sports activities, high-quality equipment, and organizational affiliations and, thus, channel their passion towards good and useful things. One of the major reasons of gangs, violence, alcohol, and drugs among youth is a lack of control and boredom, and recreational centers can positively influence these issues. I am also sure that provided by recreational centers educational opportunities and communication with peers could increase their social skills and encourage educational endeavors.
The last thing I want to mention is the prestige that recreational centers could bring to our city. Recreational centers are not just activities; they are well-designed buildings with open spaces, beautiful parks, and protected natural environments. They can make our city greener and cleaner. Moreover, recreational centers have a number of economical benefits. They create new workplaces, attract tourists, and, what is more important, pay for themselves. Recreational centers make people healthier and turn them to be more productive workers. They reduce costs connected with vandalism and violence of gangs. Furthermore, hey guarantee community expansion, the growth of business, and increase property values around.
I highly hope that my letter will convince our society and authorities that the construction of new recreational centers will bring a lot of benefits to the population of the city and will increase its level. If the authorities build new recreational centers, my friends and I will be ready to volunteer and to help either old or young people to improve their health and lifestyle. I strongly believe that if people had more places for gathering together and having common activities, our society would learn to be more positive and tolerant, and we could partly solve the problems of racism and suicide among youth. It will have an especially crucial sense for future generations.
Sincerely yours,
