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.

Overcoming Obstacles

I was watching one of my favorite shows the other day, and there was this fantastic line that really stuck with me: "Life is going to kick you down more times than you can count. Don't kick yourself down." This past month has been really hard for me, personally. It's basically been one big month of suck. But, through it all and feeling at my lowest, I was determined to not let life entirely drag me down. I threw myself even more into work and school, oftentimes being out of the house for 16 hours a day. I worked weekends, I applied (and got!) a part-time internship. But what really kept me feeling mostly okay, was running.
Getting up at 5:30am after going to bed at 1am isn't fun. And it's even less fun to go run outside, or walk to the gym, in 30 degree weather. But once I'm running, everything else stops existing. I can be free from heartbreak and stress and anxiety every day, even if just for a 5k. And that attitude, that freedom, stays with me longer and longer as the days go by. I'm not yet getting through an entire day without feeling life trying to kick me down, but I'm getting there. Life may be really, really hard at times and be determined to kick me down to my lowest of lows, but I have the choice to go down or not. I have the ability to keep going, to keep my head up, and to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Because, really, that's how I'm going to make myself okay. If you just keep moving, eventually everything will all make sense again. And running supplies that; the more you realize that you have the ability to overcome physical obstacles, you realize you have the ability to overcome emotional obstacles, as well.