I like being 32. I think it's a good age. I find myself starting to say the phrase, "It's only taken me 32 years, but I finally.....":
-...find myself listening to NPR(.....occasionally). This might not seem like such a big deal and you might be thinking, huh, you're 32 and your just now listening to NPR, but let me clarify, I've been listening to NPR my entire life. I have not so fond memories of BBC World News and All Things Considered playing during many a car ride home from school as a child, half-listening and wondering why men with British accents were talking about "gorillas"and their wars so intently, I thought it was the most awfully boring thing in the world, and prayed that my parents would change the station. Even as an adult the calm voices of talk radio DJs just creeped me out and made me want to crawl out the windows of my car and into oncoming traffic. But all of a sudden about 2 months ago it all changed, I found myself desperately searching for something of substance after hearing the same damn Rihanna song played over and over on all the other radio channels. I don't consider myself much of a news junkie, but I find myself drawn to some of the more quirkier shows, and even catch myself laughing out loud like an idiot to "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me."
-.......weigh the weight that is says on my driver's license. It's true! I've always been the chubby kid and my love affair with food has always been an issue of shame and self-ridicule. But when I got to Guyana that all changed, the combination of gastro-intestinal distress, parasites, sweating, walking, dengue fever, more sweating, more walking, etc. caused me to shed a few pounds and fall within the healthy BMI for my height. When I returned to the US I went a little overboard indulging in the Thai/Mexican/Vietnamese/Mexican/Italian/BBQ/Mom home-cooked meals and gained the weight back. But it sparked something in me, I knew that I wasn't the fat kid and in August I joined Weight Watchers. I'm happy to report that I've lost over 20 pounds, weigh less than I did when I graduated from high school, AND now all of the information on my driver's license is 100% accurate.
-.....have some kind of athletic ability. Who knew? I wasn't much for sports as a kid (hence the whole chubby thing), I have NEVER like running (still not the biggest fan), but I discovered over these past 6 months that I have some athletic ability. I started doing the INSANITY workouts when I started doing weight watchers, it was a great way to get A LOT of activity points in a small amount of time. (If you don't know what Insanity is you can check it out here.) I will admit I thought I was going to die the first week and wasn't sure how I was even going to make it through the 10 minute warm-ups, but somehow I found a way to "dig deeper" and after those first 2 weeks it got easier and I got better....and thinner....and faster.....and tighter. I'm not saying I have 6-pack abs or buns of steel, but I can make it through all the workouts in Month 1 without passing out......Month 2 is a different story.
Being 32 hasn't been the easiest, but I have learned some incredibly valuable lessons. It is OK to change your mind, come back to something you thought you didn't like and be pleasantly surprised by it years later. You don't have to be stuck in the past, if you want to change yourself to be better, healthier, happier it is within reach and the only person getting in the way of that is your own self. This year I have vowed to take responsibility for my mistakes and failures and learn from them, admit when I am wrong and own it, and accept that I am not perfect and no one expects me to be. I will open myself up to trying the new and retrying the old.
I invite you to reflect on ways you have grown that have pleasantly surprised you over the past year. I also encourage you to think about accessible positive changes you want to make for yourself and take that first step. Remember that YOU ARE WORTH IT no matter how young or old you are!
-...find myself listening to NPR(.....occasionally). This might not seem like such a big deal and you might be thinking, huh, you're 32 and your just now listening to NPR, but let me clarify, I've been listening to NPR my entire life. I have not so fond memories of BBC World News and All Things Considered playing during many a car ride home from school as a child, half-listening and wondering why men with British accents were talking about "gorillas"and their wars so intently, I thought it was the most awfully boring thing in the world, and prayed that my parents would change the station. Even as an adult the calm voices of talk radio DJs just creeped me out and made me want to crawl out the windows of my car and into oncoming traffic. But all of a sudden about 2 months ago it all changed, I found myself desperately searching for something of substance after hearing the same damn Rihanna song played over and over on all the other radio channels. I don't consider myself much of a news junkie, but I find myself drawn to some of the more quirkier shows, and even catch myself laughing out loud like an idiot to "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me."
-.......weigh the weight that is says on my driver's license. It's true! I've always been the chubby kid and my love affair with food has always been an issue of shame and self-ridicule. But when I got to Guyana that all changed, the combination of gastro-intestinal distress, parasites, sweating, walking, dengue fever, more sweating, more walking, etc. caused me to shed a few pounds and fall within the healthy BMI for my height. When I returned to the US I went a little overboard indulging in the Thai/Mexican/Vietnamese/Mexican/Italian/BBQ/Mom home-cooked meals and gained the weight back. But it sparked something in me, I knew that I wasn't the fat kid and in August I joined Weight Watchers. I'm happy to report that I've lost over 20 pounds, weigh less than I did when I graduated from high school, AND now all of the information on my driver's license is 100% accurate.
-.....have some kind of athletic ability. Who knew? I wasn't much for sports as a kid (hence the whole chubby thing), I have NEVER like running (still not the biggest fan), but I discovered over these past 6 months that I have some athletic ability. I started doing the INSANITY workouts when I started doing weight watchers, it was a great way to get A LOT of activity points in a small amount of time. (If you don't know what Insanity is you can check it out here.) I will admit I thought I was going to die the first week and wasn't sure how I was even going to make it through the 10 minute warm-ups, but somehow I found a way to "dig deeper" and after those first 2 weeks it got easier and I got better....and thinner....and faster.....and tighter. I'm not saying I have 6-pack abs or buns of steel, but I can make it through all the workouts in Month 1 without passing out......Month 2 is a different story.
Being 32 hasn't been the easiest, but I have learned some incredibly valuable lessons. It is OK to change your mind, come back to something you thought you didn't like and be pleasantly surprised by it years later. You don't have to be stuck in the past, if you want to change yourself to be better, healthier, happier it is within reach and the only person getting in the way of that is your own self. This year I have vowed to take responsibility for my mistakes and failures and learn from them, admit when I am wrong and own it, and accept that I am not perfect and no one expects me to be. I will open myself up to trying the new and retrying the old.
I invite you to reflect on ways you have grown that have pleasantly surprised you over the past year. I also encourage you to think about accessible positive changes you want to make for yourself and take that first step. Remember that YOU ARE WORTH IT no matter how young or old you are!
1 comment:
I love this post, Liza, thank you for sharing. For me, growing older has given me a confidence i couldn't have imagined or dreamed of in my younger years. This confidence has let me try new things and start caring for myself in many small numerous, but important ways. In her new album Ani Difranco sings, "if you're not getting happier as you get older then you're fucking up."
On a different note, i miss the easy physicality and weight maintenance i had in PC. I wish it was was easy here (though i do not miss the parasites)
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