A college student is typically in the prime of his or her life.  Most of us go by the motto of, “Work hard, play hard,” because we can.

Our lives are constantly in motion, working and playing continuously, never letting the thoughts of injury or illness slow us down.

And why should it?  That is for the future when our frontal lobes have fully developed and our mental awareness does not allow us to be ignorant of harsh reality.

For now we can push boundaries, try crazy things, and live on the least amount of sleep possible, while still being healthy and happy.

It may seem unnecessary to have health insurance as a college student, but think twice about what it means to be uninsured before opting out entirely.

“The fee [to opt out of ACA] in 2014 is 1% of your yearly income or $95 per person for the year, whichever is higher. The fee increases every year. In 2016 it’s 2.5% of income or $695 per person, whichever is higher,” states healthcare.gov.

Regardless if a student opts out of national health care, students are required by CSU to be insured due to the concerns of safety and academic performance.

“Even a relatively minor health event, such as a knee injury, could put students in a situation where medical debt precludes their ability to continue in school,” states health.colostate.edu.

Having insurance can give you peace of mind, and that is worth a lot in itself.  Students can enjoy college life instead of worrying about getting a broken bone, so make that cool parkour video, and when it goes wrong, get fixed up for cheap.

Without insurance, a person might never have the confidence to go through a 50-stair rail grind on their snowboard or skateboard.  And it reduces CSU’s liability when class policy requires students to attend class.

Classrooms are breeding grounds for sickness, and you are trapped in them for hours at a time.  Insurance can cover preventative actions like a flu shot, antibiotics for a sickness, and hospital visits for the times your body cannot handle what demands are thrown at it, like too much alcohol, cheap take-out food and stress.

Not having insurance means not having affordable medication for things like ADD, depression or meningitis.

When it really comes down to it though, the nation needs everyone to be insured for the system to work.  College age people, 18-24 make up 11.2 percent of the population, according to the latest U.S. Census.

“Obamacare is structured in a manner that transfers wealth from the young to the old,” stated optout.org

If a large portion of these young adults did not buy an insurance plan, it would undermine this balance.  One could either rebel against the responsibility of supporting the new health care system or accept it.

It was not long ago that you were a child who was dependent and it may not feel like a long time before you are just as dependent in old age.

The more supportive people are of the system now, the more likely it will still be around to help support us in the future.

Collegian editor at large Daniel Sewell can be reached at community@collegian.com.