Alright all of my lovely high school/college/graduate/PhD students, this one's for you.
Thanksgiving is a tease. You have most of the week off, try to ignore your assignments as much as possible, and it's a little taste of winter break. Then, you get back to school and your educators are winding down their units and finals are hanging over your head. Between the regular assignments, final projects, and tests it feels like break is never actually coming. It's you vs. the end of the semester and I want you to win! Here are my tips and tricks for these last few weeks of school:
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I think I can officially declare it Fall in Tucson, AZ. After having some rain last night this morning was cloudy and cool, and the weather has stayed rainy and chilly well into the afternoon. I absolutely love Fall, but the desert takes a little while to catch up with the rest of the country when it comes to not being in summer anymore. While this morning has been awesome, I'm sure we're going to pop right back up to the 90s soon enough.
Even if the weather isn't cooperating perfectly, it's a brand-new month and the beginning of one of my favorite times of the year. That means I have new and improved goals, and so much to look forward to when it comes to my health and fitness journey. My October Goals: 1) Continue to watch carb intake--keeping it at 50g/day 2) Be active and work out in some way for all 31 days of the month 3) Limit alcohol intake to only special occasions (aka tailgates and Halloween) 4) Watch posture 5) Stick with the new morning routine and enjoy the sunrise I have not only declared these goals, but I'm determined to keep track of them and actually accomplish them all. Hopefully by doing so, by the end of the month I will gain confidence and be a lot more fit than I am at the beginning of this month. In order to help me with this journey, my partner has a similar diet and morning routine, and I've created this handy-dandy workout schedule for myself (below). Happy Halloween Month! It's 6:05am by the time that I'm sitting down to write this. My alarm went off at 5:45am, and I promptly went to go make some coffee.
The first big decision of my day is choosing which coffee mug I'm going to use. It sounds a little nuts, but it determines my mood for the day. My Allen Bros or Bloomsbury mug starts me off on a productive day, whereas one of my Harry Potter mugs starts me off on something I can describe only as a "believer" day--one where fun is the priority rather than being in "business mode." I never purposely intend on choosing one mug or the other, it's a feeling that I get, and I grab the mug I'm gravitating toward. Today I was feeling a pull toward my Hufflepuff mug, so I grabbed it from the shelf, filled it with some cashew milk, poured the steaming coffee into it, and took it outside with me while I listened to a podcast. I was only outside for about 5 minutes before I was prompted to go back inside and write down what I was thinking, and rather than putting it on Facebook, I thought I'd quickly hash out something for the blog--a new series I'm calling "MiniPosts" (when I suddenly have an idea and don't care about mistakes or there not being a flow to the piece). In High School, I was put into Hufflepuff house, and if you know the Harry Potter franchise, you know that there's a stigma surrounding the yellow-and-black clad house. They're kind of the "others" and despite efforts by authors, celebrities, and hardcore fans, the house is still ridiculed by those who know the universe. I obviously identified as a Hufflepuff for a fair amount of time--as I got the mug in 2016 and Pottermore sorted me in 2012. So what happened in the last couple of years? I decided to break away from the house only recently, even though it doesn't feel that way. My reasoning for doing so was because I didn't feel kind enough, patient enough, or fair enough to belong in the house. Upon retaking the quiz, I was placed into Ravenclaw, and attached myself to it after considering, "Of course I identify with a new house, people grow and change in college so why wouldn't I value intelligence and creativity more than friendliness? People suck. I don't want to be the goofy and trusting Hufflepuff." However, every time I think of the riddles you have to answer to get into the tower, I know for a fact that I'd just have to wait around for someone who can actually figure it out to come by and let me in. This is all theoretical of course and comes from a fantasy world, but the mug provoked a thought that I can't let go of: Why wouldn't I want to be kind, dedicated, value hard work, be patient, and fair? What happened in the last couple of years that made me lose those traits, not want to implement them into my life, or not appreciate them? I have become a lot harder and a lot less trusting as a person, and while I value creativity, wit, and intelligence, I need to re-introduce those Hufflepuff traits into my life in order to be a more happy and positive person. There's always going to be people that laugh at you or discourage you to act weird, be silly, and enjoy life because they're so caught up with their own image and fitting in the box. Hufflepuffs aren't purely weird and goofy, rather, they are kind and hardworking individuals that we can all gain a little inspiration from. Why not be a little more of a Hufflepuff? |
AuthorElena B. Archives
June 2020
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