New Habits

On Sunday, March 8, I drove away from Blue Mountain College expecting to return in eight days. I was officially on Spring Break, going to see my family. Spring Break had actually started two days before, on Friday, but I spent Friday and Saturday at a track meet. It had been a great weekend for the team, with lots of people running personal bests (including myself, which doesn't happen often).

The eight days that I expected to be away from school stretched into 15 as the threat of coronavirus spread across the country. BMC switched from on-ground learning to online learning, and I realized that I would have to learn how to do the unthinkable: take Anatomy and Physiology lab online. 

 Instead of returning to school to finish the semester, I returned to school with my dad to get all of my things out of my dorm room. I was devastated. I loved being at BMC. I loved my friends, professors, and classes. I loved my dorm room and hanging out with my cool roommate. This all was being "snatched" away from me.

 Eventually, I accepted reality and adjusted to my new environment. There's only so long you can mope as an adult before you become a nuisance. It took me about two weeks to get over myself. I was home with my family and they were all pretty happy to see me. 

 I quickly realized that even with a large amount of online homework, I had a lot of time on my hands (and now that school is over, I have even more time on my hands). 

I'm going to now pretend that you, the reader, have asked me the question "what have I been up to since I left school nine weeks ago?"

I'm glad you asked. 

Hobbies and Projects

 I started reading more books, but please don't get excited. I don't read a lot of "deep and profound" books anymore. I think I'm considered a little too old for the fictional books that I like reading now. When I am not reading a textbook for a class, I read to be entertained. I love reading books like Dork Diaries, iFunny, and Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life. These books take me about 45 minutes to read, so it's like watching a sitcom, but I get to use my imagination to set the scenes. When I was kind of sad about not being at school, these books would make me laugh. 

 I also started sketching again. I've been wanting to improve my flower designs and shadowing techniques, and I have time to practice that now. I can spend hours sketching. The repetitive designs that I enjoy drawing can be as detailed and whimsical as I want. I am working on a 6-sketch collection this summer called titled Summer of Flowers (I'm not the most creative when it comes to names). 

"Summer of Flowers: Picture 1"

Changing My Diet

It happened. After an intervention by my mom and sister, I finally decided to cut back on how much sugar I eat. 

Side Note: My sugar intake consists of chocolate, packaged cookies, cakes made from a cake mix (yes, I do that. There's no shame in my game), ice cream, and candy. I would be okay if I ate a moderate amount of sugar, but I eat it in excess because sugar--especially processed sugar--tastes really good...and it's also kinda cheap. 

Despite my sugar addiction, I'm a relatively healthy person. I eat fruits, veggies, proteins, etc. I exercise a lot, so my heart is pretty strong. However, I realize that there are things that I eat and activities that I do that don't really hinder my body, but they definitely don't help it either. 

So I've reduced my sugar intake by about 75% (and this was done by simply cutting out processed sugar). I put honey in my coffee and I use maple syrup, but that's about it. I eat lots of apples and bananas. So I'm still eating sugar, just not added sugar. 

 So far, it's been okay. I did have withdrawals 10 hours into my "sugar cleanse," but I made it through. I don't see any drastic changes, but I am learning how to control my eating habits. 

Running and Other Forms of Exercise

Track season was cancelled, and I was a little disappointed about it. I have been running, but not fast. I have had little reason to. 

About 6 weeks ago, I noticed my legs felt heavier and heavier after each run. I got slower and slower, and I began to dread each run. 

To get my mind off my lack of running motivation, I decided to start focusing on other exercises that I enjoy. I have learned that YouTube has a vast amount of exercise videos. I've always wanted to strengthen my abdominal muscles and biceps/triceps, so for the past 10 weeks, I've been doing Pilates and kettlebell workouts. I am getting stronger, and I am really enjoying doing different types of exercises. 

I also got to take two weeks off of running, so that gave me time to rest and reboot. I've resumed training, and I've started to enjoy it again. Summer miles are super fun!

Memorizing scripture

I love studying the Bible, and memorizing scripture is a great way to "hide God's Word in my heart (Psalm 119:11)." Memorizing scripture improves my ability to share God's word with others, and it gives me more to meditate on throughout the day. 

About 8 weeks ago I started memorizing Philippians 4. It's a chapter in the New Testament that includes "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." The whole chapter covers most all the principles of life in Christ. 

Conclusion

So this is my way of life right now. I'm thankful for this season of learning and improvement. I've enjoyed spending time with my family. 

If you'd like, comment below on how your springtime is going. Thank you for reading!