Survival of the Fittest

"The first time I see a jogger smiling, I'll consider it."

Joan Rivers

I'm pretty sure I don't smile when I work out. I can commonly be heard telling people that I really enjoy exercise. That I like the rush of endorphins I get from exerting myself at the gym. I'm not sure I'm telling the truth, though, because despite the feeling of accomplishment that I'm granted at the end of my daily visit, getting myself to actually go to the gym is a brand-new struggle every day. I will do almost anything to avoid it... Clean my room, take care of the dogs, write a new blog post, etc.

Why is it that the things that are so good for us are the hardest to do? Who came up with that awful design? I'm not saying that exercise can't be made fun or that there aren't some crazy people who just plain enjoy it (Note: I'm pretty sure those people are experiencing the phenomenon of lying about something for long enough that it has become the truth). But I am talking on a broad scale here. The most delicious foods clog our arteries, and the most fun activities generally do nothing positive towards our BMIs. It's not a new revelation that the things we love most tend to be worst for us, but I think it's justified to get mad about it every so once in a while.

Maybe it has something to do with survival of the fittest. Having fun and eating poorly are easy to do. If doing those things led to long, healthy lives the world would probably become over-inhabited and we would have a major population crisis on our hands. So, in the interest of adding myself to the list of "the fittest," I guess I will go the the gym now. Or in a few hours.

live big and laugh lots
t

Starting Fresh

About four hours ago I thought it would be a good idea to start a new blog. At that time, my mind was overflowing with ideas about what to write and my hands were itching to start banging away at the keyboard. That was four hours ago. Now, about 7,485 templates later (I am still not pleased with this one, by the way) I am at a loss for what to say. 

In any case. I suppose I will start this the way we start most new adventures in life: with an introduction. How original. 

My name is Tanya and I'm 22-years-old. I really hate it when people sub-in the word "young" for "old" when they are telling you their age. Chances are I will be writing about lots of things that I don't like, or that annoy me, or that are irritating. Chances are I will come across as really grumpy. Let me assure you that's not the case. I just think it's more fun to write about what makes us mad than what makes us glad. 

Currently, I am a senior at Boston University with a double major in Human Physiology and Magazine journalism. My next step, I hope, is medical school, which is probably scary to those of you who remain unconvinced that I'm not a huge grump. But really, I love people, and the idea of having a job where everyday my purpose would be to save lives makes me sure that I will never dread going into work. 

I just realized this probably reads like something that belongs on an About Me page. Excellent, now I don't have to bother writing something new for that. 

I think most successful blogs have something consistent about them and that's what makes them really good. For me I think I will include a quote every time that reflects how I'm feeling or how I think I should be feeling or how I think others should be feeling or that I just plain like. That might be a little lame and if it is I will drop it quickly but let's try it out and see. Here is today's: 

"Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending."

This is kind of in keeping with the title of this blog and what I'm trying to practice in my life right now. Progress-- which for our purposes I will define as making yourself better -- takes work. It's easy to be discouraged that you aren't exactly the person you want to be right now. It's even easier to let that discouragement prevent you from making any real changes. But everyday is an opportunity to do something towards becoming the person you want yourself to be. Damn that's cheesy, even though it's true. You can't go back in time a year to when you stopped working out and started eating too much and suddenly gained 20 pounds and had to buy new clothes. But it is totally in your power to go to the gym tomorrow, eat right, lose the weight, and make a trip to Goodwill to donate the clothes you are now floating in. 

There is nothing to be done about the past. But the future is ours to mold. Seriously, I'm a little nauseous over how gooey what I'm saying is, but I can't bring myself to delete any of it because of how true I have found it to be over the past few weeks. Barring today and the unforgivable amount of time i have dedicated to starting this blog, I have really gotten my life into order over the past week. Let's hope it lasts. 

I think this post was an anomaly in comparison to what I will be writing about in the future. Still, glad to be back. 

Live big and laugh lots, 

t