November 25, 2010

Giving Thanks


Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I love to eat, and I really, really love to eat Thanksgiving food. My dad is an absolutely incredible cook, so the massive feast he prepares for today is simply outstanding. Last year my stepmom and I participated in a Turkey Trot 5k road race, but today we're making up our own tradition. Instead of joining the masses and running in a race, we're heading to the trails behind the house, with the dogs, for our own leisurely run. I absolutely love running with my stepmom and the dogs (or the "racing team," as we've dubbed our group). There's no music, or roads, or crowds. It's just us and our four-footed friends, running through beautiful woods, and talking. It's the only time where it's just the two of us, and through running together, we've formed a bond that's unlike any other we've had previously. We've become the other's confidant, therapist, comedian, and friend. Today, I give thanks for my stepmom, Michelle. She gave me the confidence to run, the desire to keep going, and the companionship on the trails. She's entirely changed my life for the better, and I couldn't be luckier than to have her in my life.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and remember to give thanks to those special people in your life.
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Welcome to Head Over Heels!

Like many 20-something women, I woke up one morning exasperated. It seemed like every day I would find a new passion, a new dream, and get excited about yet another project, just to find that they would all crash and burn. I wanted something that I could control and that would be all mine.

Because our 20s are a time of exploration and discovery, it's very hard to find that path that directs us exactly to our dreams, especially because our dreams have the habit of evolving overnight. I had worn myself into a tizzy of exhaustion, disappointment, and an overwhelming sense of having no control over my own life. And that's when I went for that first run.

Two minutes later, I arrived back at my apartment steps, panting. As long and as torturous as those two minutes felt, they also gave me a sense of liberation, a feeling that had been severely lacking in my life. The next day, pathetically still sore, I again put on my sneakers. Three minutes, yes! This routine was repeated daily throughout the summer and now, I'm a half-marathoner! My ultimate goal, a marathon, still looms in the distant future, but the even bigger goal is one I can actively work on every day: learning to gain control over my own life and learning to fall in love with myself one step at a time.