Throw away those glass slippers because running bare foot is more fun. This poster encapsulates my day. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learnt in life is to always try to maintain balance. For me that involves a lot of things: part-time job/life/family (+ dog)/uni/get-togethers with friends/volunteering. Exercise is that one thing that always makes me feel like I’m on top of the world. It’s because even though things feel like they are crashing down on me, exercise reinforces that I’m making progress, at least in one aspect of my life. And of course, I love the endorphin release. Who doesn’t? I’m on the road to reaching my goal weight. It’s gonna take some time, but I know I’ll get there, and that’s the most important thing. Today I went back to the gym after a long time of not going. I wouldn’t say that long, but long enough for me to feel the burn quicker than usual. I pretty much thought I could stop everything in my life, and just study, study, study. That way, I’d get better marks in my exams. Lesson learnt: you need a balance, or you’ll just burn yourself out. And that’s what happened, it’s all I thought about, and when the time came for the exam, I just became so fearful of failing that my nerves took over. It was the first time in my life I had a panic attack. It was intense. I’m glad I’ve been given a second chance to show ’em what I’ve got, so in 2 weeks I shall be sitting a supplementary exam. I’ll be prepared though and I know I’ll pass.
Anyway, back to my gym sesh, for those who do classes at the gym, I did Body Pump and Body Attack. Body Pump is awesome for muscle toning and strength. Body Attack is a full-on cardio workout, thats seems like bursts of energy accompanied with adrenaline-stimulating music. The last time I did Body Attack was probably 2 years ago. It wasn’t a pleasant experience. I was an unco noob lost in a room full of women who knew their ‘thang’. I recall the instructor didn’t bother slowing down, and I told myself after, this is not for me. I’m glad I tried it out again though because it changed my perception about it. I even went to the front line and said to myself, “why not?” I managed to keep up with those in the front line, even though my ‘moves like Jagger’ weren’t as smooth as theres. All in all, I feel proud of myself for giving it a try again. That goes to say, don’t let one bad experience, keep you from trying it again.
For all those feminists out there, how cool is this poster? In this day and age, people are obsessed about the concept of falling in love. I’ve gone to the extent of removing all emotional breakup slash ‘I’m-just-so-in-love’ songs from my iPhone. I don’t need it. Reality check – love does not ‘cure’ anything. The most important relationship you can have is the one you have with yourself. You can choose to take control of your own life. You don’t need someone to reinforce that you are worthy of love because quite frankly, you can love yourself and that can be enough. If your being is happy, then that resonates through your thoughts. And as we know, the way you think (i.e. your mindset) influences your behaviour.
Yours truly, from a 21-year-old girl who is learning to take control of her life again.
Sassy in Sydney 